World Cup Willie

And, as well as that World Cup Willie with a ball bearing, I still have my World Cup 1966 pen:



Although I've moved on loads of programmes over the years from my teenage collection, I've still kept the tournament programme as well as the one for the final. To be honest, I always thought both were from the batch of many thousands printed after the tournament to satisfy the extra demand. I was never sure until I recently read that it was all to do with how clearly you can see the pattern on the Earl of Harewood's tie. If you can see it clearly, your programme was an original. If not, it's a later reprint. I think mine comes in the latter category:











The two programmes are actually pretty drab affairs with much of the material being common to both. Of as much interest are some of the "before" and "after" supplements from which I've selected this material. Good to see Jimmy was on the barley water:

















Finally, my father always swore by Headquarters and General Supplies which regularly advertised in newspapers (and, it seems, World Cup souvenir supplements). One day he bought me one of those Russian radios from a warehouse in Bridgwater (rather than H & GS) so, instead of Radio Luxembourg, it was Radios Moscow, Peking and Tirana for me.....