A tribute to Lisa Braithwaite
“It goes without saying that everyone who knew Lisa felt welcomed into her company with her beaming smile that brightened up all interactions”
Thursday 7 December 2023
NEXT HOME GAME: Sutton – Saturday 16 December, 3pm
NEXT AWAY GAME: Morecambe – Saturday 9 December, 3pm
Dear County fans, Stopfordians, and anyone else joining us today, a very warm welcome to your Thursday edition of The Scarf My Father Wore.
It was only five days ago we published a tribute to Ian Duncan, in memory of a much-loved County fan who’d recently passed away. Sadly, we’re doing the same today. Robert McNally – a County fan from Wolverhampton who many of you will recognise – shares this beautiful piece of writing with us, following the tragic death of Lisa Braithwaite. If you’d like to make a donation to support Lisa’s husband Les with the funeral costs, please click here.
Today’s edition is sponsored by Beespoke Cleaning. They supply all aspects of cleans, from regular to one-off and general to end-of-tenancy. Give Vicky a call on 07445 256191 or email info@beespokecleaning.com if you’ve got a house or office that needs a good clean.
Finally, I’m currently walking every street in Stockport to raise money for mental health charity Mentell. If you’d like to make a donation to help me reach my target, please click here.
Total distance so far: 46.68 miles
Total steps so far: 83,302
Total raised so far: £1,027
Total completed streets so far: 24 (Click here for the full list, which includes reports and photos from every day of the walk.)
Further information on the walk can be found by clicking here.
Des Junior
I’ve been watching County since 1974 but I didn’t meet Lisa and Les until around February 2010. A group of County fans invited me to meet up at the Crucible Snooker Club on Edward Street (long since demolished) and it was there I was introduced to Lisa and Les – a wonderful couple who became very good friends.
A group of around 30 County fans regularly met at the Crucible before home games – Steve Cree, Kevin (Moose) Moss, Steve Brinner, Dave Hobson, Edd Powell, Paul Shatwell, Paul Smith, Simon Nield and Nathan Downes to name just a few – and together with Lisa and Les we’d socialise and talk about nothing else but County. Such was our bonding and brotherhood as friends that Moose and myself titled us as “The County Family”. Lisa held a very special place within that family. It was always a pleasure and a privilege to be in Lisa’s company, laughing and joking, and seeing her smile as wide as the whole world.
Lisa and Les were devoted to County, travelling together on away days. During some of the dark days in non-league when the team and the club were struggling, their commitment to support County continued on.
It was always hard not to mention one without the other; it was always Lisa and Les or Les and Lisa and that’s the way it will always be because when we mention Les we will never forget Lisa.
As the Crucible closed down, eveybody moved on to Edgeley or other venues before the County games. But if you ever hear Les refer to “The County Family” you’ll know it was the Crucible where that phrase was born.
Lisa was such a happy-go-lucky kind of girl, and socialised constantly, along with Les, from The Armoury to The Pineapple and everywhere else on Castle Street. Everyone on Edgeley knew them as a devoted couple, always by each other’s side. Wherever Les was, Lisa would always be close by.
It goes without saying that everyone who knew Lisa felt welcomed into her company with her beaming smile that brightened up all interactions. She had it all – just a lovely, beautiful lady with bags of hugs and love to give, and a heart of gold.
I always found in Lisa that her trust and loyalty were impeccable. She always turned up to meet me for a drink and a chat, not once letting me down.
Lisa was County through and through and wore the shirt with pride. She was a loyal and devoted friend – the salt of the earth – and will never be forgotten.
I cried many tears when I heard she had sadly passed away. It was only a week before she was admitted to hospital that we hugged and kissed. What it would mean to be able to hug her once more. Now my heart goes out to Les, whose entire world has fallen apart.
God bless you Lisa. Things will never be the same without seeing your smiling face on Edgeley. You will be truly missed by many.
A tribute to Lisa Braithwaite, who passed away last week after a short illness, at the age of 56.
Beespoke Cleaning can provide a weekly, fortnightly or monthly service for you
Look how spotless this place is. I’m not saying your place isn’t, but it would be nice to get a bit of help with the cleaning, wouldn’t it? Especially for County fans, as they spend a lot of time away from home. There’s loads of away trips coming up in December. Wouldn’t it be nice to get back to Stockport from your travels and find your home in immaculate condition.
Beespoke Cleaning can do exactly that for you, whether you’d like their services once a week, once a fortnight or even once a month. The business has been operating since 2010, with a long list of satisfied regular customers, as cleaning projects are completed in a timely manner and with the highest level of quality.
Visit beespokecleaning.com for further details.
A Wednesday night in Wigan
Today in SK
🥘 Food and drink
Lunch deal at The Dog & Partridge (SK2). One course for £7 or two courses for £11. 12pm - 2pm.
Lite bite meal deal at The Friary (SK3). Cod or haddock, served with chips, and a side of peas, curry or gravy. Plus tea or coffee. £9.95. 11.30am - 7.30pm.
Taster Thursday at TRUNK (SK7). Three tapas dishes and a glass of sangria for £20 from 5pm. Call 0161 222 9260 to book a table, and mention “The Scarf My Father Wore” to receive a 15% discount off the normal tapas menu.
Enjoy a taste of India with Curry Thursday at Platform 5 (SK8). £14.45 for a curry, which includes rice, naan bread, poppadoms, mango chutney and a drink. 12pm - 8pm.
🎶 Free jukebox
Nelson Tavern (SK1). From 6.30pm.
🎱 Free pool
George & Dragon (SK7). 6pm - 9pm.
❓ Quiz night
Cheshire Line Tavern (SK8). 8pm. £3 per person. Cash prizes and vouchers for the winners, runners-up and team finishing second to last. Food available before the quiz, including two meals for £20.
We’ve got everything from Art & Gifts to Yoga
We might not have found a psychic from Poynton or a dominatrix from Davenport just yet, but we’ve pretty much got you covered for all other products and services you might need across Cheshire and Greater Manchester. Just take a look at this little lot…
Art & Gifts - Bookkeeping - Carpets & Flooring - Child Health - Cleaning - Coach Hire - Coatings - Dog Walking - Electrician - Financial Services - Fire Protection - Garage Doors - Gardening - Grout Refresh & Recolour - IT Services - Kitchen Appliances - Locksmith - Minibus Hire - Painter & Decorator - Party & Event Services - Plasterer - Publishing - Recruitment - Security Equipment - Solar Panels - Sports Coaching - Timber Supplies - Tutoring - Web Design - Women’s Fitness - Workwear - Yoga
On a serious note, our sponsors help us to keep The Scarf My Father Wore completely free of charge for everyone (rather than paying for a subscription, like most Substack websites) so if you do enjoy our daily offerings, please support them whenever you can. Make a mental note to yourself that whenever you need a cleaner, or a plumber, or a solicitor (or if you are looking for a dominatrix, send me a private message as I know a cracking lady in Heaton Moor…), check out our own directory before you head over to Google or Yell.com. Loads of the businesses we work with are County fans, and we’ve often got great offers for our readers as well.
Click here to have a look at all the businesses in our directory.
what a lovely memory of lisa. i have a lot of fond memories over the years. and what a lovely couple they were. lisa was so happy always smiling greeting you with the biggest hug.RIP lisa you will be missed xx
I never had the privilege of meeting Lisa but from this article can understand how she was loved by all who knew her. A lovely tribute- thank you to the author and to Des for creating this space for such fond and important memories to be recollected among us.