Poem: some things never change…
One lifelong Vale fan’s dedication to the club inspires Barry’s latest poem…
Barry Edge writes…
When old sage said to onevalefan ”If the present owner stays I’m finished” my heart reached out to him. Like most Valiants he has seen the good, bad and downright ugly of all things Port Vale.
No one, and I mean no one, can question his passion and dedication for our ’club and along with many of us he has fought in the trenches to keep alive our ‘League status to fight another day. But right now it seems old sage is more than a little battle weary and just wants us know this.
It goes without saying the following replies and discussion overwhelmingly understood old sage feeling the way he does.
Why do we still keep on keeping on in the name of Port Vale F.C.?
Maybe the answer / answers can be found in hamilboy’s reply to old sage in post #39 in which he tells us…
Some Things Don’t Change
I come from a family who have supported Port Vale
For five generations and possibly more
With my journey starting in the halcyon clime
Of the F.A. Cup back in ‘Fifty Four
For sixty four years I have followed the ‘Vale
And I’ve turned out regardless fair weather and fowl,
But the ‘Wembley of the North’ no longer compares
To the times when the crowds stood cheek by jowl
These days I drive to the Hamil Road end
And park in Synetics – a fiver a throw,
But that’s about it to my Burslem day out
And I keep asking myself “Why do I still go?”
I walk to the Bycars around the Railway Stand
Dodging puddles of water and doggy poo,
And with the ancient turnstiles a tight squeeze for me
I need to knock the gate to let me through
With my bowels in distress I make a dash
To empty my clog in the Bycars loo,
An experience that simply beggars belief
And a smell enough to make me spew
I must confess they’re better than back when I was young
For I can still remember walking through the door
No privacy existed – ‘twas a truly awful sight
Of back to back toilets in the middle of the floor
To sit and ponder Socrates whilst their privacy laid bare
Must have been desperation and certainly not much fun,
For it was easy to point one’s manhood
But much harder to show one’s bum
I go to take a my seat where I’ve sat for many years
But need to wipe it clean before I sit,
I look around the Bycars – so many empty seats –
But I’d rather be in here than sitting down the ‘Brit
The game is done and dusted – another scoreless draw,
And it seems to me the players just don’t care,
On top of which I’m thinking as I drive home in the dark
‘It truly is a shambles at the Port Vale Fair’
After hanging up my coat I slump onto the couch
With a drink in hand to ease my tortured brain,
And as crazy as it seems I promise all of you
I’ll be going to the next match to do it all again
Barry Edge
Western Australia
15 February, 2018
🙂
