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Billy, The Gateshead barber.

John Oliver

Tuesday, February 24th, 2009

1 Leave a comment on verse 1 0 Old Billy was a barber
And when Billy cut your hair
Billy could talk for hours
Once he got you in the chair.
His favourite topic was Gateshead
The football team I mean
And it’s a bit of a understatement
To say Billy was rather keen.
His shop walls were full of photographs
Of famous players of the day
Like Mathews, Milburn, Mannion
And Gateshead’s Bobby Gray.
Billy never missed a home game
So on Saturday’s come One o’ clock
He would pull down the window shutters
And turn the key inside the lock.
So many football stories
With his customers he would share
And the one that thrilled me most of all
The day he cut Hughie Gallacher’s hair.
Aye lad, Billy told me
Hughie sat in that very chair
And just as a little keepsake
Ah kept a lock of hair.
Now Billy’s gone and wee Hughie’s gone
Both gone their seperate ways
Two legendary North East football men
From Gateshead’s golden day’s.

© Oliver 09.

Notes

It’s good to see my home town team Gateshead doing so well and hopefully on the way to bringing league football back to the town. The legendary Hughie Gallacher signed for Gateshead aged 35 at the end of a glittering career and scored 5 goals on his debut during the 38-39 season. He ended his life in tragic circumstances in 1957. Bobby Gray was a Redheugh Park favourite playing 432 games for the club. The barber shop was where I went for my short back n sides as a boy. Wonderful memories.

Source: http://footballpoets.org/poems/billy-the-gateshead-barber/