Safe hand: Dr Judith Gates Picture: Peter Jackson
Dr Judith Gates begins her Sporting Memories talk at Bishop Auckland this morning with an apology to any who may have played football against Bill, her husband. “He probably kicked you” she says.
Former England amateur international Bill Roughley, much the same age as Bill Gates would have been, says that he avoided him. Whether that was because Bill Roughley was pretty nimble or because Bill Gates’s Northern League career with Spennymoor United merely topped and tailed 13 years amd 333 games with Middlesbrough is unclear.
Also among the audience are former Crook Town and Carlisle United centre half Peter Garbutt, himself living with dementia, and the marvellous Ken Thwaites – Boro fan, retired headmaster and very much else besides.
Ken recalls an FA Cup replay at Manchester United, late 1960s, when he’d left the chalk face at 3 45pm, became choked in traffic around Harrogate, reached Old Trafford by the interval but was still in time to see Bill taken to hospital with a broken jaw after a rumpus (shall we say) with Brian Kidd.
Judith followed her husband to hospital, saw his jaw wired, was offered a spare bed for the night on the men’s ward. Next morning she sought medication of her own. “It was probably the only time they’d delivered the contraceptive pill to men’s surgical.”
These days she chairs and vigorously leads the Head Safe Football charity – “Bill’s legacy” – which aims to raise awareness and to seek change around the life-changing dangers of repetitively heading a football. Her audience proves greatly receptive and no less appreciative, though probably it helps that many are Bishops supporters and the Two Blues all but the Ebac Northern League championship, and promotion, last night.
Judith talks of their early years at Spennymoor Grammar School – “I got pregnant, Bill had something to do with it” – of playing career and business success and of Bill’s fearful, inexorable decline.
“He would walk obsessively, the only thing that brought him peace, though his eyes were wild and tormented. He only achieved real calm when it got dark.”
Many other former players suffer similarly. “It’s a game created by human beings which is destroying human beings” says Judith. “I wouldn’t wish Bill’s journey on my worst enemies.”
Someone asks what the PFA is doing. “You notice my wry smile” says Judith and in turn asks if anyone has any thoughts.
“My thought” says a lady in the front row, “is to tell my grandchildren never again to head a football.”
*Warm-up act, Judith and I take breakfast at the George Samuel Brewery, based in the former Shildon Wagon Works canteen. We’ve mentioned it before. The breakfast’s good, the ale exceptional – so greatly in demand that, save for their own tap, they’ve temporarily sold out.
Ten copies of No-brainer, my new book around Bill Gates’s life and death stories, are squeezed into the rucksack. All are sold and with a little waiting list for the next Memories session – and plenty more, be assured, where they came from.
*Joe Kinnear, the former Newcastle United manager who died earlier this month, had a reputation for mispronouncing names. Charles N’Zogbia became Charles Insomnia, Yohan Cabaye was Yohan Kebab. Kinnear’s obit in The Times offers explanation.
“In 2015 he was diagnosed with vascular dementia, atttributed to years of heading footballs. He, too.
*Ken Thwaites played Northern League football for Shildon and Whitby Town among others, had a long cricket career with Normanby Hall – for whom he hopes to play this summer to mark his 80th – raced greyhounds, was an assistant racehorse trainer to the greatly successful Mary Reveley, remains a Methodist local preacher and organist and chairs his parish council in the Esk Valley.
He and Judith had been head teachers together on Teesside, but hadn’t met for 41 years.
He’s also a loyal blog reader, the app sitting on his phone next to something called Teesside Live Funerals (which, however much an oxymoron, presumably updates the toll of the deceased.)
Checking them both is one of the first things he does every morning, says Ken – “but your blog is always first.”
Grass Routes 