THE morning after proudly becoming Mayor of Shildon, Councillor Henry Nicholson officially opened Durham Amateur Football Trust’s latest exhibition at the National Railway Museum.

It was appropriate because we kicked round together as raggytrousered urchins, lived a few yards apart, knew one another when we had nowt and on occasion when it was hard to know where the next nowt was coming from.

Back then he was known as Harry, and reckoned that our house was posh. “It was the first time I’ve seen sandwiches cut diagonally,” said the mayor, as if to define the term.

“You had egg and tomato, too.”

The Nicholsons, he added, had to make do with lemon curd.

It also seemed appropriate that the DAFT exhibition should record the Northern League’s 125th anniversary, since Henry himself kept goal – much better than I – for Bishop Auckland, Willington and one or two others.

Sadly, since Shildon’s football history is less sceptred than some, just one exhibit acknowledged the old homestead – a poster for the FA Cup quarter-final match, February 21, 1959, against Walthamstow Avenue.

It ended 1-1, Shildon losing the replay.

Robbed, said the mayor.

The exhibition only runs until tomorrow evening. Cllr Nicholson, happily, still has almost a year in which further to promote the town.

REPORTING the second day of the current Somerset v Durham cricket match, the BBC website – spotted by Martin Birtle – notes that Somerset were looking to overtake the “poultry” target set by Durham.

No doubt there’ll have been sporting declarations, either.

That’s the trouble with captains today: chicken.

LLOYD THOMAS, one of a family of famous footballers, has died. He was 97.

We’d written of Lloyd and his wife Jessie in December 2009, their diamond wedding anniversary. “She was the only one I wanted,” said Lloyd.

“I was the only one who’d have him,” said Jessie, four years his junior.

His dad, forever Ticer, was a World Cup winner with West Auckland and an Amateur Cup winner with the Bishops.

His son David made his Burnley debut at 16, transferred to QPR for £169,000 – a vast fortune in 1972 – and was eight times capped by England. Lloyd hadn’t got much further than the Auckland and District League championship with Shildon RA, the trophy still on the mantelpiece of the house in West Auckland where he’d lived for more than 90 years.

As young David grew up, chiefly encouraged by his grandfather, the house attracted more scouts than the county camp at Raby Castle.

“They were here all the time, near pestered us to death,” said Lloyd.

“After we got up I’d tell my wife to look in the garden, in case they’d been sleeping there all night.”

Lloyd, lovely man, was also an enthusiastic brass bandsman. His funeral is at St Helen’s Auckland church at 2pm tomorrow.

REFERENCE a couple of weeks ago to Middlesbrough Reserves prompts Steve Leonard to drop in a 1961 copy of The Dunelmian – the Durham Referees’ Association magazine – in which Darlington ref Tom Peden recalls a North Eastern League game between South Shields and Boro Reserves in 1957. Shields had won their first nine matches; Boro, second, won 3-0 through Peacock, Day and Henderson. The crowd was 9,500. “It was just like being at Wembley,” said Tom.

Middlesbrough’s first team also prospered that day, Brian Clough answering the England selectors who declined to pick him with both goals against Fulham. “A two goal gesture,” said the Echo, and possibly a two-fingered one, as well. Sunderland fared less well, a 6-0 defeat at Burnley following a seven goal hiding at Blackpool the week previously.

THOUGH the accompanying photograph may most kindly be described as myopic, last week’s column noted that Witton Park goalkeeper Wayne Ayre played his Crook and District League football in glasses.

John Briggs in Darlington points out that it’s happened at a rather level – England keeper Jim Mitchell was bespectacled against Ireland in 1924.

Sheffield United’s first goalie, chap called Howlett, also wore glasses, too and, even, before the rule was changed, probably didn’t see much of the ball from his defenders.

As Dorothy Parker almost observed, men seldom make passes to goalies in glasses.

….and finally, last week’s column sought the identity of the last English manager to lift the FA Cup. It was Harry Redknapp, then of Portsmouth, in 2009. Himself recovering from a day at the FA Cup final, and a long night thereafter, the younger bairn invites readers to suggest what the current managers of Leeds United FC and Leeds Rhinos Rugby League club have in common. Common touch, the column returns next week.