Farnley Lines

YOU are very fortunate to be reading this, for around three months ago I decided to sever all my ties with Huddersfield.Those among you who have an interest in ‘The Beautiful Game’ may suspect the reason. Those of you who haven’t deserve an explanation.

I have followed the fortunes, often misfortunes, of Lincoln City Football Club for more than seventy years. For some considerable time they had languished in the wilderness of non- league soccer until the arrival, as managers, of the former PE teachers, the Cowley brothers. Remarkable success in Cup and League saw them visit Wembley and rise rapidly to the dizzy heights of League One.

Their success meant that some larger club with more financial clout would tempt them away from Sincil Bank: cor-

DAVE BUSH

rection – from the LNER Stadium. How unromantic: the River Sincil replaced by a railway franchise! ‘O tempora, O mores’ as Cicero once said.

So which club came aknocking and waving fistfuls of cash? Huddersfield Town FC! (second exclamation mark most certainly justified). Predictably the Terriers have improved and the Imps are in decline.

Hence a dilemma. Bob and Janice Field had booked in at my Chestnut Drive residence prior to the seismic changes mentioned above. Could we cancel their booking?

We relented. Consequently we enjoyed their company during the October half term. Despite reaching a certain age Bob continues teaching part time at Greenhead College so his holidays are still dictated by school terms. I have now lost track of how many times he and his lovely wife have visited Porthcawl but we have so much in common and the conversation and red wine flow so easily. If you ask anyone where the Royal Mint is located the majority will say London. In fact it is at Llantrisant, north of Cardiff and a visit there was probably the highlight of their visit.

Visitors over the years

I have debated before if I dare list all those Old Almondburians who have made the effort to visit us in deepest South Wales. We appreciate it’s not the most convenient place to reach. However, here goes: Bob Field; Jack Taylor; Pat Reid;Walter Raleigh; Dave andWendy Bradford; Patrick O’Brien; Ken Leech; Nick Beaumont; Andrew Taylor; Denis Taylor; Richard and Nicky Green; Bryan Hopkinson; Jim Toomey; Andrew Haigh; Rachel nee Nixon; Dave Senior;Tony Cape; Bernard Redfern and Alan Bush.

I am sure there are others - if I’ve shall omitted you please do not be offended. Let me know of my oversight and there will be an addendum in the next issue.

Doreen Hinchliffe

Sadly there is one name which now will never appear on our visitors’ list: that of Doreen Hinchliffe. Doreen did visit the Gower Peninsula on more than one occasion but we were away each time. Her death last year (see page 42) brought great sadness. She was absolutely dedicated to King James’s School and an avid reader of The Almondburian.We shared many hilarious moments – she had a very earthy sense of humour- and many revolved around the time when Alan Conley was head. He had many fine attributes but facility with the English language was not one. This is the man who gave us such memorable phrases as ‘The Sexual Relations Act’, ‘The Vicious Triangle’, ‘The Infidelity Allowance’, and ‘Barking up a Dead Horse’. We loved him for them.

Doreen recounted that he once said “I’ll have you on the carpet, Mrs Hinchliffe.” I’m sure her reply of “Is that a threat or a promise, Mr Conley?” is apocryphal. Not surprisingly therefore, there were innumerable times when Doreen would come up to my room clutching a piece of paper on which AC had written a letter or article for typing up. “Mr Bush –we were always formal – what can we do with this?” We would pore over the item, full of crossings out and alterations and produce an acceptable version. I remember he once asked for the original version but Doreen lied that she had torn it up and thrown it in the wastepaper basket. She was a very gifted woman and reference to her talents will appear elsewhere in this issue. Her retirement speech at a hotel near Holmfirth was one of the finest I have ever heard. She was in every way a true Almondburian.