Glove man offers City cold comfort

WINTER WARMERS... Martin Rafferty at Rip van Winkles.

MARTIN Rafferty rubs his hands with glee every time a Manchester City star shivers.

Chronicle columnist Les Chapman, who is kit manager at Eastlands, buys the squad’s winter gear from Rip Van Winkles in Uppermill, which Martin (50) has run for 17 years.

Armed with a budget of more than £100, Les took a shopping list comprising snoods, hats and gloves — and added a bit of quirkiness to the collection.

“I had some gloves with skeleton fingers drawn on the palm and fingers, and Les thought they would be something a bit different for the lads,” said Martin.

“As it turned out, Mario Balotelli latched onto them straight away when he took the gear back.

“The City players like their snoods so Les bought quite a few of them. They cost £2 each.

“By the time he had stocked up on gloves and hats, he had spent well over £100.

“What people don’t realise is that Les has to provide accessories not just for the first team, but the lads who play in the youth side and the reserves.”

Martin is happy to see Les, who lives in Delph, doing his bit for businesses on the doorstep.

“I think one of the reasons Les comes back to my shop is because he likes to give me a boost, being a local shop rather than a chain,” said Martin.

There was only one downside to the exchange.

Martin added: “Les virtually cleared me out! I need to find a few spare hours to re-stock.”

Les added: “I go to Rip Van Winkles a few times per year.

“Knowing we were in for more cold weather, I had to top up the supply of plain hats and gloves, which the players like.

“Mario loved the skeleton gloves as soon as he saw them!”