Childhood memories… and my first big one as an adult!

It’s Day 4 of The Streets of Stockport as Des Junior goes back home to Heaton Norris

The Scarf My Father Wore

Feb 16, 2024

Friday 16 February 2024

NEXT HOME GAME: Swindon – Saturday 24 February, 3pm

NEXT AWAY GAME: Tranmere – Saturday 17 February, 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 Friday edition of The Scarf My Father Wore.

I was at The Old Nags Head in Manchester last night doing my usual five-minute open mic comedy routine. Afterwards, me and my mate drove to Nook in Heaton Moor. We’d both performed at the venue the previous Thursday, so couldn’t really do the same material again. Instead, I decided to have some fun with the locals by trying some improvised comedy, after getting them all to write down anything they liked on a piece of paper…

Speaking of Heaton Moor, that’s where I was at the start of this month for my first big walk of 2024. I covered a little bit of Heaton Moor at the top end of Green Lane, but mainly, I was strolling round Heaton Norris, taking in my childhood home and primary school. I’ve loved putting today’s piece together. If you enjoy reading it, please pop a couple of quid on my JustGiving page.

Today’s edition is sponsored by Beespoke Cleaning and GTG Gary The Gasman. A big thank you to both Vicky and Gary.

Vicky supplies all aspects of cleans, from regular to one-off and general to end-of-tenancy. Give her a call on 07445 256191 or email info@beespokecleaning.com if you’ve got a house or office that needs a good clean.

If you’re in need of any heating or plumbing services, Gary’s a former British Gas engineer with 38 years experience, providing quality work at an affordable price. You can reach him on 07931 416165 or email garythegasman@yahoo.com.

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: 97.67 miles

Total steps so far: 160,432

Total raised so far: £1,561

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

I’m pissed off. A middle-aged man sat behind me on the 192 is eating a banana. I don’t normally have anything against middle-aged men or bananas, but this particular middle-aged man is eating this particular banana with his mouth wide open and it sounds like a hungry cat demolishing a tin of tuna. It’s grim, and it’s properly bugging me. I’m only on the bus a matter of minutes, from Grand Central to Heaton Road, but Bananaman has properly wound me up by the time I disembark in Heaton Norris, and I’m usually as laid back and chilled as they come. Fortunately, my bad mood is abated as soon as I pop into the petrol station Morrisons on the A6 to grab a bottle of water, as the Queen classic “Radio Ga Ga” is playing, which I’m still humming to myself as I head down Heaton Road.

We’re venturing into Heaton Norris today, the place I called home for the first 18 years of my life, from baby to toddler to primary school to secondary school and finally, to manhood, losing my virginity in an upstairs bedroom on Pendennis Road on April Fools Day 2002. No, that’s not a joke. And I know the date off the top of my head as County beat Watford 2-1 at Edgeley Park earlier that day. Never mind oysters or foreplay or viagra, it seems all it takes is a Luke Beckett 59th minute winner to get you in the mood.

The house where your editor became a man

If we’ve got any kinky readers joining us today hoping this article is going to get all Fifty Shades of Grey, I’m afraid I’m going to disappoint you. I mean, from what I can remember the sex was rather enjoyable, don’t get me wrong. But my abiding memory from that first experience is giving it an almighty thrust, which sent all of my PlayStation games crashing out of my headboard and onto the wooden floor, prompting my mum to shout upstairs checking if everything was alright. I really was excited having seen County beat Watford.

I’m loving every single second of this walk today. Happy, nostalgic memories come flooding back everywhere I look. Whether it’s playing at a friend’s house, or going on a bike ride, or kicking a ball round the streets, wherever I go I’m walking in my childhood footsteps. It’s a nice feeling.

Bowerfold Lane instantly takes me back to my childhood summers. Sometimes we’d go for an adventure in the surrounding fields, feeding the horses or playing Manhunt, but more often than not, from the minute the sun came up to the minute it went down, we’d be playing football on Bowerfold Open Space, known to everyone in the area as “The Bonks”.

As I walk onto the grass today, there’s no goalposts. There was in the 90s. During those summer holidays, we’d sometimes have full 20-a-side football matches, with kids from all over Heaton Norris. On quieter days, it’d just be me and my best mate, taking it in turns to go in goal while the other blasted penalties and free-kicks and volleys for hours on end. Whenever I scored a goal, I’d celebrate like Brett Angell or Alun Armstrong, sprinting over to the horses with my arms in the air pretending they were ecstatic County fans.

After lunch – a delicious bowl of red pepper and tomato soup at The Nursery Inn, the first official home ground of Stockport County – I walk up Green Lane, which takes me back to primary school.

Norris Bank brings back many more happy childhood memories. As with most of the reminiscing from my younger days, football is at the forefront of my mind. Our manager of the school team was a wonderful man (and County fan) called Mr Snellgrove. I thoroughly enjoyed his lessons (I can still remember Friday mornings when the whole class would take part in a fun maths game, with jelly sweets given to the winners!) but my favourite memory is pulling on the green and black shirt and representing my school under his leadership.

Your editor (middle row) with Mr Snellgrove (top right)

Mr Snellgrove handed me my debut in year four, which was rare, before I played regularly in year five and pretty much every game in year six. My dream throughout primary school was to play in the cup final at Edgeley Park. The closest I came was in year six (my final year) when I truly believed we were going to make it to County as we had a decent side. Unfortunately, we lost 3-0 in the semi-final. I was in tears after the game, along with my teammate Chris Todd, who was also a diehard County fan. Mr Snellgrove, of course, was on hand to console us.

I played as a winger or a striker for Norris Bank, so I didn’t captain my school team, but Mr Snellgrove did hand me the armband in my final game for my school. I had so much respect for my manager and teacher, it was an incredibly proud moment to be chosen as captain. The heartbreak of the cup semi-final diminished as we won the Holgate Shield, and I was fortunate enough to lift the trophy at Didsbury Road Primary School after the game. An extremely special ending to my Norris Bank years, which were happy from start to finish. A wonderful school with wonderful people.

That Holgate Shield success was in 1996. And how’s this for an ending to today’s article. 27 years later, guess who became a paid The Scarf My Father Wore subscriber on the very first day I turned payments on. None other than Mr Snellgrove himself, who also sent me a lovely message which included this line: “I will always remember the talk you gave on County at Norris Bank never believing it would lead to this.”

Stockport’s a special town; County’s a special club. That’s why I’m doing this walk. It’s my way of giving something back. Don’t get me wrong, I’m getting loads of pleasure from the walk from a personal point of view, revisiting old childhood haunts whilst also exploring areas of the town I’ve never been to before, but my driving motivation is raising money for Mentell, a fantastic Stockport-based mental health charity which offers support to County fans and many others across the town. I’ve made it past the £1,500 barrier, please help me to get up to £2,000.

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

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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 long away trips coming up. 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.

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Is it time for a new boiler?

You might have an old boiler in your house that isn’t as efficient as it once was. Perhaps now would be a good time to give GTG Gary The Gasman a call and have it replaced.

Gary has replaced old systems with new A-rated boilers recently for lots of happy customers.

The boilers are all fitted with protective magnetic filters and standard wireless controls or smart controls for better efficiency leaving customers with reliable and well-functioning boilers!

If you’d like a quote for any work, give Gary a call on 07931 416165 or email garythegasman@yahoo.com.

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Photo of the day

The Old Nags Head, Manchester

Stand up comedy gig last night. The Old Nags Head in Manchester, just off Deansgate. A proper Manc pub, absolutely covered in photos of Tony Wilson, George Best, Oasis etc. It’s also the sort of establishment where staff have to be told to wash their hands immediately after using the bog. I managed to catch a few laughs, hopefully I haven’t ended up catching anything else…

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Today in SK

💿 DJs

Stockport’s biggest party at the weekend is at Bask (SK1), with DJ Gareth Brooks playing till 3am. Last entry 1.30am.

The Nelson Tavern (SK1) have their resident DJ playing on a Friday night, with Dicko (Ian Dickinson) on from 8pm till 1am.

🌭 Food and drink

Treat yourself to the February special from Enigma (SK1). Just £5 for a hot dog with grilled onions, ketchup and mustard, skin-on fries, and any ground bean coffee. Serves till 10pm.

If you’re in Stockport today, pop into The Petersgate Tap (SK1) for a pint or two. Open till 11pm.

Enjoy a delicious meal at The Dog & Partridge (SK2). You’ll also receive 20% off your bill. Just mention the discount at the till when paying!