Claret & Blue Brum/Midlands

[Sdwbvf]

I was born in Worcester. Dad is from Alum Rock from a family of Villa fans, mum from Stourbridge. Mum and her sister married Villa fans. The rest of them were wolves, not that I ever knew that. Most kids at school were united or Liverpool (1980s). There were a couple of baggies in sixth form, and Stan Cullis's grandson - predictably he wore Wolves tracksuit, shirt pretty much all the time.

I now live in South London. My daughter is not the only Villa fan in her class (of mostly Spurs and Palace fans).

[LeeB]

I know this is about Brum and the midlands, but I’ve been down in Exmouth this week. Wore my 1990 Umbro replica on Tuesday as we walked the coastal path to Budleigh Salterton, and was deluged with ‘Up the Villa’s’ all day and even a ‘classic shirt that mate’ from non-Villa. The babby had his shirt on in Dawlish on Sunday and got a ‘great shirt mate’ from a bloke walking his dog who sounded local.

Even had an old Stripey wobble over for a chat, who was absolutely sound to be fair.

Saw a nose yesterday, looked like Mongo from Blazing Saddles, about 40 and on holiday with his mom and dad, bless.

[Ads]

I was there 94 and 99. 

Ah before my time then. I was there 2010 and 2012, cannot recall the bar.

Do recall doing a jungle Go Ape type thing on Koh Phangan where the local Thais, who could not speak a huge amount of English, knew Agbonlahor and Young. They had no idea who Birmingham City were.

[mike]

 got a ‘great shirt mate’ from a bloke walking his dog who sounded local.

I said that to a bloke in Wetherspoons. In Barrow in Furness. He said, ‘I’m a Burnley fan but it was in the sale and it’s the same colours.’

[PeterWithesShin]

Devon has loads of Villa, mainly from people moving down there for work/retirement and then bringing kids up as Villa fans. I was in Torquay 5 or 6 years ago and wore a Villa trackie top and a few of the staff in the hotel were Villa and were saying about how many live down there as ex pats etc.

[dicedlam]

I know this is about Brum and the midlands, but I’ve been down in Exmouth this week. Wore my 1990 Umbro replica on Tuesday as we walked the coastal path to Budleigh Salterton, and was deluged with ‘Up the Villa’s’ all day and even a ‘classic shirt that mate’ from non-Villa. The babby had his shirt on in Dawlish on Sunday and got a ‘great shirt mate’ from a bloke walking his dog who sounded local.

We were in a pub in the Cotswolds on Sunday afternoon when a bloke walked past my son who was in his 84 shirt and commented that it was his favourite shirt.

The strangest place I have been to and seen Villa tops being worn was in Huambo, Angola.
Three young lads were playing football wearing the Dafabet shirt. I went over to them and asked them where they had got their shirts from and they said some foreigners had been to the Sunday school and gave them out to the class. I asked them if they ever saw Villa on telly and they said no.
Apparently, on talking to them further, it came out that they wanted Chelsea shirts, but there wasn't any to be had so they thought the Villa shirts colours were nice and took those instead!

[Pat McMahon]

I also stumbled on another bar owned by a mad Villa fan on the Cook Islands.  We were told there was a bar about mile inland up in the jungle.  A group of us found it.   Totally surreal.   We came across what we thought was empty bar with music playing only to find that there was about a dozen locals so pissed they had fallen asleep been the benches.  The music was from a gramaphone and then out popped Mr Villa.  He got us utterly shitfaced on the Christmas Beer.   God knows how we made back down the hill.  It had become pitch black and you could barely make out your feet. 

A colleague of mine was in Fiji about 15 years ago and stumbled across a similar bar. The owner said you can pay a fixed fee and drink as much of the local yampy juice as you can take. For an extra dollar we will take you back to your digs on the beach in a wheelbarrow.

They tasted the hooch to see if they liked it, paid up and had an evening of merriment with the locals and got absolutely paralytic. Woke up the following day, sprawled outside their huts in the boiling sun - the owner had kept his word and just emptied them out of their wheelbarrows.

[Pat McMahon]

When I moved to Shanghai in 2009 I came across a small bar called New Harbour near Peoples Square that had a few sports pictures on the walls and a framed 2001 shirt. There was also a well known bar called Malones which had lots of sports memorabilia, including a picture of a young Villa team from around 2004 at the Hong Kong youth tournament (i think we won this  a couple of times). Standout player in the photo was Gabby. It was in a badly lit part of the bar so could never make out who else was on there in the dim light.

I met a few Villa fans whilst there, and there were 15 -20 who watched the 2010 final in a shit bar called the Bulldog. Villa upstairs, Man U below. I never went back in there after that night. There were also a couple of regulars in the Blarney Stone who were Villa fans and when I first arrived and China was still allowing S African football feeds the gaffer would switch one of the screens to the Villa game. . In all that time I only ever met one Bluenose - he was in the Big Bamboo when 4 of us were watching the 1-0 win at the sty in September 2009. He knew one of the blokes I was with and seemed ok.

[LeeB]

I watched that win at the rags in a bar in a lovely little port near Estepona on the Costa Del Sol. I wasn't wearing colours, and the there was a gobshite nose on the table behind. I kept council all game, and the lad I was with was a Derby fan, but fuck me did I rub his nose in it when Gabby scored, his face was a fucking picture.

[Marlon From Bearwood]

Devon has loads of Villa, mainly from people moving down there for work/retirement and then bringing kids up as Villa fans. I was in Torquay 5 or 6 years ago and wore a Villa trackie top and a few of the staff in the hotel were Villa and were saying about how many live down there as ex pats etc.

Just got back from 6 days in Devon and Cornwall. Saw more Villa tops throughout the week than any other club, by some distance.

[itmustbe_it is!]

Born and brought up in Stourbridge in the 70s and 80s - Villa and Albion about even
Went to school in Edgbaston - mostly  Villa, small no of Albion, about 2 Blues ! But it was a private school
Uni in Liverpool - stood on the Kop a few times to say I had, but it wasn't a patch on the Holte
Then Leicester - mid 90s - obviously mostly Leicester fans but actually much more rugby biased then - Tigers all over
Sutton and Lichfield - all Villa

Now in one of the Staffs villages  - mostly Villa but a smattering of Stoke and a few Wolves.

[thick_mike]

There’s a bloke in my village (Beds/Bucks border) I see jogging in a villa away shirt, so there are at least two of us.

[RamboandBruno]

Grew up in Hockley, the Spring Hill side, till my 20s, mainly Villa, with a few blue noses, one of which works at the villa now. No Albion that I can recall. Lived in Great Barr for about 5 years in the early 2000s, mainly villa, some Albion, no noses that I remember. Been in Boldmere/Sutton Coldfield, since the day Ronaldo’s Portugal best England in the 2006 World Cup Q/Fs, the wink and Rooney sent off and all that. Mainly villa up here as well.

Already had a holiday booked in Cornwall last year which clashed with play off final, wounded beyond belief I missed it. Watched it in a pub in Hayle, absolutely mobbed with Villa, with one table of Miserable looking Derby fans (that was before K/O).

[TonyD]

The south west from Birmingham to Bristol to Cornwall has huge Villa support.   Probably only beaten by Liverpool now as the ManU fans seem to have evaporated.   

I’ve never met a Wolves fan ever. 

[PeterWithe]

Budleigh Salterton always struck me as the kind of name that would be played by Terry-Thomas is a film on Boxing Day.