Open Writing

1973 was a good year for winning cups. Sunderland, with my former colleague Bob Stokoe as manager, won the FA Cup, and Walsall won the Birmingham League Cricket Cup. In the semi-final we beat a powerful West Bromwich Dartmouth side when I scored a half-century. Then to the surprise of everyone the other finalist withdrew. Perhaps they concluded they had no chance against us? It was a good year for the lad from Shields because he was selected for a Birmingham League Select XI which beat a Warwickshire County XI at Edgbaston County Ground.

I was also pleased to note that my former county Northants, now captained by Mushtaq, won a cricket trophy the Gillette Cup, in 1976. It was their first success in nearly 100 years of county cricket.

County cricket provides a relatively short career and when a cricketer 'retires' there is an unofficial network of colleagues who tend to look after each other. In my post-county career Jock Livingston and Tony Durose come to mind. It happened again in 1974 when I got a telephone call from a Lyn Foreman. He was unknown to me but the Northumbrian accent was easily recognisable. He said that Mike Kettle, with whom I had played cricket at Northampton, was leaving the post of Social Worker at St Johns Community Home near Towcester, to return to coaching, and had recommended me to Ian Harris, Head of the School. He himself was Deputy Head and he asked if I would be interested?

Mary and I talked it over, with the result that I went for an interview and got the job, with the proviso I would do some training to gain a qualification in social work. Looking back it was like a slip road off the motorway to a new career. Perhaps it was helped by Lyn Foreman being a fanatical Newcastle United supporter and finding I had played for the Magpies!

Lyn had been a Morpeth and Northumberland rugby player and also a Morpeth cricketer—we got on well together. The Head, Ian Harris, was a Yorkshireman who loved sport, especially cricket and golf. So we had plenty to talk about as Mary and I moved to St Johns Community Home (known as School) in the village of Tiffield nearTowcester.

St Johns was a residential school for boys with family and behavioural problems. It had the benefit of teachers in most general and vocational subj ects as well as excellent sports facilities. Amazingly, the swimming pool, squash courts and gymnasium had all been built by the boys under supervision from the skilled instructors. The School also had a very committed Chaplain named Ron Johnson - another Durham man. He involved the boys in drama and every Christmas produced an excellent pantomime which was well attended and praised by the local dignitaries.
My job involved the coaching and supervision of football, cricket, and other outdoor activities which included an annual camp in the Lake District. The tales of Social Work alone could fill a book because there was always something different happening at St Johns. For example, in the annual staff versus pupils football match, I found myself wearing a black and white strip again. We let the lads win- or so we told everybody!

During this time I satisfactorily completed a qualification in Social Work at Selly Oak College in Birmingham, and when Lyn Foreman moved to St Gilberts Community Home at Hartlebury, near Kidderminster, as Head a few years later, he asked me to follow him. I was to be in charge of one of the Units. So Mary and I were on the move again and we chose a house in Stourport-on-Severn.