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LOOKING BACK 22-9-07
Louis Spence
In the heart of some dark English city
Was a sight that turned everyone's head
When as if from some dream
Came a wonderful team
In a wild sea of Boro red
Through all of my life it's been with me
All the fears all the tears that I've bled
It won't run it won't yield
It's my comfort and shield
This wild sea of Boro red
Now this is a beautiful colour
When I've worn it I've laughed and I've cried
It was hewn from the iron men of legend
And it's run through with passion and pride
And now my Red Lion days are closing
As I lie on my funeral bed
I can see once again
All those brilliant men
In a wild sea of Boro red
Eight years ago I had the enormous pleasure of accompanying Steve Gibson (Boro Chairman AND fan) and his selected football team on a one week holiday to Cyprus to play the Armed Forces sides based there.
Amongst the playing squad were Bernie Slaven, Terry Cochrane, Gary Gill and Archie Stephens, all ex-Boro stalwarts. It was an absolute delight to be there and indeed to watch the three matches and join in the inevitable post match shenanigans. It was my brief to entertain the lads at dinner that evening with a few Boro songs.
I remembered back to my early days supporting Middlesbrough from the Holgate End and a quiet humorous old man who was there every week. He told me he went to all the away matches and how much joy it brought him when the lads won, especially away from home.
One time I turned up and old Jack wasn't there. His friend told me he was now bedridden but still thinking of the team. I decided in Cyprus to write a poem which paid tribute to the likes of Jack and read it at the last night dinner.
I am delighted to say it was well received. I later had a copy of the poem printed and framed and sent it to Steve Gibson as a thank you and a memento. (what would YOU get a multi-millionaire?). I received both a phone call and letter from him thanking me and informing me that he had the poem on his office wall.
I take great pleasure from writing and that was about the finest compliment, both as a would-be writer and a Boro fan, that I had ever received.
As the man once said, 'Poetry is to prose as dancing is to walking'.
Louis Spence
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