Workington(H).02/01/60.

"A trick of shadows under the St James' Park floodlights" blamed for a penalty being awarded against George Northcott in the Devon Derby in the programme notes and the tragic death of Brian Hearne.

I remember those events from my childhood..................the derby game, as I was there as an impressionable seven year old who, on witnessing his first ever night time football match; came home believing that City in fact played in an indoor stadium!

Those lights were awful by today's standards (although akin to the eighth wonder of the modern world to us Deb'n buays)~ dotted on telegraph poles around the pitch and as far as my young mind was concerned, the wall of darkness outside the confines of the ground and over it; was indeed that ~ a wall and a ceiling! *I wasn't aware of Brian Hearne's death at the time although I became aware of it several years later when told of how he had lost his life in a road accident if I remember correctly and of what a brilliant young sportsman he had been, both at football and cricket. I think he played for either Barton or South Devon CC and came from Buckland in Newton Abbot.............but he was an uncle of Jon Hearne another brilliant "dual" sportsman who also played for Torquay United as an amatuer as well as South Devon Cricket Club.

* Young minds can be impressionable...............only this week Olivia informed me that "when I was her age, everything was black & white", basing her impressions on old pictures that she had been studying at school and had written as much in her homework. I shall treasure that little piece of wisdom forever! ;D