GHOSTING through the midfield, hair flailing in the breeze, and unleashing an unstoppable thunderbolt shot – the hallmarks of England's greatest goalscorer.

GHOSTING through the midfield, hair flailing in the breeze, and unleashing an unstoppable thunderbolt shot – the hallmarks of England's greatest goalscorer.

While young pretender Michael Owen may be half-way to catching up his goal haul, it is Bobby Charlton who still has the nation's heart, just the mention of his name bringing memories of glory times flooding back.

And this week Sir Bobby, as he is nowadays, is paying a visit to Suffolk – to speak to workers in the shipping industry.

But freight forwarding, importing and exporting will be the last things on the former midfield maestro's mind as he stands to speak and share again some of his wonderful memories of life with Manchester United and England.

Sir Bobby, who scored a record 49 goals for England in 106 appearances, and 246 for United in 752 games, is the special guest of Felixstowe Freight Club at its 28th lunch at the Hotel Elizabeth Orwell on Thursday .

Club chairman Rik Hunwicke said: "We are delighted to have Sir Bobby as our guest and all the tickets for the meal were sold out six weeks ago – a full house of 225.

"People are really looking forward to hearing him speak. Of course, we all hope he speaks about the World Cup of 1966 and the great times he had with England and Manchester United.

"But he is such a fabulous ambassador for football and is still very involved with the game. It's a great coup for the Felixstowe Freight Club."

Sir Bobby, who won three league titles, FA Cup and European Cup winners medals, and, of course, the World Cup, in his illustrious career, was at one time said to be the most famous Englishman in the world.

It was joked that children all over the world who could not speak English at least knew two words – "Bobby" and "Charlton", a name guaranteed to find a common bond among football supporters of nations everywhere.

Also on the bill with Sir Bobby at the hotel in Hamilton Road will be comedian Dave Lee, who has raised millions of pounds for charities over the years. The afternoon will also feature a charity auction.

The freight club – whose members are drawn from the town's shipping industry – have had a variety of celebrity guests at their lunches, including Sir Bobby Robson, Jimmy Greaves, former boxing champ John Conteh, and comedians Bobby Davro, Frank Carson, and Roger de Courcey and Nookie Bear.

WEBLINK: www.felixstowefreightclub.co.uk