Sadly all good things must eventually come to an end | OneFootball

My Ma Jean and her sister Joyce were the two youngest of a large family from the Ridges in North Shields.

They were brought up in an area that back in the day affectionately became known as ‘The Congo’. This was because there were other lovely families living there that consisted of black people.

You had to have at least ten kids to qualify for ‘The Congo’ and my mother was one of the Crammonds. They lived next door to the Deckers and straight ower the road from the Peters. The Tobys were just along the road.

That’s about 46 offspring from just four households in one street if my arithmetic is correct. They were literally a street of black and whiters through and through.

Jean and Joyce were married young. Inseparable, they got adjoining flats in the Balkwell, but regularly fell out with each other.

I was the first born child in the 1960s and (my aunt) Joyce had Wor Neale four months later. Me and Neale have been inseparable since.

Roughly about five years later my Ma had another son Graeme. This lad would become an inspiration to us all and the glue that held a family together.

The three of us were brought up as brothers and Newcastle United became our lifelong passion.

Wor Graeme started the Mike Ashley Out Campaign after meeting a lad called Rob over a pint in Newcastle. They both had come to the conclusion that Ashley was by this time completely taking the mick and that radical action was required.

Backed by me and Wor Neale, these lads and other members of the group did their utmost to try and rid the ‘blood-sucker’ from our club.

As I mentioned in a recent article, our auld Ma hadn’t been well and was in hospital. Unfortunately, things became a lot worse on Monday of this week. She has since sadly passed away and has left behind a heartbroken, but proud, family and ultimate legacy.

Graeme has been like a rock to us all since our Da died five years ago and sometimes to the detriment of his own wellbeing. I now want him to read this and take a step back from the everyday rigours of life and enjoy more time with his wife.

Graeme has been back at St James’ Park since the takeover, although I still haven’t set foot in the place.

Neale is still a season ticket holder and has become a wealthy man due to the business he set up in the 1990s. He looks after his ‘brothers’ if you know what I mean. My whole family are black and white through and through.

My good mate Jimmy came down to see me yesterday and we got talking about the good times. These often involved us getting into plenty of scrapes, particularly against the mackems.

This season has now took on a different dimension for me. We cannot wait around for silverware any longer and now is the time to win a cup.

It’s now 69 years since we won a domestic competition, which isn’t bloody good enough. My Ma and Da were only 16 years old and hadn’t yet even clapped eyes on each other.

Come on Newcastle United, lets finally do it this season, especially for the folk who aren’t getting any younger.

I’m still canny mates with all the lads, who like me were the sons of couples that lived on the North Shields ‘Ridges Congo’. Like I say, being black and white runs through our actual veins.

We have all given our lot since the 1970s and it’s now payback time.

My auld Ma would have been 85 in two weeks time and we are going ahead with her party in Tynemouth Club to celebrate her life. There may even be the odd ex Toon player and a few lads from the ‘Congo’ present.