Limbering up for the final match

The amount and variety of work created by the Manor Farm Corncrakes is truly impressive.

In Thursday’s session it all came together, as the figures inspired by the Archive All-Stars and then printed onto fabric were stitched and embellished, whilst the gold medals they made with Kate were threaded with ribbons in the team colour, ready to be presented to the children next week.

We even got out one of the tiny wooden figures that featured in the earlier football matches, to compare its cross stitched shorts with the cross stitched jersey on the Trawler Boy.

And we sang, and there was poetry courtesy of Dean and it was a glorious, creative morning.

That afternoon, the children were absorbed in their stitching whilst simultaneously chatting with Dean about what ‘heritage football’ means to them.

From ‘zombie managers’ and Ethel ringing her bell, to old Wembley footballs and the Co-Op Ladies team eating ice creams, their list (and Dean’s poem) was comprehensive, to say the least.

This Thursday, the Manor Farm Corncrakes and the Wild Kessingland All-Stars meet for a valedictory match, to celebrate all the wonderful work they’ve made together, the stories they’ve shared and the things they have learned about each other and their shared footballing heritage.