Bill takes his memories to the boardroom

Saturday’s FA Cup game is sponsored by the Brakes Trust, but this story begins 60 years ago in Leamington’s history…

The keeper for Leamington, winners in the FA Cup tie against Boldmere in 1953, was Bill Branston, who saw his team score no less than seven times.

And by happy co-incidence Bill will be in the boardroom for the re-match at Harbury Lane this Saturday nearly 60 years later, courtesy of the Trust.

The Trust, as sponsors of the game, held a draw for two pairs of VIP tickets to be won by Trust members at last Saturday’s game, and Ray Nicholls and Ann Miller were the lucky winners – Congratulations!

As it happens, it was Bill who did the draw. And Ray Nicholls, who is in France, gave up his ticket to the old goalkeeper so that he could watch the game in comfort and enjoy boardroom hospitality, re-living memories of the 1953 encounter.

These days, Bill, who also played for Aston Villa, is a regular supporter of Leamington. He will be hoping history repeats itself and Leamington win by a big margin once again.

Ann Miller, who has the other ticket, has been a fan of her local team for 10 years. “It was a surprise and pleasure to know I will be accompanied by Bill because he is such a gentleman. It is unusual for a fan to get into the boardroom. I am really looking forward to meeting people and chatting in comfort rather than shivering on the terraces,” she says.

As part of its community activity, The Brakes Trust will also be welcoming members of the Painting for Pleasure group, also based in Leamington. Jayne Canning, who is chair, says examples of their work will be on show in the clubhouse. “Painting is very therapeutic for people suffering from a variety of serious illnesses,” she added.

Peter Davis, chairman of the Brakes Trust, said the group consisted of members suffering from M.S; M.E and D.S as well as Rheumatoid Arthritis and cancer. Some are retired or bereaved, some are carers’ and one or two are physically challenged. There are also young members with learning difficulties and emotional disorders such as bipolar and depression.

“Some people paint during times of illness and disability like hip replacements to regain confidence, and then continue to paint and benefit from their new interest. The group has become a life-line for people who would not ordinarily be eligible or able to cope with a traditional painting group,” he explained.

Jayne was nominated in the search for Citizen of the Year in 2011, which was organised and run by the Brakes Trust. Since then, the Trust has had several meetings with Jayne and hopes to work on a joint project in the future.

To learn more about Painting for Pleasure, see here:
http://www.warwickshireartists.co.uk/painting-for-pleasure.htm

We hope that the hospitality winners and guests from Painting for Pleasure all have a great time at the game. And let’s forget all about Tuesday night’s defeat, and aim for a winning start to our 2011 FA Cup run!