Pigeon Lofter

100% too! It's good to go down Memory Lane!

Fund

Tar

I remember that game very well! I think it was a Christmas or New Year game....the weather was atrocious, lashing freezing rain all game and a thick fog which almost got the match abandoned. I was in the stand opposite the tunnel and couldn't see what was going on in the far corners or sometimes across the field. There were ooohs and aaahs and intermittent cheers to guide us that something had happened. As an Oldham fan, losing that game hurt but in truth Hornets were the better team back then and brought good support. My other memory of that game is the Hornets fullback Chamberlain taking a pot at goal from the side of the ground where I was standing and aiming at the Herbert Street/ covered stand at the social club end. Chamberlain was an old school kicker....he built a monolithic launch tower by knocking up loads of turf with his heel, pointed the ball almost flat like a torpedo and then, to the booing of a few thousand Oldhamers charged in a straight line and belted it full on with his toecap. The atmospherics were so debilitating that day that the ball never had the legs to make it to the posts and it fell short. Chaimberlain, who was a phenomenal kicker, stood there perplexed and confused as to why the kick didn't carry. It was the Watersheddings micro climate! It was a filthy, filthy day when that game was played, even by Sheddings standards!

One season in the early 1970s Oldham had a tall winger called Norman Hodgekinson. In his first season, he had the Midas touch running in tries from long distance and outstripping defences as though they were stuck in concrete. Every time the ball was funnelled his way a score was possible. Great times! The following season,he lost his bottle and struggled even to catch the ball. From a terrace hero to an absolute dud. Amazing how his confidence vanished like the morning mist. He disappeared without trace after being the darling of the terraces.

Seemed like he played in every game I ever watched, he must have been the first name on the teamsheet back in the day. A fearless hooker, when hooking was both an art and perhaps the most dangerous position on the field, he packed down with the best of 'em. I think he was a plumber when not wearing the number 9 shirt, he was very well known both on the field and off it. RIP Kevin, a great Oldhamer and a great rugby leaguer.

Slave

Key

Bones

Delilah

Deep

Balls

Money

That's the unfortunate perception I get too, having watched a fair few TO home games....they do seem to be massively punished where the opposition is allowed leeway. I can't believe is conscious prejudice but it seems to happen more often than not, and the same applies watching Catalans home games too. Not sure what to make of it but it doesn't seem right.

Do you get recognised whilst going to the shops (assuming you do go shopping) in RL Land? Is there still a novelty factor being a Londoner in Lancashire?