Morrissey’s lyric “I could never, never, never go back home again” has always resonated with me. Having left my hometown 30 years ago due to some really difficult circumstances, there were times when I couldn’t face going back to where I grew up. At the same time, I missed the sense of community that comes from being around people who have the same cultural reference points as you.
For anyone else whose experience of Social Mobility means they have to leave their community behind, this can be a massive issue that shows up in the workplace as much as it does at home. Try navigating a table where everyone’s talking about securing a debenture at Lord’s when your knowledge of cricket is mostly the Barmy Army’s songs (the one about Murali is a BANGER!)…
So it was a real moment to be able to compere a recent football fundraising event at Hampshire FA alongside someone who had near mythical status during my teenage years – DJ Leroy Wilson!
Outside of the fact Leroy DJ’d every local music venue I set foot in (I should add his career spans far more exotic locations and bigger stages 🌟) it meant a lot to be able to talk to him about the people and places I had grown up around. He remembered my mum, her friends, the boys who’d ‘done good’ and the ones who’d got up to no good. We offered up names to each other and found that our circles overlapped in more ways than one – despite not having spent time together before, we have shared history.
The event itself was the 4th instalment of the ‘Winklebury Legends‘ football match set up by my friend’s mum; Cathy Nash – a former teacher at the secondary school I went to (demolished in 2019). Cathy created the event in memory of her football-loving husband and one of his friends who moved to Winklebury as part of the London Overspill. The event has since grown to acknowledge dozens of locals who are much loved and missed – each player wears the name of their ‘Legend’ on their back.
The commemorative programme produced for the event each year documents local history in an important way – it contains stories and testimony from those who have made Winklebury their home over the years, including those who found their land under compulsory purchase orders to make way for all these new people.
So far, these events have raised enough money to install four defibrillators in areas where underinvestment and public policy negatively impact families who are already under pressure. This year they’re buying and installing benches which will be painted by a local artist in designs submitted by children at the primary schools (the secondary school was never replaced…). Life saving and life-improving equipment.
Cathy’s project is a powerful example of how you can build community, the importance of social history, the power of grassroots football and what can be achieved with love and goodwill. It also gives me a positive reason to go ‘home’ – here’s to next year💗
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