Live from London: Postcards with Charles Tillman | Oct. 10
As told to Gabby Hajduk
Former Bears cornerback Charles "Peanut" Tillman joined the club in London this week ahead of their matchup with Jacksonville. Read about Tillman's busy week in the United Kingdom which includes Mini Monsters clinics, an incredible Tottenham Hotspurs Stadium experience and more.
Hello Chicago!
It's Peanut here, checking in from London. It's been a crazy week so far, so I'm going to take you through what I've been up to.
First off, I'm super excited to be back in London with the Bears. This is my fourth time in the city and second time with the team. Back in 2007, I visited on holiday with my family and then in 2011, we played at Wembley Stadium. We beat the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Matt Forte had his famous run where he made two defensive players run into each other. That was a good trip — lot of fun memories.
This is my first time back since 2019 when I was the NFL's alumni guest. So I've done everything in London. I've seen and done all the touristy stuff — Big Ben, St. Paul's Cathedral, London Bridge. I've been on a boat ride. I've taken a train out through the countryside. I've done everything UK you can think of. But the one thing that excites me every time is the fish and chips.
I'm a big burger connoisseur in the States so when I'm in the UK, I like to be a fish and chips connoisseur. As of right now, Edinburgh, Scotland, has the title of best fish and chips. When I landed in London on Monday at 9 a.m. local time, I decided to buy a ticket and go to Edinburgh. I knew Monday would be my only day to really travel and do something touristy and I'm so glad I went. I gotta say, The Fishmarket in Edinburgh — best fish and chips I've ever eaten in my life. Amazing. Absolutely amazing.
Since returning to London, we've hit the ground running. We're not just out here hanging at the pubs, we're out here working. We're working hard, on my momma. But seriously, I'm loving it.
We kicked things off on Tuesday and spent the day at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium. I helped out at the Bears' Mini Monsters clinic, which I'm continuing to do throughout the week. Mini Monsters has been awesome. I enjoy coaching and talking about American football with the kids. And I'm careful I don't just say football because I've been getting crucified all week by all the young Brits.
They keep yelling at me, 'It's not just football — it's American football!' They've been killing me on my pronunciation, but it's been a lot of fun being around them. They make fun of me and how I say "y'all." So it's been cool getting made fun of by a bunch of elementary kids, because they're very sarcastic out here. They're rough and tough and very, very capable and ready to play American football. They have the attitudes for it and I just love it.
We finished the day doing the Dare Skywalk at the stadium. Man, we did not need to do that. In all seriousness, it was a cool experience and I'm so glad I did it. But it's a one-time thing because my legs were trembling. You head 46.8 meters above the pitch, walk out over a ledge that's pretty narrow and you have this incredible view. The walk up was fine. Not a problem. Not hard. But up on that ledge, I felt a tingling sensation through my entire body. There may have been some cursing. It was incredible, but wow, were we nervous.
Tottenham's stadium itself is beautiful. The ingenuity, the details — incredible. Before we left, I did a food tasting at the stadium and the English being the English, it was so proper. The server came out with a double-breasted navy suit and a little orange, serving me up this unbelievable food. It was so British of him to do that. I felt like I was at a Michelin-starred restaurant, but I was just at the stadium. That's how good it was.
Shoutout to Tottenham, though. An incredible experience with them and on top of it, they gave me this dope letterman's jacket because I forgot to pack a coat. I wasn't a huge soccer fan before this, but this week I am a true Spurs and English football fan. I mean, I'm even going to an England versus Greece soccer game tonight at Wembley.
Wednesday was filled with more Mini Monsters clinics and a flag football coaches clinic, and today I visited a USAA Bootcamp at a Royal Air Force station in the village of Lakenheath. I'll finish out the week with our final clinic Friday morning before checking out Greenwood Sports Pub — the Bears team pub – at night.
I've really gotten a lot done in a short amount of time and I can't wait to wrap up the trip by seeing the Bears take on Jacksonville back at Tottenham Sunday! Appreciate everyone tuning in back across the pond.
Bear Down!
- Charles Tillman
