Open Writing

While working at St Johns, Lyn had encouraged me to play golf when we had any free time. One advantage of golf is it can be started at any age - and I was now 45. Once the fundamentals were grasped and I stopped swinging the club like it was a cricket bat, improvement followed Playing competitively at Kidderminster Golf Club, a few trophies and competitions were won and I managed to get down to an 8 handicap.

We have stayed friends with the Foreman family over many years and Lyn - still a Newcastle supporter - has a bottle of champagne in his cupboard for when his team wins the 'Big Trophy' .I've told him it's quite safe.

Eventually Community Homes were gradually phased out for various reasons, costs being one of them. I then worked in a smaller Children's Home which replaced them as allegedly more effective - but that's another story.

These social work experiences made me appreciate my own childhood in spite of the austere and difficult post war years. The youths and children I encountered were much unhappier and more discontented than the young people of the 1940s and 50s.

I had to retire prematurely in 1996 because my joints were causing problems. "Wear and tear!" the doctor said. Whether or not this was due to my sporting activities is unknown. I had my first hip replacement at Kidderminster Hospital on New Years Day 1996. The other hip is going the same way but the operation is being delayed as long as possible!

I still follow the progress of my former cricket and football teams and was thrilled when Durham County Cricket Club was elected to the First Class County Championship in 1992. Living in Stourport we are surrounded by ex-pats from Birmingham who glorify in the Magpies' demise. I counter argue by playing the cricket card and remind them who won the County Championship in 2008. Personally though, I'm saddenned to note Newcastle United's relegation in May 2009 and that Northamptonshire still await their first championship title. I believe the Magpies have the best supporters in the country. Their patience and devotion amazes me.

One of the long traditions of South Shields Cricket Club is its Annual Dinner, held in early December each year at the Hedworth Hall. Attended by several hundred and with an entertaining visiting speaker it was the social event of the year. Guest speakers included Jackie Charlton whom I scored two goals against in 1959 and my mate from Northamptonshire County Cricket Club, Colin Milburn.

However the dinner in December 1988 was different. Before the start of the evening the Chairman announced "the death of a life-long South Shields supporter- Ernest Scott - the father of the club's Malcom Scott." I wasn't at the event but I'm told silence fell over the crowded hall. I owed a lot of my success to my father. My mother lived for another 15 years, some of the time which she spent near Mary and I in Stourport. They will always be remembered.