Rita, Keith and I are in the British Legion to choose a menu for the wake. We’re at the end of the long bar. It’s early afternoon and the Staff are busily taking stock to the sound of music piped through speakers. Rita points to the far end of the bar- ‘Dad’s photo is pinned […]

Fourteen stationed for the cross: It was never a free kick! This ponce of a referee is on auto pilot – the defender is innocent as a lamb chop. This lot use Klinsmann as their roll model. Their forwards dive deeper than Galilee But this one’s riding on my shoulders. A whistle at last! He […]

The chant was offensive, the play was defensive, when the black winger shrugged off the ‘Coco Pops’ jibe, made a monkey of the full back, hit a banana shot that snapped crackled and popped from his boot, spooned the brown ball into the white net, and turned, one black hand raised, to milk the applause. […]

Having missed a score of chances, the goal the scorer thought he’d scored was scratched off the scoresheet for offside, so the scoreline remained scoreless. A win would have secured the club- their name inscribed on the cup. Instead, they had a score to settle with the referee, who manifestly had not scored for seasons. […]

My city has no boundaries It travels where its offspring roam My thoughts now shape what once shaped me Old clipper ships and slavery Are storylines in dusty tomes A city has no boundaries Twin talismans of heraldry Keep vigil on the Liver domes My thoughts now shape what once shaped me Black buildings grimed […]