Shane Warne's six months in Bristol was renowned for two reasons, it helped him on his journey to becoming a sporting great, affirming his love for cricket after teenage sporting heartbreak, and also introduced him to cider.
The King of Spin tragically died last week at the age of 52 while on holiday in Thailand, a life lived to the fullest throughout his remarkable career; 708 Test wickets is the second most of all-time, he boasts the most Ashes wickets with 195 and has the most wickets in a calendar year during 2005 with 96 from 15 matches.
But he was much more than just a cricket legend. He was a role model, idolised around the world and particularly left a lasting impression with the people who were lucky enough to meet him during his time in the West Country.
Before he became such a thorn in England's international side, he was juggling a raucous life between cricket and socialising during a memorable season in 1989 with local Bristol club Imperial CC.
At the age of 18, Warne's career was left in limbo after his dream of playing Aussie Rules was crushed by St Kilda after they decided not to take him on.
He had studied accounting which he decided was off the table, delivered beds and pizza until close mate Ricky Gough invited him to spend some time in England while he faced the conundrum of what to do next.
The opportunity came about because local club Knowle and St Kilda had a partnership where they would send each other a cricketer every year to help hone their skills and provide a new experience.
Cricket coach Shaun Graf was the first player to make the move in 1979 and he would become vital in helping Warne and Gough arrange a club in Bristol where now Knowle-President Steve Windaybank picked up two fresh-faced teenagers from Temple Meads station, housing the pair at The Pavilion, managed by former rugby player David Tyler.
As close friend and former Imperial CC teammate Simon Caunce would describe it to Bristol Live: "It was a great big old pavilion but it wasn't very salubrious accommodation. It creaked a lot and when the Aussies stayed there, they all thought it was a ghost. It creaked in the night so they had baseball bats under the bed in case it was more than that."
And so Warne's road to becoming a cricketing sensation was underway. His natural ability to spin the ball was clearly evident but he was raw and looked a far cry from the man who would represent his country around two-and-a-half years later.
"We had a few guys before who were a bit more mature and better cricketers than Warney at the time," Caunce added. "The main difference was that he spun the ball a mile. He didn't have the control he later became famous for but he would turn his leg-spin two or three feet and his googly two feet. Even our wicketkeeper couldn't pick his googly.
"He used to rub the ball on his right arse cheek so we knew the googly was coming. He had all this raw talent - but if you said 'do you think he would have been a Test cricketer?' Nobody would have thought yes."
His thoughts were echoed by fellow former teammate Phil Marshall who added: "He was a decent player but nobody thought he would go on to do what he did do. He was a classic Australian - he wanted to win and a very good bloke to have on your team."
His statistics for the Western League season did offer a glimpse of his potential. In 234 overs, he claimed 40 maidens and took 49 wickets for 746. His average was 15.22 and his economy was 3.18 in a 45 over winner-takes-all scenario.
As Caunce described it: "There were only one or two bowlers in that league who would take 50 wickets in a year so that was a lot of wickets he took for a young lad."
Warne's love for cricket gathered pace and his natural ability to spin the ball may have come down to a blessing in disguise which was described in his terrific Amazon documentary, 'Shane'.
When he was age around six, someone innocuously jumped on his back and Warne ended up breaking both of his legs. For the next six months, he had to use his hands to get around which strengthened his wrists.
In Bristol, as he was able to play for teams beyond just Imperial, Warne was playing cricket five or six days a week, intertwined with his social schedule, and would be happy to play a match whenever and wherever he was wanted.
Caunce said: "We would have played Saturday, Sunday friendlies, we played midweek in the either the Somerset & District 18-over matches or the Bristol & District 20-over and we had nets as well so he would have been playing cricket more than five days a week."
He would feature in the odd match for Knowle while also going on tour with Long Ashton. Windaybank told BBC Radio Bristol: "He was a magician in the way he bowled.
"The way he tricked batters to get them out and the way he played the game was quite something. There's a slight pride as a local Bristol man and all the Knowle and Imperial people will be thinking we partly know him and admire his skill."
While his reputation on the field was improving, his stamina in the bars was also worth marvelling at. It was no secret that Warne made the most of his time and independence in Bristol, having ballooned from 79kg to 99kg in just six months thanks to a diet of "10 pints a day and chicken and chips."
Caunce would be more than happy to show him the ropes. "It was Busby's on a Monday night for 20p a pint," he added. "We went to Talk of the Town on Wednesday night, the Old Porterhouse wine bar which doesn't exist anymore on Thursdays, Friday and Saturday nights.
"He was on the Pernod and black the night before I was driving to Chippenham and there were three or four of us in the car - I stopped three times for him on the way to be sick and he still scored 60 and took two or three wickets, he was capable of drinking and still performing.
"He would have been a novice drinker back then, he was new to drinking pints let alone other stuff such as Diamond White and cider - when he got to the airport in Melbourne his dad didn't recognise him, he walked straight past him."
So what did he do on Tuesday? Well, it wasn't a blank day in the diary as he headed to one of his old favourite jaunts - the George pub in Knowle which was run by Mike Gerrish.
In his autobiography, Warne wrote: "On Tuesday we used to take it easy - perhaps just have a bite to eat in the beautiful pub called the George. It was owned by some of the nicest people I've ever met. They treated me like a son, they were like my parents away from home. I love going back to England to see Mike and Pat, Merv and Maureen and Simon and Judy."
Les Hodge, a former player at Long Ashton, recalled: "I would pick him up and sometimes I would arrive in the morning at 9 to play at 1pm and he was just getting in from a night out.
"Everyone liked him. He was full of it, and he had an infectious personality. He would bring a dressing room together."
Caunce and Warne's friendship stretched 32 years with the pair enjoying countless priceless memories.
"I'm one of the few who was very lucky to have stayed long-term friends with him," he said. "His girlfriend Simone stayed with us for three months on the first Ashes series and I went to his wedding in Melbourne in 1995.
"I went to his last Test and was so lucky to be invited into the SCG changing room - I've been really lucky.
"He always found time for spectators and other people, even when he was at a golf event or something, he would spend his time after taking questions. Most people wouldn't bother because they don't need to. He didn't really have an edge to him. He had a great personality."
