Hatters Worldwide - 8 Phil Nuttall ( Canada )

 

 

 

 

Hatters Worldwide- 8 Phil Nuttall ( Canada)

 

On to number 8 in the series then, and this time hedgegrower is undebted to Phil Nuttall for his story. Phil has settled happily in Canada , and this is that story told in his own words:-

 

 

Born in Stockport , my Mum worked at the Infirmary in ER and Dad on Greek Street beside Harrison’s .... I lived in High Lane most of those years and went to Marple Hall before heading South to Somerset and then University in Birmingham ...

 

First saw County at age of 10, standing in the Paddock against Halifax Town 1965 ...Johnny Price, Len Allchurch et al...it was like discovering oxygen and I have been hooked since.

 

 Proper Stopper- image p nuttall

 

 

 

 

I watched County pretty much as a full time regular through 60’s and 70’s ( still have the programme from the night v Hamburg when Uwe Seeler led the German attack )

 

 Ace prog- image p nuttall

 Look at that line up- image p nuttall

 

 

 

...........saw Kevin Keegan play for Scunthorpe ( programme got his name wrong), and despite the drubbing  ( v Hamburg) things got serious....saw pretty much all first team games and a lot of second team games...fondly remember standing in the rain while the character everyone knew as Arthur gently chided a linesman about his sexuality, parenthood ( and lack there of ) and general chances of wanting to live another day after he flagged an offside call denying County a goal.

 

Travelled around the country to such famous places as The Shay and Rodney Parade, Eastgate, Gay Meadow, Fellows Park, and less famous places like Workington and BPA and stories and memories of hundreds of games.

 

 Famous Places- image p nuttall

 

Lived the Halcyon years of Fryatt and Atkins, and promotion “the one nil gun” and the desperate years of 50p admission and empty stands, all the time getting to games where ever possible. Only in more recent times depressingly have  stadia of the ilk of Ilkeston, Alfreton ,Blyth, and Spennymoor crept in .

 Ilkeston -`ugh!`- image p nuttall

 

 

 

 

In the early 80’s I spent a couple of seasons at Walton & Hersham (Rymans League) played with an ageing Alan Morton who had once donned a County sweater .Alan who had played with Palace was now a greens keeper at West Byfleet Golf Club .He said it was most “fun” club he ever played for ..and he only played a handful of games .

 

I left the UK permanently at the end of 1983 – I had quite simply had enough of Thatcher ( thought 3500 miles was adequate distance between her and me). Worked in the States then Canada and now live in a little village on Rice Lake in central Ontario .....Hastings, but over the next 35 years I have made it back almost every year since 1983 to  see County play somewhere in UK . 

 

 Place on the Lake- images p nuttall

 

 

 

 

But…. 2020 has and will break that streak, I can wear my County Blues and scarf, but it won’t quite make up for that nervous energy as the teams line up on a carpet of green in front of a noisy Cheadle end and a main stand of cynics and next day coaches.

 

 

Unquestionably County have given me 55 years of purpose on a Saturday morning ( 5 hrs time difference) and now with Twitter and streaming and u tube I see more than ever ..my County Blue Robinson’s sweater is still a source of great pride and a lifetime of memories are worthy of many…. many smiles.

 

 Canada...Reality- image p nuttall

 

 

 

Life here has been good from the backwaters of a small chicken farm in High Lane I now have a decent sized horse ranch on the edges of a small village overlooking Rice Lake 

 Place on the Lake 2- image p nuttall

 

 

 

 

 

Whilst 2020 has been a year to forget and a year with no travel, I will never forget those Friday nights on Hardcastle Road as the tobacco smoke rose from under the steel roof of the Popular Side , and the players ran out across the gantry above my head

 

Want to say thanks for all your contributions that help bind everyone who supports this club together you have done a most excellent job

 

Phil Nuttall

 

Massive thanks to Phil  for his story , and we hope that County supporters over here get the opportunity to make his acquaintance  in the near future!

Finally though, you are perhaps perplexed by the header photo showing Phil in cricket gear.

Back to Phil again then, and he tells it thus `I played a few games for Somerset,Notts and Surrey but never beyond U25 and Second X1 ...some decent cricket out here though, mostly because of South East Asian influence ...we toured South Africa in 2016 ,West Indies 2018 and were planning Australia in 2022 ...our season is same as UK ..so tour in winter.`

 

Next up is a belter from Oz, but after that..............?......we`d love to hear from County exiles anywhere on the globe, or......if you know an exile....please give him/her a nudge in hedgegrower`s direction ! 

 

hedgegrower