Getting Shirty Again

A few choice shirt signings into the collection. Yet more Ralph, Faconnable, Blue Harbour and Hackett. I'll let the pics do the talking.

Charity Shop Stone Island Part Two

So now that worn out mustard yellow is now a pretty decent jet black. Please as punch with the results. What surprised me was the marina stripes down the sides have obviously been treated to not dye. These stayed orange and add a certain je ne sais quoi. Not bad for three quid.

Paul Heaton

Always clued up and cool as a cucumber...

The Enemy Within

"She (Thatcher) did more damage to us than Hitler" - Durham miners leader Dave Hopper

Margaret Thatcher 1925-2013

Charity Shop Stone Island Part One

I'm quite partial to a rummage in Durham's charitable outlets but have seldom ever picked anything up other than the odd Kevin Sampson and John King novel. However back in February 2010 I stumbled across a cracker. Wandering past the aged mothballed high street labels I saw a familiar compass label poking out. A mustard coloured sweater in vintage large (ergo today's XXL) was in my mitt straight away in all its green edged glory and whisked away for £2.99. That's right, for less than a pint - even with the 1p taken off.

When I was home I noticed some bits of fading and some bleachy marks but it couldn't take the shine off my pick up. I intended to dye it but it was thrown in the cupboard and forgot about. Until now. The black dylon and salt is primed and ready, and this 25 year old Stoney jumper is ready to take on a new lease of life. Stay tuned for the next post for results...

Cult Poolies - Brian Horne

Five foot odd and roughly 15 stone, this keeper didn't even look like a professional footballer, let alone a cult hero. But he was to Pools fans. Horne had played some 160 plus games for Londoners Millwall in the late 80s, had a few premiership games on loan at Middlesbrough in '92 and duly arrived at Hartlepool via Portsmouth on a free in 1994. Despite his physical appearance he won the fans over with his whole hearted displays and superb shot stopping.

Flying Pig vs. Darlo

 In a very poor Pools squad, Horne exceeded with some superb displays between the sticks. He was pretty much unchallenged in 94/95, almost being ever present in goal - the only bright spot in another disappointing season. The next season was a hero in a League cup derby with Scarborough, the match drawn over two legs went to penalties - Brian saving a couple of spot kicks in the shootout before stepping up to convert one himself. He did blot his copy book somewhat in the next round by getting sent off in a heavy defeat by Arsenal.

Premiership class with Boro

Firmly established in the heavy drinking culture that surrounded professional football back then, Horne was out on the piss with Tony Adams the night the England skipper drove home intoxicated, wrecked his car and was subsequently jailed. That pastime caught up with him by the time he'd reached Hartlepool, and his portly figure led to disgust and derision from Pools boss Keith Houchen. Houch described Horne as a 'fat slob' in his autobiography and did his best to force him out, using four hastily assembled and substandard loanees. None worked out and Houchen was reluctantly forced to play Brian. It pitted the fans against the player manager, disappointing given the amount of goals he'd bagged in two spells at Pools, prompting him to hit back at the supporters: "there are a lot of shit people following every club. They are everywhere, that type, with brains the size of a pea. I wouldn't keep the players they wanted, players who were patently not good enough and were really, really bad professionals... the majority of them are nasty people. There are more of them at Hartlepool than elsewhere – without a shadow of doubt"

It all ended on Saturday 6th April 1996 when a relegation threatened Pools were trailing two nil half time at Gillingham. A shocking on field spat between the Horne and Houchen almost came to blows, and led to the mananger subbing him off on the spot for the much maligned Steve Jones. It was to be Horne's last appearance for United. Keith Houchen didn't last much longer either, resigning early into 96/97.

Horne took a year out from the came before returning to the semi professional game in his native South East, first with Dover in 97/98 and Farnborough the following season. Brian now works commentating on the odd game with first club Millwall, and also organizes the annual Atlantic Cup competition with former Arsenal midfielder Stefan Schwarz.

Young Lion - Millwall Days

Hats on or off?

Hats On

* The Bobble
The bobble hat has seen a re-surge of popularity in the past few years, no doubt with some part played by the exclusive Tom Weirs by Casualco. Three colourways are released in limited numbers of 50, sell out in minutes on said website for £25, then cruelly appearing on eBay a couple days later for often treble the RRP. The bobble hat is sometimes associated with nerds like bird watchers and trainspotters, but despite this is the ulimate in cool winter warmers as it evades the attention of the fashionists. It's hip to be square.

Casualco.com

*The Trapper
The trapper is as quality as it is functional. Again wins cool points as it does look a bit silly. Flaps can be worn up for that Russian cab driver look or down to protect ears from frostbite in Arctic conditions - or during January mid week games.

Fjall Raven

*The Flat Cap
Maybe because it's because I'm a Northerner that I rate these so highly. One for the Northern League dwellers, pigeon fanciers and whippet breaders. And the odd clued up chap. Tweed caps are proving to be quite popular at the moment, another hat proving that it has a cooler rep now than in the past. As Northern as a road sign saying THE NORTH in, well, the North.

A. Moon Tweed

*The Bucket
A hat made famous by the Madchester and early Britpop scene, the bucket is predominantly found on heads come summer, particularly at music festivals. Worn by those trying to emulate Reni and Liam Gallagher, but less so Man City boss Roberto Mancini. Quite a functional hat as keeps sun out of eyes as well as rain off the head. My personal favourite is the Kangol Spray, but they loss brownie points for churning out those god awful fluffy hip-hop ones.

Stone Roses Reunion Bucket

Hats Off

*The Cap
Worn by everyone and anyone. The baseball cap is synonymous with chav culture, but saying that you don't seem to see them as much these days. Which is probably a good thing given the vulgar house check designs that single handedly brought Burberry to it's knees in reputation stakes. I do have a problem with the Stone Island ones that are doing the rounds at the moment - even the genuine ones look fake. Being the cheaper of S.I.s range this is the SPW garment that lots of young whippersnappers opt for with their pocket money, hoping for top boy status. Gay boy status i'd say. Shit.

Stone Island

*The Beanie
It's like a bobble hat but minus the bobble. And to be fair they ain't all bad, there's a lot of good ones out there. But they lose points for those who throw one on with a t-shirt in the height of friggin summer. Again Stone Island deserve a mention for their thoughtless and unoriginal version. Sticking their trademark button patch on the front of a beanie really wasn't a masterstroke. I thought things couldn't get any worse... until I saw the CP Company goggle ones. Sigh.

CP Company

 *The Deerstalker
These never looked good and are best left in the confines of the mid 80s. If I saw some country gent wearing one combined with a Barbour jacket, shotgun and gun dog I'd probably laugh, even though he genuinely has a right to wear one. So imagine what I'll do if I see some 17 year old on the terrace combining one with Sergio trackie top. I'll point and fucking laugh.

80s Casuals

*The Trilby
Unless you're one of the seven members of Madness or one of the Blues Brothers then you haven't got the right to wear a trilby. One for the old boys as part of their Sunday best, after wearing the flat cap on a saturday. Another hat which has it's chequered past thanks to Aquascutum et al.

Aquascutum