As a young lad in a family of five boys and one girl, it wasn't often that we were taken anywhere other than with our parents or grandparents.
Of course, we "went out to play", and in many cases we didn't need anyone else to make up the numbers… because we were the numbers!
When the Wilsons went on holiday, the entire street was at a loss as to what to do because the football numbers, for one, were decimated. We'd leave the house on a Saturday morning and the only instructions were to, "Be careful and be back for teatime." Some folk today still can't get their heads around life before mobile phones!
This particular day was different, as we were going to see Sunderland at Roker Park with our 'big brother'.
He'd been going to matches for a few seasons already but was back from university, so I guess our parents must've thought he was responsible enough to take us all to a match. Of course, I have no actual recollection of the date or game, so 'big brother' has been duly quizzed for the sake of this post!