Portman Road to the Dell, by way of Broadlands

The Extra Time Footballing Story Box has been out and about recently, with some stunning results.

First, Shelly and I visited the Golden Days cafe at Portman Road, where over 60 people gathered to enjoy coffee and a chat.

It was a joy to share the Story Box with them and hear their stories about football; from working in hospitality at Portman Road to hair-raising moments at away matches, the Extra Time stories sparked all sorts of anecdotes.

The following day, poet Dean Parkin and I visited Broadlands Care Home in Oulton Broad, where residents shared their sporting stories, from demonstrating gymnastics to breaking windows with footballs. You can hear Dean reading the poems via the links at the bottom of this post.

After which, we visited the Dell Care Home and spent a delightful afternoon in the company of residents and staff, chatting about sporting fixtures, football chants and messing about in boats on the Broads – as illustrated in Dean’s poem, printed below.

Allsorts & Any Sports

Sadie serving at tennis, going for it,
with a whoosh!

Les used to play for the post office team
but they were rubbish.

Alan, a Chelsea fan, who knows his footie songs —
Nice one Cyril, nice one son…

Sheila’s no strange to Carrow Road and remembers
the workers on the Boulton Paul roof next to the ground,
watching the match with the best view.

And Sheila’s granddaughter went to University
took a Masters in football
and now works for West Ham.

Cyril can’t stand the fuss with football
but did like a game of darts.

Suzie sucks at sports but her mum does support Chelsea
while Shannon’s family supports Chelsea, Newcastle
Tottenham and West Ham!

Never football for Sylvia and John but they did like boats
and chugging across the broads at sunset,
with their beautiful chow taking pride of place
in the prow.