Cod Almighty | Postbag

Once upon a time in the wild East

21 April 2013

The latest postbag takes a trip into the past.

Write to us at postbag@codalmighty.com.

All things Grimsby

Hi

I have been amused to read your pages about Grimsby.

Having been born at Croft Baker in 1948 I can verify that Chapmans is bottomless and that the horse and cart story is true. My dad worked at Pelham road before it was Eskimo's so he used to tell me about it and I often fished there. Even at ninety two my mother would never wear anything nunty.

I swam past someone in a pool in Majorca and recognised straight away by his accent that he was from Grimsby, but you have to be a Grimbarian to know one. It was a great place to grow up even though no one had a lot of money.

Keep up the good work

from Dave Eddington

Clockwise

Anyone recall that line from John Cleese in the film Clockwise? Where he knows he probably won't get to his lecture on time as his car is stuck in a muddy field & he's dressed in a monk's habit & breaks down in frustration saying "I can cope with the failure... it's the hope..." This must be how Mariners fans have felt for many a season.

Having escaped to the East Midlands many years ago (well it was either that or work in Hull once the 'leccy board on Ladysmith Road had closed) I've always kept an eye on how the team were doing, even though the last time I saw them play I think Boylen, Wainman and Gray were Town's poster boys. For a team with the heritage of GTFC it's almost heartbreaking to see them struggle and be so close (yet so far) from clambering back into what we all knew as Div 4. I've spent many a minute on the red button looking at Town atop the league table, only to see them lose their grasp recently to teams that didn't even exist back in the day.

Now living in Northampton, there was a glimmer of hope (there we go again) that I'd get to see the Mariners play again, but it's looking like the Cobblers may just about scrape into Div 3 and leave the Mariners floundering (sorry for the fishy pun) in Div 5. Still, my son's playing for Histon youth academy in the Conference North, so I can always hope (bloody hell) that he's got some Mariners spirit in him and can help drag them into the Premiership in a year or two. Conference Premiership that is...

Come on the Mariners – you're better than this. Maybe we'll meet again one day, and I promise to gen up on the team sheet first. By the way, is McMenemy still the manager?

from Steve 'Stuck in a Northampton Timewarp' O'Hare

Letters Ed responds: Here's a few managers you might have missed: Ron Ashman, Tommy Casey, John Newman, George Kerr, Dave Booth, Bobby Roberts, Alan Buckley, Brian Laws, Kenny Swain, Alan Buckley, 'Lennie' Lawrence, Paul Groves, Russell Slade, Graham Rodger, Alan Buckley, Mike Newell, Neil Woods, Rob Scott and Paul Hurst. Those are of course the ones you mighthave missed. There are a couple you definitely would not have.

Thanks Steve and Dave – good to hear from you. More soon...