- Published
It was a prank that lasted for a quarter of a century.
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that → publish → century
It began in 2001 when Kevin Hill went searching for his favourite football top.
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Hill → begin → top
As a kid in Aberdeen, he'd grown up as a Celtic fan - something he says that required a thick skin.
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that → grow → skin
His father took him to games in Glasgow and every season, from age five, his parents bought him the latest strip.
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parents → take → strip
Now 47 and living in Dunfermline, Fife, Kevin says his prized possession was one that brought together his two sporting loves.
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that → live → loves
"As much as I'm a Celtic fan my first footballing hero was Ian Wright," he says.
"
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he → say → ?
I remember him playing for Arsenal and had posters of him all over my wall.
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him → remember → wall
"When I started hearing the rumour that he might be coming to Celtic, it was like my dreams were coming true."
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dreams → start → Celtic
The Arsenal legend was in the sunset of his career when he signed for Celtic in 1999.
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he → sign → 1999
It was a fleeting spell at Parkhead that yielded three goals for the former England striker in just eight appearances.
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that → yield → appearances
But such was Kevin's affection that long after it was over, the green-and-white hooped jersey remained his go-to match day uniform.
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jersey → remain → ?
It was particularly distinctive as it featured his hero's name, but not the number 17.
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it → feature → name
Kevin explained: "The reason it doesn't have a number on the back was because he hadn't actually signed yet and so we didn't know his number when I got it."
So when the strip went missing he was gutted.
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he → explain → it
Having recently moved to Edinburgh, he assumed that someone had helped themselves during a fairly raucous flat-warming party.
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someone → move → party
While he had suspicions, he could never identify the culprit.
Over time, however, his anger faded and he'd largely forgotten about it when, years later, an email arrived in his inbox from an account he didn't recognise.
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he → have → account
It began: "Hi Kevin, remember me?
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It → begin → me
The message continued: "I hope you aren't mad with me but I decided to embark on a journey of discovery."
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I → continue → discovery
When Kevin opened the attached photograph it featured a woman he didn't know on the London Eye holding up what appeared to be his Celtic top to the camera.
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what → open → camera
"I was just mega confused," he says.
"
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he → confuse → ?
Running through my mind was, who has done this?
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who → run → this
"I mean bravo, it's a really good prank.
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it → mean → ?
"But little did I know there were a lot more emails to follow."
A few weeks later another message arrived.
Once again it contained a photo of a complete stranger wearing Kev's prized possession – this time in Barcelona.
After that the emails kept on coming.
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emails → know → that
"The next one was Turkey, then Italy and then it went all the way to South America," Kevin recalls.
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Kevin → go → America
"It made it all the way [to Brazil] and then down to Venezuela and Puerto Rico and then back up to the USA."
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It → make → USA
As 2008 gave way to 2009 the messages kept arriving until eventually the email trail went cold.
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trail → give → 2009
It left Kevin poring over clues for who might be responsible.
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who → leave → clues
"What confused me was how did they keep this going?"
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they → confuse → this
"It wasn't one of my friends globetrotting, from what I could deduce they were handing [the strip] on to someone else and giving them the email address because it was always a different person in the picture.
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it → globetrotte → picture
For another decade the mystery occupied a corner of Kevin's mind.
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mystery → occupy → mind
When he met someone new he'd tell them about the adventures of "Wrighty'".
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he → meet → Wrighty
That included his fiancé Cheryl.
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That → include → fiancé
What Kevin didn't know that their marriage would become the key to unlocking the secret.
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marriage → know → secret
At the wedding reception in late August, Kevin was sitting at a table with his childhood friends from Aberdeen who all started laughing as one of them handed him a parcel.
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one → sit → parcel
"When I opened it, I could see it was a Celtic top but then very quickly I saw the white letters of Wright.
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I → open → Wright
"I knew immediately and I just couldn't believe it."
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I → know → it
Alongside the strip was a photobook entitled "Wrighty on Tour: 25 years of adventures around the globe"
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photobook → entitle → globe
"It was the best present I could have ever been given."
"And the fact that they kept it going that long just shows how good a friendship group I've got."
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I → give → group
Friends since their schooldays, Kris Robertson vividly remembers Kevin's fondness for his Ian Wright Celtic strip.
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Robertson → remember → strip
"He used to wear it all the time.
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He → use → it
I just remember he was very proud of it.
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he → remember → it
…and 36 more, not listed.
The Aporia
