When I was a boy growing up in Llandaff North/Gabalfa one of my mates was a guy named Peter Howe. We went to school together and obviously knocked round together too. On a sunday after lunch we would go to the sports field behind GlanTaff School by the river and play footie. There would be me Peter, his two brothers, a friend called John Rees, Micky Walsh, Dickie Davies and one or two others. Sometimes there would only be 6 or 7 of us to start so we would play attack and defence, and Peter's oldest Bro', Kenny was always in goal. As people turned up they would just join the side with the lesser number of players and as more arrived so the pitch would get bigger and bigger. Anyone who turned up could play, some in boots some in shoes some in trainers, no one was ever denied a game some sundays there would be 30 people or more playing, but everyone always knew who was on who's side, and the age ranges would be from about 15 to 28, with guys leaving the pub at lunchtime and joining in. There was never any bad sh*t and we never needed a referee. Sometimes the scores were ridiculous but mostly no-one cared and often the game could last 3 1/2 hours. Some sundays we would find the school Janny had left out the moveable Hockey Posts and nets so we use them, but most of the time it was ..................................... Jerseys for Goalposts!! I often drive past there now on a Sunday and there is never anyone kicking a ball around, and if there was and I joined in they'd probably think I was a weirdo. All at home playing computer games probably. boring little buggers!
Snaggle, me and my mates used to go to a patch of land between Llanedeyrn and Pentwyn and have a kick around. Always jumpers for goal posts and one of the lines was a big old tree. It included most of the local nutters and I only ever recall one argument, which wasn't football related, that turned mildly ugly. You would always see 2 ice cream vans there as both guys played, can't remember their names but both were of ethnic origin (one may have been called Mikey). Now there is a sport centre there, maybe us playing there prompted the council, who knows
Lovely stories lads, how we hark back to our youth. In the junior school I used to go to there would be 2 or 3 of us that would get in before 8am. We used an old tennis ball and would start kicking that around between us, no fields in my school back then. Soon as a few more turned up we would put the jumpers down and sides would be sorted. As more of the boys came they would ask to play and you would tell them which side they were on. Most of the boys ended up playing till the bell rang and we would all run to get in line with runny noses and socks down to the ankles looking like we just finished school, not about to start. Memory lane, I love walking down there now and again.
aah the trusty tennis ball... try as I might I never put through a neighbours window with a tennis ball, now the big old heavy orange ball was a different matter Can't remember the manufacturer of those balls though.
not forgetting those wonderful 'pulling' places for us youngsters lol, Saturday morning in 'Top-Rank' the indoor roller skating rink, St Peters and the youth club in Llanrumney.
Well back in the late 60's in was a tuesday night for the Top Rank as I remember, never got to any saturday morning ones. And we used to go to some sort of bible classes, but only for the sweets they handed out if you got a question right, boy I was good on bible stories back then, but that was early 60's, start of i would think. It was up Romily road i believe, in canton.
Taffthefish was the ball called "Wembley" if i remember right they were about 10 bob in old money(50p)
Mabon yes that was the one, the wonderful wembley and taff they sure did break glass well, but glass was so thin in those days well that was my excuse
cvd i used that excuse a few times myself, today the glass is thicker and the balls have got lighter lol
I think we all had the same problem mate I can remember sometimes in Grange it got to something ridiculous like 20-30 a side on the Marl. Practically took over the whole field Good times though! This is what most kids are like these days: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FAY6HsfEL7E
I remember the Wembley ball. We were playing a league game, 16 yr old against a team on Ely Race Course. One of their players hit the ball over the bar and it grazed the pointed Iron railings (I now know they're called palisade fencing) and the ball went flat. Neither team had another one so the Ref called end of time and the score stood for the league. I think we won 1 - 0. I know the other team weren't best pleased. lol Tennis ball footie too, in the school yard of St Illtyds in splott. Dribbling in and out of the nerds who were talking and didn't play, using them to dodge the tackler. god I wish!!!!
One of the kids who lived near me, had a couple of the really heavy leather balls that weighed 8 times heavier in the wet! One day he was in goal (which was either my or his Dad's shed doors) when I smacked the ball as hard as my 7 year old legs could and his fingers got trapped between the ball and the shed door, leading to 2 of them getting broken! I was SO proud!
Yep, the wembley ball, it weighted in more than Mama Cass! For those younger than me think giant haystacks! Those were the days
