Fitba 7 days a Week

Fitba 7 days a week

This photo was taken from my mothers kitchen, you can see 80 % of the football pitch, " The Wee Farm " just to the left there was a Hugh Oak Tree, that always had a rope swing on it, how did we get the heavy rope up and over the high branch, easy, tied string to a stone and threw it over, tie it to the rope, every one who was either in the Boys Brigade or Scouts knew how to tie a slip knot, ...we had a swing

But my interests were Football, and I classed myself the 2nd best goalkeeper in Scotland, next to Jimmy Cowan, Morton's keeper, I always went in goal and having scrolled my angle line from the penalty spot as Jimmy done, I was ready, I always played in that goal to the left of the Oak Tree, out of mothers eyes, many a time you would hear the dreaded shout " Billy Sinclair, are you down there " all the lads knew to ignore my mother and carry on playing football, BUT, there was always one wee skinny lassie, with legs like knots in cotton, playing in Keir Hardie St.., would shout, " There's he's there Mrs. Sinclair " so I had to show my face, " Whit dae ye waant Mammy ", "I want you to go a message" she would shout, that time I had 4 sisters, Ray & Jessie were working, Jean was too young and our Ann ( Ann Gorbould on Face book ) well she was too daft to send messages, by the time she went from 2 Irwin St to the Shops she had forgotten what she went for, if mother gave her a note, 9 times out of 10 she lost it, so I had a abandon my match and run home, as I wasn't allowed to cross the railway line, I had to run up the track to the Low Bridge, up the Gibshill Brae, to Irwin St.. get mothers massage, then back to the wee farm and the game

The game was never 90 minutes long as matches were, it was like 9:00am till dark, every once in a while we would get hold of a proper football, but those days were few and far between, our leather ball's bladder war repaired that often it was passed it's day, so we stuffed our ball with paper, true ..Paper, but we played on, nobody could afford a proper football then, sometimes the men would lend us theirs, but only if we were pals with his younger brother of our age, but we didn't care, our paper stuffed football worked just as well, every game was like an international, I was Jimmy Cowan, John Boyle was Tommy Orr, Andy McMaster was Billy Steel, and Ian McDonald our Captain ( As it was his ball ) Billy Campbell, Yes we were all internationals down the Wee Farm.