FAO Ian Balderstone

[Healeywoodclaret]

You left home as a skinny ginger kid joining the RAF.
Your family moved to Peterborough.
Now you are a ginger old man still following The Mighty Clarets. We never had success like this in our day did we? We would never have dreamed of the success we have seen in the last decade or so.
Who am I? Let's just say I'm an old friend!
Up the Clarets!

[Ilkley claret]

Same class at Coal Clough juniors, clearly a breeding ground for long standing Clarets fans

[Healeywoodclaret]

Absolutely and let me tell you we won nothing, the football was shocking, but hey as kids back in the day we thought Burnley were magic!

[Healeywoodclaret]

Strangely we did both attend Coal Clough Juniors how dodgy you know that?

[Healeywoodclaret]

Strangely we did both attend Coal Clough Juniors how dI'd you know that?

[Ilkley claret]

Myself and Ian were classmates all the way through Coal Clough.

[Healeywoodclaret]

Myself and Ian were classmates all the way through Coal Clough.

Really? Are you still in touch? He was a really nice lad. I know he made a successful career in the RAF and he still follows the Clarets but that's as much as I know. A group of us used to walk down to Turf Moor Saturday afternoons penniless urchins as always and the Stewards would let us in the Beehold End 10 minutes before the end of the game for free. Then we would club together and get The Pink on the way home to see where we were in the League Table! No Gillette Soccer Sport them days! We lived opposite each other on the same street.

[Healeywoodclaret]

Did you not go to Barden?

[Pearcey]

He's still in the RAF. I was on the Sqn next to his but didn't really know him. Thought I was the only Claret in the village!!

[Redbeard]

Incidentally, another Ian Balderstone, a lifelong home-and-away Clarets fanatic nicknamed 'Boris', hails from Great Harwood. At first I thought this thread might be about him. He'll be about 59 or 60 by now.

[Healeywoodclaret]

No the guy I'm on about will be 54 / 55 now. Pearcey may know him by the sounds of things. Ah well just reminiscing obviously he doesn't read / post on here.

[martintheaker]

Incidentally, another Ian Balderstone, a lifelong home-and-away Clarets fanatic nicknamed 'Boris', hails from Great Harwood. At first I thought this thread might be about him. He'll be about 59 or 60 by now.

Top, top lad is Boris. His blue Marina did some miles right through the 80's ferrying us around the country, goes with Accy Clarets now.

[Ilkley claret]

Barden yes. I was fortunate re following the clarets from an early age of 5 as my Dad was a big fan and used to take us home and away most games through the late 60s, 70s.