DECORATE, OR GO TO THE VILLA?

Decorate, Or Go To the Villa?

Ostensibly he’d been at work on Easter Saturday,

Meaning he’d been for his lunch

At his brother’s house in Church Lane, Yardley

And had put a few bets on at ‘The Glebe’

With ‘Our Will’…

But spend the day with mom and me? Hardly.

Surprisingly I’d been to Villa Park on Easter Saturday,

Certainly not by myself though,

To see Leicester City trounced 8-3

In a spectacular display,

Quite a thrill!

But dad’s pedantry would temper my glee…

Disappointingly he’d decided to decorate on Easter Sunday,

Meaning tension around the house;

The main bedroom was his Bank Holiday goal

And any help was soon discouraged,

Indeed was shunned,

For dad would commandeer the major role…

Frustratingly the work continued on Easter Monday,

Certainly a let down for me,

For Villa were playing at home again

But dad refused to take me there:

I was stunned…

Mom carefully interjected but dad’s obstinacy remained…

Incredibly on that warm, sunny Easter Monday,

Dad told me to go to the game alone,

Which concerned me, no, worried me for certain;

I recall looking down at him sitting

Papering the wall,

Frowning and moody beneath a hanging curtain…

Warily on that Bank Holiday Easter Monday,

Eleven years old, I caught two buses

To watch Notts Forest trounced 5-1;

I recall feeling glad that I had made the effort,

Despite my gall

And silently prayed dad was rueing that he’d not gone…

Pete Ray

January 2017

I wasn’t 12 until the September, when I would catch two buses, the 55 and then the ‘Inner Circle 8’ to school in Aston.

I was quiet. I was very shy.

On this occasion, I could not believe that dad, a real Villa fan would not take me to the match on that Monday, especially after Leicester had been thrashed on the Saturday.

I’m not sure who went with me to the Leicester match but it certainly wasn’t dad.

I was nervous to go alone, but I did so, catching the 55 bus and the ‘Outer Circle’ 11 to Witton, then watching the game from the open Witton end, near the top of the stepped terrace. The North Stand would replace that space of course and over the 1962 Easter Bank Holiday weekend Villa had netted 13 times, conceding 4 over the two days against their East Midlands opponents…

In the Leicester team were Gordon Banks, who conceded 8 on the day and Frank McClintock, whilst in the Forest team were Peter Grummitt, Geoff Vowden (later to play for Birmingham and Villa) plus Colin Addison…