Used to booze in a pub in Ossett called The Thorn Tree. It was heaving with Leeds fans so on a Friday I used to go out of my way to go in with either a Red pullover with a Toby logo on it or a club shirt, red trousers and red shoes. Very few knew my name apart from my Christian name so they addressed me as "Barnsley Tommy." I went in one night at the beginning of December 96 and the landlord John who was originally from Hemsworth and also a Red told me a couple had come to live in Ossett who used the pub.They were from Basildon and supported Sarfend. As luck would have it we were playing them the next Saturday and had asked John if he knew how to get to Oakwell. He took me over to them and they seemed to be OK and I spent the rest of the night drinking with them. They asked if they could follow my car on the way to Oakwell on the Saturday. I said it might be better if they came with me to the match so they didn't get lost ( long before Sat Nav.) The game was easy as far as we were concerned and we beat them very comfortably by three goals to nil. The bloke Geoff told me he worked as the Northern sales rep for the cosmetic firm Yardley. Their lass Judith was doing teaching supply and at that time she was at a Junior School in Barnsley and asked my advice on a problem she'd had. On her first day she decided to do an ice breaker. She had a class of twenty kids for games. She looked in the store cupboard and found five different coloured tall skittles together with five corresponding deck quoits. The game involved the kids being divided into teams of four. The person at the front ( the captain) had to aim the quoit and try and to lob it onto the skittle. Once that was achieved the captain then had to run to the end of the gym touch the wall run back and touch the hand of the kid next in line who then repeated the routine. Once all four team members had hooked their quoits over the skittle that particular group would be declared the winners. As she put her whistle to her mouth she shouted " right captains get your quoits." ! At that point two of the captains left the room and returned shortly after wearing their outdoor overcoats. She asked in her posh southern twang " what are you doing?". One of the kids said " tha' told us to ger us coits Miss."They became regular attenders at Oakwell until some two years later they returned back " darn Sarf" never quite getting to grips with the unique Barnsley dialect. I'm convinced Geoff thought Geower Gorpin was a Russian astronaut and an itchy fanny an Italian motorbike.
