Friday night finds us in a box at The Hawthorns watching West Bromwich Albion take on Birmingham City. It's the first part of the special birthday celebrations for a very special lady. Edna, a dear friend from church has just turned ninety and she's determined to mark the event in style.
The
hospitality and the food are first-rate. Two former WBA players
visit bearing a bouquet of beautiful flowers and a box containing a blue and white
iced birthday-cake. Pictures are taken then it's out into the seats.
Sadly, WBA fall behind to an early headed goal by Gary Gardiner. Pushed back constantly by Birmingham they are fortunate to go in at half-time just a goal down. The second-half, however, starts in a very different fashion. A lovely free-kick from WBA skipper Chris Brunt is met by Dwight Gayle who heads home for the equaliser. It's game on!
Once more WBA fall behind as Luke Jutkiewicz out-jumps Jay Rodriguez to head home a Birmingham City corner. The advantage is neutralised again just nine minutes later following a controversial penalty award. Rodriguez puts away the goal, his seventh successive penalty conversion of the season.
The icing on the cake comes in the seventy third minute when Jake Livermore slots in a beautifully hit shot. The crowd is jubilant and goes out singing into the night.
We stay behind to let the traffic disperse and are given a short pitch-side tour of the now emptied stadium. What a night and what a marvelous way for Edna to mark her special birthday!!
Dear Sheddists,
Edna is a member of the church we attend and she's a football fanatic - it’s in her very blood!
Early memories
Edna’s earliest memories of football are as a young tomboy, accompanying her father to watch Blackpool play while her elder sister stays home. These are the heady days of Sir Stanley Matthews and Stan Mortensen, two of the finest footballers ever to grace ‘The Beautiful Game’.
The habit sticks and when Edna moves to London to train as a teacher she embraces dual-citizenship as both a Tottenham and an Arsenal supporter. She even finds time to sneak off to an odd Fulham fixture or two!
Cross-border moves
Now qualified, Edna moves to Scotland and on crossing the border she has her footballing passport stamped with the name of Glasgow Rangers.
A subsequent relocation to the Midlands sees Edna once more in search of a club to follow. And it’s here that at long last she finds a permanent footballing residence at The Hawthorns, home to her beloved West Bromwich Albion, the team she continues to support to this very day.
The international game
Whilst Edna’s principal allegiance is to the Baggies, she’s no stranger to the international game either. Her brother-in-law is a professional footballer who goes on to manage Barnsley.
He manages to secure her tickets to Wembley for a number of England fixtures which she enjoys greatly, albeit on her own. Her late husband, Ron, sadly does not share her passion for football.
From generation to generation
Football allegiances often transcend the generations and so proves to be the case for Edna’s family. She takes her youngest daughter, Jane to the Hawthorns whenever she can afford it and the investment pays off big-time. Both become long-standing season-ticket holders but now it’s Jane who takes her mum. Edna continues to treasure the time and common cause they’ve shared together over so many years.
It doesn’t stop there, though. Jane, in turn, passes on the love of football to her son, Ben and therein lies the story behind the photo above.
One life, one scarf
Sadly, Ben is diagnosed with Duchenne muscular dystrophy, a cruel disease that all too soon robs him of his life. But not before Ben declares his footballing allegiance. With the customary defiant spirit of independence that lights up his short life, Ben chooses not West Bromwich Albion but Liverpool.
This of course, poses more than a little difficulty when it comes to accompanying his mother and grand-mother to the Hawthorns. The problem is resolved speedily and effectively with the purchase of the split-scarf held aloft by Edna in the photograph above. It enables Ben to take his place in the home supporters section proudly bearing his true team’s colours!
So what connection does Edna see between football and faith? Perhaps it’s in the sharing of a common passion, a family united in support. And Edna … what a supporter you are!
Yours as ever,
electrofried(mr)
