'R' Stories Podcast Series

Was nice hearing him mentions names of the past that I’ve grown up being told about.
Peter and Trevor Kingham were my Dad’s best friends, they were a year older than him and grew up on the same estate. My dad’s formative years were spent messing around with them and he’s plenty of stories; some brilliant, some tragic. Trevor used to work as a steward in the Loft during the 70s and 80s but died a while back now. Peter died earlier in the year, the morning of the Swansea game, he was a regular up until then coming down from Rotherham.
Vic and Dennis are still regular attendees too. Vic, particularly, goes to almost every home and away game and can often be found around the pub on South Africa Rd. He played with my Dad for the Supporters Club during the late-60s and early/mid 70s, both 11 and 5 a side. The photos that exist of Dennis playing for the same team come much later.
My dad would’ve been at the forefront of the protests with them had his attendance not dried up after he moved to Hastings that year. It’s weird hearing those names, knowing what they got up to when they were younger and not hearing his name alongside them. But it was nice to know that that quartet of people are an essential part of the clubs fabric.

Just want to say as well that Joe is a terrific bloke. If any of you ever see him on gameday, do go and introduce yourself, he’s warm, hospitable and very generous with his time. He’ll always make sure he has a conversation with you and engages in that too. As a testament to what he’s like as a bloke, when my Dad was over from the States in 2016, he drove from Aldershot to Hastings just to have dinner with my Dad and his wife on their last day before they flew back. The meet was spontaneously planned, Joe arranging it that morning.

Glad the interview went well kingfisher