A Valentine’s Eve stroll around The Heatons

Des Junior heads for Singleton Road, enjoys another bowl of soup, and reminisces about sprinting down Peel Moat Road on Sunday nights in the 90s

Feb 27, 2024

Tuesday 27 February 2024

NEXT HOME GAME: Newport – Saturday 9 March, 3pm

NEXT AWAY GAME: Colchester – Saturday 2 March, 3pm

If you’d like to write an article for The Scarf My Father Wore, share a few snippets or photos, or advertise your business, please email thescarfmyfatherwore@substack.com.

Dear County fans, Stopfordians, and anyone else from The Football Family joining us today, a very warm welcome to your Tuesday edition of The Scarf My Father Wore.

Today’s edition is landing in your inbox a bit later than usual, but I’m sure you won’t shout at me, as I’ve been pounding the streets of Stockport for Mentell once again. I’ve walked another 15 miles today, which has taken me past the 100 mile mark. I’ve got a big blister on my right foot, I’m knackered (having tackled some of the giant hills of Heaton Norris), and I got absolutely drenched this afternoon, before taking shelter in a bus stop on Didsbury Road. Chuck a few quid on my JustGiving page to cheer me up!

This has been Day 7 of my walk today, which I’ll write up this week, including a lunchtime soup review from a brand new venue! This evening, however, let me take you through Day 6 of the walk, which took place exactly a fortnight ago before the Crewe game.

Our ‘Flynny at the Finger’ event is selling well at the moment – an evening with County legend Mike Flynn at The Fingerpost on Wednesday 17 April. Start time 7.30pm. If you’d like to join us, please email thescarfmyfatherwore@substack.com. Tickets are only £5 or £10.

Today’s edition is sponsored by SW Appliances. A big thank you to Steve. If you’re looking for a new oven or a washing machine at the moment, have a look around Steve’s showroom on Castle Street before the Newport game next week.

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: 113.33 miles

Total steps so far: 184,956

Total raised so far: £1,611

Total completed streets so far: 156 (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

It’s the day before Valentine’s Day. Some couples might be planning a romantic trip to a city like York. Others might be ordering last minute gifts from Thorntons. Me? I’m a singleton at the moment so I don’t have to worry about any of that nonsense. I can simply enjoy another nice stroll around The Heatons before making my way to Edgeley Park for the Crewe game.

I have been told women quite like a man who can make them laugh. Well if it’s humour you’re after ladies, look no further. There’s a new comedy genius in town. After walking down Chandos Road, I manage a whopping FOUR likes on Twitter with this belter: “If Chandler from Friends ever decided to open a chicken place in Heaton Chapel.”

Regular The Scarf My Father Wore readers will know I’ve started having a crack at stand-up comedy this year, but I haven’t yet given up on my other dream of becoming a professional footballer. I’m only 39; I still think I could do a job for England. Unfortunately Gareth isn’t at home when I knock on his door to ask where my first cap is.

I am joking, obviously. I’ve probably missed the boat when it comes to representing my country, although I’m confident I could still do a job at club level for someone shit… like Burnley or Stoke.

Back in the 90s, all I wanted to do was play football. Even whilst at school, I’d be out three or four nights a week, scoring goals in all weathers. (Teammates would probably tell you I put the ball anywhere but the goal.) Heading down Peel Moat Road, I instantly remember Sunday nights on the astro turf at Peel Moat Recreation Centre. The weekly game kicked off at 9pm, but my best mate and I were always late. Every single week. That’s because Dream Team was on at 8pm on Sky One. We were utterly hooked on the trials and tribulations of Harchester United, and so we’d wait for the credits to roll (usually about 8.54pm) before sprinting as fast as we could from Heaton Norris to Heaton Moor. I can’t recreate any of my goals/misses today, as Peel Moat’s been demolished and replaced with a school.

I’m back at The Elizabethan for lunch (once again) but they do serve up a very tasty bowl of soup. Afterwards, I tick off Harrow Drive, Kensington Close, Newham Lane, Merton Crescent and Kingston Grove – five streets which make up a new, modern housing estate off Buckingham Road. I say, new. I’m not entirely sure when this place was built, but I’m 99% certain it wasn’t here when I was a kid. Good job too. One of my wayward shots on Peel Moat might have smashed their windows.

As the light begins to fade, there’s just enough time to see a few more of Heaton Moor’s attractions, such as Heatons Tattoo Club and The Seashell (“frying the best fish and chips in the Stockport area since 1875”), before I catch a 192 to Grand Central. Love is in the air at Stockport station, with a pop-up shop offering commuters roses and balloons, but there’s broken hearts in SK3 later that evening, as Crewe beat County 3-1.

As we’ve had a bit of a Valentine’s theme running through today’s feature, it feels pertinent to leave you with one of those stereotypical poems which make you gush/vomit in the middle of February each year.

Roses are red… violets are blue… even though they won… Crewe smashed up the loos.

If you’re able to spare a few quid, please click here to make a donation to Mentell through my JustGiving page.

Leave a comment

CHILL OUT! (with this brand new fridge freezer)

I don’t want to be accused of slander by a man with significantly more money than me, but I reckon Jeff Bezos has never set foot inside Edgeley Park. On that basis alone, don’t buy your kitchen appliances on Amazon. Get them from SW Appliances instead, a business owned by County fan Steve Gibbons.

Whether you visit Steve’s showroom on Castle Street, or purchase online, SW Appliances have hundreds of products in stock. You won’t get a personal service from Bezos if you buy a kettle off him, but you will if you do business with Steve. He’s the appliance version of a train spotter and what he doesn’t know about appliances simply isn’t worth knowing. (That’s not an insult by the way, it’s on his website.)

Perhaps you’re in need of a new fridge freezer at the moment. How about the one in the picture? With a total combined food storage of 280L, this Zanussi ZBB28441SV integrated fridge freezer certainly has the capacity to store family-sized quantities of food. It’s divided 70/30 between fridge and freezer, and features a low-frost freezer and a low electricity consumption as shown by its A+ energy rating. And it’s currently on sale for £399.99, reduced from £499.99.

Visit swappliances.co.uk for further details.

Leave a comment