While anxiety still constantly lurks behind me and attacks at random moments, I am dealing with it better than I could before all of this happened. I’ve learned to acknowledge the beginnings of a panic attack but not let it take over. It hasn’t got any more pleasant, but it is a step forward.
I am now in my second week back at work, still doing shorter hours for the time being, and while I have got back into the swing of things quite well and been blown away by the warm welcome from my colleagues, there is a growing feeling that I won’t be truly able to move on from this episode unless I make a fresh start elsewhere.
Gressenhall
I got a museum pass for Christmas, allowing me unlimited entry to ten of Norfolk’s museums for a whole year. I love museums, so this was a great gift for me, but with the first quarter of my year being taken up by The Darkness (the illness, not the Lowestoft rock band from the 2000s) I hadn’t had the chance to use it until last Wednesday.
I went to Gressenhall Farm and Workhouse, only three miles or so from home, for a wander around. The building itself, which looms over you as you drive between Dereham and North Elmham, has always given me the creeps. Knowing the hardship that the people in a workhouse went through – separated from their families, worked to the bone and given hardly enough food to live on – makes me feel uneasy. But it was interesting to learn about how the place operated and its joint purpose as a museum of rural life means it has a few buildings laid out as shops from decades past, as well as a room made up like it was the 1950s.
Across the road there is the farm with horses, cows, sheep and pigs. Being spring, there were a couple of lambs and some recently born piglets to see. When I sent my mum the photo of the piglets, she replied ‘aww, little bacon rolls’. Mother! Here is a gallery of some photos I took on the day.
If you fancy a day out, whether you’re alone like lonely old me, or want somewhere to go with the family, I heartily recommend Gressenhall. A museum pass is only £42.30 a year for an adult if you pay by direct debit, which is great value when you consider one visit to Gressenhall would cost you £16.10.
Half Man Half Biscuit
I’ve been listening to Half Man Half Biscuit a lot lately. They are a Merseyside rock band who have been together for 40 years this year and are known for their great riffs and brilliantly funny lyrics. Right up my street. What about this for a line?
There’s a man with a mullet going mad with a mallet in Millets
National Shite Day by Half Man Half Biscuit
Pure poetry. Why not give them a try?
I think that will do for today. It’s good to be back! Thanks for reading if you made it this far.
A short round up of things on my mind. Things I’ve seen, read, heard etc. From my point of view, it will help me keep my eye in with my writing. As the name suggests, it will be semi-regular and published on Thursdays.
A bit of news: That Mary Earps won the BBC Sports Personality of the Year award last night and I couldn’t be happier for her. I’m not trying to be right-on or anything like that when I say I love watching the Lionesses. They seem to be more of a team than their male counterparts – and more successful. Earps is a brilliant example of the virtue of never giving up. Four years ago, she felt like her football career was going nowhere and was preparing to try something else. Last night, she received the prestigious SPotY award as a Euros winner, World Cup finalist and comfortably the best goalkeeper in the women’s game. Apparently oxygen thief Piers “Morgan” Moron has been whining (for a change) about it. I find a good rule for life is that whatever he doesn’t like is probably a good thing. Well done Mary.
A song I’ve been listening to:Blossoms will be releasing their fifth album next year and the first single from it, To Do List (After The Breakup) is a banger. It’s a collaboration with fellow Stockport musician Findlay and, in true Ronseal style, tells you what you need to do after a break up. I’m a big fan. Watch the video below.
A podcast I’ve been listening to: one I’ve been really getting into recently is The Rest Is Entertainment. It’s a weekly dissection of all things pop culture hosted by Richard Osman (of Pointless, House of Games and Thursday Murder Club fame) and The Guardian journalist Marina Hyde. A recent highlight has been Osman’s insight into this year’s race for the Christmas number one, in which he dropped the bombshell fact that 2004’s Band Aid 20 remains Radiohead frontman Thom Yorke’s only UK number one single. It’s interesting, it’s funny, and it’s been making my journeys to and from work fly by.
Something you should watch this Christmas: it’s not exactly a hidden gem, but nothing gets me into the Christmas spirit quite like the 2008 festive special of Gavin and Stacey. It’s brilliantly observed, and truly captures that sense of anticipation that the big day holds. It makes me miss those big family Christmasses I remember as a child. You can watch it on BBC iPlayer here.
Is that it?
That will do you for this week. Have a very happy Christmas, a great new year and I’ll be back soon.
Just before you go – why are you asking yourself questions?
Another dull international break finally over, Norwich City returned to action with a home game against Brighton & Hove Albion. There was hope in the air: the point and clean sheet gained at Burnley two weeks ago, the success our players had while away with their countries and a pleasingly short injury list combined to put a spring in the step of many City fans.
Five at the back. Dimitris Giannoulis and Max Aarons the full backs, with Ben Gibson, Grant Hanley and Ozan Kabak forming a wall in front of goalkeeper Tim Krul. This formation was first deployed at Burnley and it brought Norwich’s first Premier League clean sheet since February 2020. Ok, Brighton weren’t great. Certainly not the ‘top four challengers’ we’ve heard so much about. Credit where credit is due though. All of the defenders played well and worked together to keep them out.
Those five were aided by man-of-the-match Matthias Normann, who charged all over the pitch until cramp got the better of him. Pierre Lees-Melou also had his best game in a City shirt, demonstrating a handy ability to nick the ball off the opposition and move the ball away from danger.
Matthias Normann was excellent against Brighton
What does Farke see in Rupp?
I have to say I was rather surprised to see Lukas Rupp getting ready to come on in the second half, to replace the aforementioned Normann. What Norwich seemed to lack all afternoon was a bit of creativity, someone to play that pass or make that run that just opens things up. I thought this was a perfect time to bring on Billy Gilmour, confidence high after earning rave reviews in the Scotland team. I struggle to see what Rupp brings to the side to be honest, but Daniel Farke is clearly a big fan.
Wouldn’t Carrow Road be a better place without some of the Snake Pit?
The Snake Pit believes itself to be Norwich’s ‘ultras’ but so far this season that corner of the ground has come to represent exactly what I don’t want my football club to be. Some (and I stress, some) booed the taking of the knee (a simple anti-racism gesture), booed the team after a good performance, and in one particularly embarrassing moment booed the wrong black man until they could work out which one Yves Bissouma was, the unused Brighton substitute believed to be the one arrested earlier this month. Some of the Snake Pit crowd need to take a long look at themselves.
The best we’ve played this season
Despite the negativity I’ve seen on social media, I was actually proud of the performance of the Norwich team today and I applauded the players as they did a lap of the ground at full time. It was the best I’ve seen us play this season (a low bar, I am aware) and there have been real signs of improvement since the dreadful home defeat to Watford. There is also no sign of anyone not playing for the manager.
There was a lot riding on the fourth studio album from Arctic Monkeys. 2009’s Humbug had seen the band adopt a daring new sound that divided fans, a big departure from the record breaking debut and the follow up that capitalised on its incredible success. The next effort was pivotal – would they blend everything they’d learned into a hit record, or alienate the people that had made them popular in the first place once and for all?
In the gap between the Arctics’ third and fourth albums, frontman Alex Turner wrote and recorded six original songs for the soundtrack to Submarine, a film directed by Richard Ayoade – known as Moss from The I.T. Crowd – who had been behind the videos for Arctic Monkeys songs Fluorescent Adolescent and Cornerstone. I was made aware of it by Turner’s involvement but I loved the style, the story and the performances and it has become my favourite film.
By 2010, Turner was living in New York with his then-girlfriend, the TV presenter and model Alexa Chung. It was there that he wrote most of the twelve songs that would make up the fourth Arctic Monkeys album. In Los Angeles, the band recorded live takes of each track – a different process to Humbug, where they used overdubbing.
As for the title? It could have been The Rain-Shaped Shimmer Trap, inspired by the ‘colourful’ names often given to guitar fuzz pedals. According to drummer Matt Helders, ‘it were genuinely gonna be Thriller for, about… a week’. Eventually, they settled on the title of the album’s eleventh track to label the entire record: Suck It and See was born.
The rather sparse cover of Suck It and See – some American retailers found the title offensive and covered it with a sticker
Released on 6th June 2011, more than 82,000 copies of Suck It and See were sold in its first week, comfortably knocking Lady Gaga off the top of the albums chart and giving the Arctics another number one. The songs are much less dark than those on Humbug, the band returning to a more accessible pop sound – Q magazine described it as ‘the sound of a band drawing back the curtains and letting the sunshine in’. They remained unafraid of trying something new, however.
The Hellcat Spangled Shalalala was the first Arctic Monkeys song I ever heard played over the PA system in a football ground, a sign of how mainstream this album was. Brick by Brick featured Matt Helders on vocals, with Turner only belting out the chorus. Some songs were inspired by such innocuous moments as someone telling Turner in the studio ‘don’t sit down, ’cause I’ve moved your chair’. Piledriver Waltz was written for the Submarine soundtrack and was re-recorded with the full band for the album.
Turner’s insightful lyrics are still very much part of the package. On All My Own Stunts, he sings ‘Been watching cowboy films on gloomy afternoons/Tinting the solitude’, a possible reference to the long days in New York waiting for his girlfriend to come home. The excellent Love Is a Laserquest contains my favourite lyrics on the album:
And do you still think love is a laserquest?
Or do you take it all more seriously?
I've tried to ask you this in some daydreams that I've had
But you're always busy being make-believe
And do you look into the mirror to remind yourself you're there?
Or have somebody's goodnight kisses got that covered?
When I'm not being honest, I pretend that you were just some lover
Matt Helders has a lot to thank Suck It and See for – it was while recording the video for the title track that he met model Breana McDow. The couple had a daughter in 2015 and were married in 2016, though sadly divorced in 2019.
Matt Helders and Breana McDow became a couple after shooting this video together
Suck It and See was another important step for the Arctic Monkeys after Humbug, and paved the way for the huge success of AM that followed.
For a mad keen cricket fan like me, 2019 is like a birthday and Christmas present rolled into one. The World Cup is being held in England and Wales, with England the favourites to win it, and in August the Ashes start with England and Australia renewing their famous rivalry.
I have friends who may not quite understand much about cricket and why I’m so excited about this year – so I’ve written this for you.
Hosts England are favourites to win the cricket World Cup
When does the World Cup start?
The World Cup is just one week away. It starts on Thursday 30th May when England play South Africa at The Oval in London. The final is on Sunday 14th July at Lord’s.
How does the World Cup work?
There are ten countries playing in the World Cup. That’s not many compared to other sports. Compare it to the last football World Cup – where 32 teams were involved – or the rugby World Cup later this year, which will feature 20 teams.
Those 10 teams are:
Afghanistan Australia Bangladesh England India New Zealand Pakistan South Africa Sri Lanka West Indies
The teams all play each other once, with the top four going through to the semi-finals. There, 1st place will play 4th place and 2nd will play 3rd. Then, of course, the winners of those matches will play in the final.
There will be one match a day (two on Saturdays) between the start of the tournament on 30th May and the conclusion of the group stage on 6th July.
Where are the matches being played?
Ten grounds will host matches in the World Cup, stretching as far north as County Durham and as far south as Hampshire. They are:
The Riverside (Durham) Headingley (Leeds) Old Trafford (Manchester) Trent Bridge (Nottingham) Edgbaston (Birmingham) Lord’s (London) The Oval (London) County Ground (Bristol) Sophia Gardens (Cardiff) County Ground (Taunton) Rose Bowl (Southampton)
The iconic Lord’s will host the cricket World Cup final on 14th July
How can I follow it?
Every single match of the World Cup is live on Sky Sports, so you’ll need to pay to watch it on TV. Now TV is the best way in my opinion – you can buy one of their devices and buy a Sky Sports month pass for £25. Two of those will see you through the World Cup.
Highlights of every match will be on Channel 4.
If you prefer listening to the radio, commentary will be available on the BBC’s famous Test Match Special on Radio 5 Live Sports Extra.
Why are you so excited about it?
This is the first time England have hosted the cricket World Cup since 1999. Back then, I was a nearly-7-year-old who didn’t know what cricket was. England are also the favourites for it, going into the tournament as the number one ranked One Day International (ODI) team in the world.
Australia won the last cricket World Cup in 2015
It’s going to a close run thing, too – out of the ten teams playing, I reckon seven have a genuine chance of winning it. I think Afghanistan, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka will struggle but the other seven will be fighting for the four places in the semi-finals. Even those three I’ve mentioned are capable of causing a few upsets.
I hope you’ve found this guide useful and you might indulge in a bit of cricket over the next eight weeks or so. I’ll be writing about the games you should watch as we go along.
Arctic Monkeys Left to right: Jamie Cook (guitar), Nick O’Malley (bass), Alex Turner (lead singer), Matt Helders (drums)
Arctic Monkeys are my all time favourite band. No one else has ever made music that has spoken to me in quite the way they have. I own all six of the albums they have released to date, I know every one of their songs and the brilliant lyrics of their frontman Alex Turner have accompanied me through my highest of highs and lowest of lows.
On 11th May 2018, the Sheffield band released Tranquility Base Hotel & Casino, their first new material for nearly five years. It was a completely different sound, led by the piano, which left some fans used to them thrashing on guitars upset. I loved it, however, and love it even more now as it reaches its first anniversary. I’ll tell you why.
Tranquility Base Hotel & Casino is a collection of eleven songs loosely based around the idea that the human race has colonised the moon and opened a hotel and casino complex on it. Yet, the aesthetic feels like the 1970s. You need only to look at the video for the title track to see what I mean.
Tranquility Base Hotel & Casino
Tranquility Base Hotel & Casino is meant to feel like a place you can go and spend a while. Tranquility Base was the name given to the area of the moon that Apollo 11 landed on in July 1969.
I liked the idea of naming [the album] after a place, because to me records that I’ve been in love with and continue to be in love with feel like they’re places that you can go for a while.
Alex Turner, Arctic Monkeys
For me, it absolutely achieves that aim. I have listened to the album hundreds of times, often when I’ve got into my car after a tedious day of pushing trolleys around a supermarket car park. Heading to Tranquility Base for 41 minutes is a great way to escape the mundanities of real life.
In these days of cherry-picking individual songs on streaming services, it was a bold move to release a proper album – a collection of songs designed to be listened to as a whole, in a particular order. The end of One Point Perspective actually blends in to the beginning of American Sports to emphasise this.
The album is full of quotable lines. You get the feeling Turner was enjoying himself writing it, relishing the freedom its other-worldly setting was affording him. The genre of science fiction is often used as a method of commenting on our own world, as if taking a step back and looking at it from a different perspective offers the opportunity to say things you might not feel comfortable with otherwise.
Turner does this in the song Golden Trunks. He had always steered clear of politics in his lyrics, but with this album he felt able to have a little stab at it.
The leader of the free world Reminds you of a wrestler wearing tight golden trunks
Golden Trunks
I don’t know about you, but I get a rather unpleasant image of Donald Trump in my head after hearing that.
Music is saturated with love songs. Turner wanted to give them a swerve after several of them appeared on Everything You’ve Come To Expect, the 2016 album he made with his side project The Last Shadow Puppets. A couple made their way onto this album, though, with the closing track The Ultracheese being the most gushing. It is this song that contains my favourite line of the whole album.
Oh, the dawn won’t stop weighing a tonne I’ve done some things that I shouldn’t have done But I haven’t stopped loving you once
The last lines of the album’s closing track The Ultracheese
Whenever I hear that, the hairs on the back of my neck stand up. It’s such a great observation about love – we mess up sometimes, but we never stop loving.
In September last year, I saw Arctic Monkeys on their UK tour at the Sheffield Arena. It was a dream come true, seeing my heroes in the flesh in their hometown. The aesthetic they had created with the album carried on perfectly – the stage design, the clothes the band wore and even their hairstyles complemented Tranquility Base wonderfully.
Seeing Arctic Monkeys live at Sheffield Arena in September 2018
Tranquility Base Hotel & Casino is a brilliant, mature, visceral album that I will be listening to for years to come. I hope you give it a try.
The new Twenty20 tournament would co-exist with the current T20 Blast
The England and Wales Cricket Board have announced a Twenty20 competition to begin in 2020 – their attempt at getting more people interested in cricket.
It has caused controversy, with some saying it will be the beginning of the end for county cricket and others saying it will keep the game alive in the UK.
While the domestic game currently has 18 major counties, the proposed tournament will contain eight teams with squads of 15 players each. The teams will most likely take on the names of the cities they are based in, doing away with Surrey and Yorkshire and perhaps introducing London and Leeds.
This eight team, city-based structure mirrors the hugely successful Big Bash in Australia and the Indian Premier League.
The plan is for 36 matches to be played over 38 days in the school summer holidays, and for 8 of those matches to be live on free-to-air TV.
The timing of the tournament could help to attract the best players in the world to it, as only England play regular international cricket at that time of year. Squads may miss England players but will be allowed 3 overseas stars.
Here are a few thoughts I have about this proposal.
County cricket is dying anyway
The County Championship, the oldest and purest cricket championship, has been attended by almost nobody for decades. Counties have a few die-hard members, and some of them will get a few spectators in at the height of the holiday season, but other than that matches are played in front of empty grounds, rendering the four-day competition next to pointless. The Twenty20 tournament is not threatening to end the Championship, but might make enough money to keep it alive. Each county has been promised £1.3 million as part of the proposal.
A County Championship match takes place in front of not many people at Edgbaston
Will enough matches be on free-to-air TV?
English cricket has not been live on free-to-air TV since 2005. Since the ECB made the game available only to people who could afford a Sky Sports subscription the number of schoolchildren getting into cricket has dropped dramatically. They know they made a mistake, and while they can’t do anything about it until the end of the current rights deal in 2019, they have ringfenced 8 of the 36 matches for FTA TV in the proposal. I wonder, is that enough? Will it be eight of the early league fixtures, making it difficult to follow, or will it include the semi-finals and the final? Only time will tell, but it seems you’re still going to need a pay TV subscription to have much of an idea of what’s going on.
Two Twenty20 tournaments could mean overkill
The ECB are not proposing to replace the current T20 Blast with this city-based tournament – they intend for them to co-exist. This year, the T20 Blast (which does feature all 18 counties) will take place over seven weeks. The new tournament would be planned to start almost immediately after the Blast – I have a feeling even a massive cricket fan like me could get fed up of watching Twenty20 after 12 solid weeks of it.
While there are questions to be answered, I think overall this is a positive step from the ECB and a genuine attempt to inject new life into cricket in this country. They’ve got three years to get it ready – the future of the sport could depend on them getting it right.
I’ve been spending a few days in Durham. While Norwich City do in fact play away at Newcastle this weekend (about 18 miles away) my visit is unrelated. I had a week off work coming up, did not want to be at home crawling up the walls with boredom, and my godmother – who works up here – kindly offered me the chance to come and stay at her place.
My Durham Cathedral selfie.
Last night, while out for a walk, I had an idea. I asked my godmother to come up with a list of things that she wanted me to go and photograph the next day – a sort of treasure hunt. When I got up this morning, I had a Skype message from her containing this list:
Whatever is up both of those alleyways (alleyways we had seen on our walk)
The Sanctuary knocker
Harry Potter style cloisters
A cathedral made of Lego
A poem on a stone bridge with the cathedral in the background
A piece of rubbish in an inappropriate place
A large map of the UK embedded in the pavement, made up of coloured stone in a geological manner
Tracy Franklin’s studio
A nice pile of washing up on the draining board
A cup of coffee in your hand
Around midday today, I was ready with my phone to start the challenge. Here’s how I got on.
Whatever is up both of those alleyways
Durham is a very old city. It’s full of narrow streets, listed buildings and hidden passages. On our walk last night, my godmother and I came to one of these hidden passages.
The entrance to one of the alleyways.
It was getting quite late and the alleyway looked rather spooky in the dark, it has to be said. In the comfort of daylight, I headed up the steps and saw this ahead of me:
This is what was up one of those alleyways.
When we had been looking at the entrance last night, a man in a suit strolled past us and went up there. It felt rather narrow and a bit eerie even during the day, so I would certainly not have gone up there at night like he did! The other alleyway I was tasked to explore looked like this:
The other alleyway.
It turns out that this alleyway merges with the other one and they both take you just outside Pizza Express!
The Sanctuary knocker
In case you don’t know, a Sanctuary knocker (or ‘haogday’ but that’s just a weird name for it) is an ornamental knocker on the door of a cathedral. Long ago, if you touched the knocker, you were afforded the right of asylum inside. Think of a medieval Julian Assange. This ended about 400 years ago, so don’t try it the next time you are on the run from the police. Here’s the Sanctuary knocker on Durham Cathedral.
It’s much bigger than it looks here.
Harry Potter style cloisters
The city of Durham is dominated by its cathedral. It looms large over the whole peninsula.
Durham Cathedral looms large over the city.
I knew that the next target on the list would involve a trip inside this magnificent building. I made my way to the cloisters – stopping to take in the awe-inspiring interior – and got the shot I needed.
The Harry Potter style cloisters of Durham Cathedral.
My godmother hadn’t put ‘Harry Potter style’ cloisters on the list just because they look like they should be part of Hogwarts – she put it like that because they are part of Hogwarts. Durham Cathedral was used as a location for the first two films in the series – the Philosopher’s Stone and the Chamber of Secrets. The cloisters are where Ron’s spell backfired and he ended up coughing up slugs. Here is a page showing some of the scenes shot here.
Parts of Durham Cathedral are currently covered in scaffolding as it undergoes major repairs and development. They are calling the project Open Treasure and you can donate to help them maintain this amazing place.
A cathedral made of Lego
Reading the list with somewhat bleary eyes this morning, I did think ‘she wants me to make the cathedral out of Lego!?’. It seems an unlikely request, but you don’t know my godmother like I do. I then realised that there must be a Lego model of Durham Cathedral. After taking a photo of the cloisters, I headed for the gift shop and found what I was looking for.
That’s a lot of Lego.
The ‘182,000’ on the roof of this impressive Lego creation refers to the fact that there are now more than 182,000 pieces of Lego used in the model. And it’s not even finished. People can buy a brick and add it to the model personally.
A poem on a stone bridge with the cathedral in the background
Having left the cathedral, I went in search of this rather specific target. I had heard vaguely before about a bridge in Durham inscribed with a poem, but I had no idea where it was. It turns out it is on the secluded Prebends Bridge. It’s more than 340 years old and features the words of Sir Walter Scott from Harold the Dauntless.
I was pretty pleased to get the money shot of the cathedral in the background too.
A piece of rubbish in an inappropriate place
I thought this one would be easy. Durham is so historic that pretty much any rubbish lying around would be inappropriate. However, it seems the people here know that and so I discovered that Durham is one of the most litter-free places I have ever been to. I was scouring the flowerbeds close to the cathedral for just one crisp packet. I was desperate enough at one point to consider putting a piece of rubbish on the toilet seat in the flat and claiming that as target complete. Eventually, I settled on this:
I get a pass for this one, don’t I?
That’s rubbish. Check. That’s in the front yard of the road leading to the World Heritage Site. That’s got to be inappropriate, right? I do wonder what the people who saw me take that photo must have thought of me.
A large map of the UK embedded in the pavement, made up of coloured stone in a geological manner
This was the most difficult one on the list to find. This is because it’s not in the city centre, but outside the University of Durham’s Bill Bryson Library.
Like Ronseal, it does exactly what it says on the tin.
Once you get the idea of what it is and what it represents it’s pretty cool I think.
Tracy Franklin’s studio
‘Who the hell is Tracy Franklin?’ I hear you ask. Good question. I hadn’t got a clue either. Tracy Franklin is an embroiderer, and her studio is here in a back street.
Tracy Franklin’s studio.
I would tell you more about Tracy Franklin and her embroidery, but as embroidery is one of the most boring things in the world, I won’t.
A nice pile of washing up on the draining board
Now this was a very sneaky way for my godmother to get the washing up done in her flat. Being the excellent guest that I am, I did this before heading out this morning. Here’s the proof.
How clean is your house?
Last but not least…
A cup of coffee in your hand
After traipsing around Durham for more than three hours, I was quite happy to complete the challenge with this one. Sat back in the flat, this cup of coffee was very welcome on a chilly October day.
Raising a mug to my successful completion of the challenge.
With that, my photo treasure hunt was finished. It was a lot of fun actually, a great way to explore somewhere you’re not familiar with. I recommend this game the next time you go on holiday.
Thanks for reading, and rest assured normal service will be resumed shortly.
Going to the football was the thing me and my dad did together.
Dad was 48 when I was born. He had the son he had always wanted – someone to kick a ball around with and watch the match with him. Yet I was a latecomer to football, and to his obsession with Norwich City. I can remember protesting that I wanted to watch cartoons when dad had sat himself in the living room ready for the Super Sunday game on Sky Sports.
My dad in his room in his care home, a Canary from beginning to end.
It is an old family tale that dad was a very handy footballer, who scored plenty of goals for teams such as Gothic. He was part of the Norwich Boys team, a side made up of players picked from local schools. He played at Carrow Road several times. He always insisted that someone from Norwich City asked his father about him turning professional, but his father refused and made his son go and get an apprenticeship. Whether that’s true I’m not so sure, but it’s a lovely story.
At some point, I became interested. Perhaps through sheer osmosis. I remember getting very excited at England beating Germany 5-1 a week after my 9th birthday. The next May I went through emotional turmoil watching the now defunct ITV Digital, who were showing Norwich’s agonising penalty shootout defeat to Birmingham in the Division One play-off final. I was in tears at the end of that game. At that point, the Canaries had got me. From then on I was a Norwich City fan, and I always would be.
Dad had got up extremely early that morning and travelled to Cardiff on a minibus to be at the match. On his return, our conversations about football would become more knowledgeable on my part, and increasingly partisan. He must have loved it. I can imagine him thinking ‘Finally! After nearly a decade my boy has got the football bug!’.
Less than a year later, in March 2003, I went to my first Norwich game. We lost 2-0 to Ipswich, of all teams, but that didn’t put me off. I was part of the enormous crowds as our Division One champions of 2004 celebrated with an open top bus parade. I recall both me and dad jumping up and down in pure elation as we went 2-0 up against Manchester United in what would be a brief stay in the Premier League. Dad was 61 at that point, but he certainly didn’t look it or move like it.
As the next few years passed dad’s memory became something of a concern. He had to give up working after more than 40 years. He was eventually diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease.
In August 2008, me and dad took our seats at Carrow Road for our first game sitting next to each other as season ticket holders. I had only been to the odd game a season up to that point. We sat three rows back in the upper Barclay, just to the right of the goal. We watched a 1-1 draw with Blackpool. We got relegated to League One that season. In fact, our first seasons with those tickets saw us witness a relegation, a promotion and another promotion. We sat through the 7-1 defeat to Colchester, through the 2-0 win over Gillingham that confirmed Norwich as League One champions, through the joyous last game of the season against Coventry as we celebrated promotion to the Premier League.
Dad’s undying faith in Norwich City showed in his score predictions. Ask him what he thought would happen in that particular game, and he would ask who we were playing. When I told him, he would usually say ‘we should beat them shouldn’t we?’ in a fantastically confident voice as if to say ‘of course we should beat them, we’re the mighty Norwich City!’. His predicted score would usually be 5-0 to City, but if he wasn’t feeling quite as confident that day we might only win 3-0.
Gradually, getting dad to and from Carrow Road became increasingly difficult. His particular type of dementia appeared to strike his mobility. He found it hard to walk, hard to negotiate stairs, and on one occasion he found it impossible to walk over the Novi Sad Friendship Bridge. A very kind couple stopped and helped me get him to the other side, where they waited with him while I ran to get the car. It was a desperately sad and worrying state to see him in, someone I had looked up to so much.
Dad cut down on his trips to see City play. I took him to what would turn out to be his last visit to Carrow Road on Boxing Day 2012, a 1-0 defeat to Chelsea. From then on I would carry on going to home games, but would go and sit with him in his care home to listen to the away matches on Radio Norfolk.
On 1st February 2014, just over a month short of his 70th birthday, my brilliant dad finally gave in to this most evil of diseases. This classic Norwich City song was played at his funeral. I still sit in the same Barclay seat as I did for that Blackpool match nearly seven years ago, and I have often wondered what my dad would make of the latest goings on in yellow and green.
These feelings have been particularly felt in the last week, with Norwich of course preparing for the Championship play-off final at Wembley. He would have been there, without a shadow of a doubt. And he would have loved the sight of around 40,000 fellow City fans inside the home of football.
I have decided to wear dad’s old City shirt to Wembley. This way, I know a part of my old man will be with me at the biggest game I’ve ever been to.
What would he say about the result?
‘Middlesbrough? We should beat them shouldn’t we?’
Me with my dad’s old Norwich shirt which I will be wearing to Wembley.
LEE PAYNE 