It's sad to look at photos from '66 knowing the lads are no longer around

FAREWELL tours were once the province of rock stars without a new album in the pipeline.

But as Sir Geoff Hurst, last man standing from England's 1966 World Cup winners, rebooted his stage show, there was a profound sense of valediction.

One by one, the lights have gone out on the dashboard of Sir Alf Ramsey's Boys of 66.

Following the death of Sir Bobby Charlton last October, Hurst alone can perpetuate the legend of our finest hour as a sporting nation.

His 24-date show is more than a speaking tour of provincial theatres: It's an appointment with history, and with the flame of an English football torch-bearer for 58 years.

At 82, Hurst's one-liners are still in good order and he is in robust health although he was forced to cut short his opening night in Frome last It wasn't a four-act month.

drama, it was just a nosebleed," he said backstage before a sellout show in Chesham relaunched his tour. "It was a damn nuisance but I'm OK, I'm fine" If Sir Geoff has become more aware of his own mortality since Charlton's ascent to the celestial dressing room, he doesn't advertise it.