Whenever anybody mentions Middlesbrough I fondly remember
my great uncle Ridley S. Wibble who lived in the Eston area of the city and was
an avid supporter of his local team. He
was considered “dead posh him like” by his neighbours but this was more to do
with him having electric lighting and carpets in his house than his refined
manner and tastes.
His middle initial sadly did not stand for Scott but for
Smoggie and such was his impact on the local area that the people of
Middlesbrough are to this day, proud to be known as ‘Smoggies’.
From his earliest days Ridley was an inspiration. The famous Middlesbrough Transporter Bridge
is said to be based on a Meccano model he made as part of a school
project. The great and the good of
Teesside were simply blown away by his ingenuity. They immediately recognised its potential to
really put the town on the map. And to
use up the tons of scaffolding poles that were lying around after a minor clerk
made an error with a decimal point on an import order.
Ridley was a great friend of the late Brian Clough and
was the person most responsible for persuading him to take up football
management after his playing career was cut short by injury.
As a close friend of Chris Rea, it is rumoured that he
penned the best-selling “Driving Home for Christmas” song for him. He gave Mr Rea some sage advice about the
video: don’t mention that you come from Middlesbrough as that will destroy the
allure for the listener.
It is for this reason alone that I hope Middlesbrough
spank whatever team they happen to be playing tonight.
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