[The sound of a voicemail recording of the football stadium playing pre-match music]
So that was a recent voicemail recording of Z-Cars. Of course, a tune Everton walk out to at Goodison.
My beloved stepdad Derek has a season ticket at Goodison and leaves me a voicemail with Z-Cars and pre -match atmosphere on every home match. It’s a very beautiful thing that he does for me. Though it’s bittersweet for me hearing the sounds of Goodison.
I’m a lifelong Evertonian and a massive fan, but I’ve been too ill to visit Goodison since 2000, since the year 2000, due to severe ME. I was a student at Keele University the last time I went, when I still had dreams of a wonderful life. That’s just an ordinary life, a normal life.
Such a long time ago that I went to that incredibly special place to me. I’ve been bed bound with very severe M.E. since 2005. I have constant horrendous neurological symptoms which prevent me sitting up for longer than a few minutes, or even watching Everton’s matches on the TV, let alone travelling to Liverpool. I would so love to be here with my lovely stepdad and I know that would mean the absolute world to him too. I’d love to be singing the songs. “Everton, Everton, Everton!!” Sorry, that was really bad singing.
Roaring on the Toffees, feeling the raw emotion of the crowd, whether we were winning or probably more likely recently losing, wearing my favourite royal blue and seeing it dotted all over this famous grand old ground and going absolutely crazy when we score a goal, which incidentally I do anyway from my bed when listening to matches on the radio.
It breaks my heart that I’ll never be here at Goodison Park again, as we will soon have a brand-new ground or stadium. So Goodison’s days are very much numbered. Fellow Toffees, please cheer for me and please give Goodison a massive goodbye hug from me.
Thank you.
