All Stories

My St Valentine’s night with the EFL Championship Manager of the Month, Wrexham’s Parky

Tom Winnifrith
Sunday 15 February 2026
The three most important folks living in the first village over the river Dee in England, well important to me, are my in-laws and Phil Parkinson the manager of Wrexham and the EFL Championship Manager of the Month. Three promotions in 3 seasons, possibly on track for a first ever four in four, an FA Cup run not seen since 1997, folks here think Parky does not need a bridge to get into Wales, he can walk on water.

My ardent nationalist son Joshua was celebrating the victory of his second favorite rugby team, anyone playing England as well as Wrexham’s Friday night FA Cup triumph. In a happy frame of mind we packed him and his sister off to the in-laws last night allowing the Mrs. and I to go for a pre-booked romantic meal at the Bistro in the heart of this, the last village in Wales. I turned up on time and it was closed. Commercial suicide.
 
The Hare over among the infidels in England had no table till much later so we headed off to this village’s Indian restaurant. Its staff are, together with the Mrs., 100% of the South Asian community in this village. Over the river the in-laws and the family that runs the newsagent, no stereotypes here, are 100% of the South Asian community. And I am entitled to an Indian passport in my own right as my grandmother was born there. So I guess we should all stick together.

We sat in a corner table and enjoyed a good meal and, for once, I drank, something I do almost never these days. It was St Valentine’s Dy after all. 

The table next to us was empty but in the next table, another corner arrived a group of four two parents, an offspring and partner. And yes …it was Parky. He is a pretty humble chap so often pops into local pubs and cafes not expecting special treatment and though I’ve seen him pose for selfies, folks do let him just get on with his life. As did we.

Anyhow, that is my St Valentine’s day meal with the Wrexham manager.



If you enjoyed reading this article from Tom Winnifrith, why not help us cover our running costs with a donation?
About Tom Winnifrith
Bio
Tom Winnifrith is the editor of TomWinnifrith.com. When he is not harvesting olives in Greece, he is (planning to) raise goats in Wales.
Twitter
@TomWinnifrith
Email
[email protected]
Recently Featured on ShareProphets
Sign up for my weekly newsletter








Required Reading

Recent Comments


I also read