A brand new Extra Time season

We’re back – and this season we welcome the Hildesley High Flyers, who will join up with the Pakefield Pitch Invaders for some Extra Time fun.

Chatting with residents at Hildesley Court, we learned that one of Val’s school pals was Bobby Moore, who played more than 600 games for West Ham and captained the England national team when it won the FIFA World Cup in 1966.

We heard childhood memories of large areas of wasteland in London, where debris from the blitz was dumped and which later was turned into 31 football pitches, plus accounts of a career as a football pools coupon checker and connections to Crown Meadow, home to Lowestoft Town Football Club.

The group was so enthusiastic about taking part and meeting the children, it’s no wonder they all agreed on their team name – the Hildesley High Flyers.

Over in Pakefield Primary School, the children were equally keen to get started, and were soon sharing their thoughts and goals for taking part in the project.

From learning about Lowestoft’s footballing history to being creative and meeting new people, the group was full of ideas, many of which were included in their Player’s Cards.

Along with personal achievements such as ‘being an amazing friend’ and ‘building a 100:1 scale replica model of Lowestoft in Lego’, there is clearly everything to play for.

Their final task of the afternoon was to decide on a team name – and with such talent, dynamism and joy, it’s hardly surprising that they chose to be the Pakefield Pitch Invaders.

This week also saw the celebratory assembly at Roman Hill, where the children who took part in the project last term shared some of their Extra Time experiences with 75 other Year 5 children.

They told them about the trip to the Archives and how much fun it was, particularly the microfilm monitor, and some of the things they found out about the Archive All-Stars.

They also said how much they had enjoyed meeting new people – the residents at Britten Court. The children were brilliant and I know that the residents also really enjoyed meeting them.