KERB COURT SOCCER: SHARD END, BIRMINGHAM...

Kerb Court Soccer

Lines of tar marked a makeshift court

Upon a road then bereft of vehicular obstructions;

I defended my kerb with such pride and fought

To beat a Blues fan, despite the restrictions…

Scoring goals, the first to ten, was a race

Of folly, accuracy and unpredictability;

Kicking a tennis-ball to hit the face

Of the opponents kerb took more than ingenuity…

Struck hard and low enough, the ball

Might rebound across the centre-line

Which regained possession, to the Blues fan’s gall,

For his margins of defeat were rarely fine…

Hours of sets were played in Nearmoor Road

But despite his extra reach, the Bluenose, taller

Never won and thus was unable to goad:

But that game honed my skills as a footballer…

Pete Ray

July 2020

WHERE WE PLAYED...
THIS IMAGE WAS TAKEN THIS WEEK...

Nearmoor Road, Shard End, Birmingham, where I lived and played as a kid…

AN OLDER LAD, JOHN AND ME, BUT THE IMAGE SHOWS IAN'S HOUSE OPPOSITE AND THUS THE AREA WE PLAYED IN... 

The game was so good to play, shooting and defending only with one's feet, in a match a little like tennis…

OLDER AND OFF TO CORNWALL WITH BRIAN, WHERE HIS MUM'S CAR APPEARS TO BE DEFENDING MY KERB...

The best was when one could rap a hard shot to slap against the opponent's kerb and make it return across the centre-line, enabling a second attempt…

PRIMARY SCHOOL (HILLSTONE JUNIORS) KIT.
GREEN AND WHITE AND A LARGE NUMBER 6 ON THE BACK, WHICH I LOVED...

If the ball bounced against the kerb and over onto the pavement, it was no goal…

YES, SADLY, I'M WEARING A WOOLLEN VILLA HAT...

Blues = Birmingham City, of course…

IAN AND HIS SISTER HEATHER PLAYING CARDS WITH ME IN MY GARDEN...
(I'M IN THE LIGHTER SHIRT AND MY CAT RICKY IS SPRAWLED UPON THE GROUND...)

Amazingly, those markings are still in place on the road, for I drove over to Shard End the other day and took a picture…