As a slight aside, it's hard to believe that as a ten-year-old I was allowed to travel from Sheldon to Villa Park on a two-bus journey unaccompanied.
I got the bus to the Yew Tree, a penny child's please, the the number eleven, a threepenny child's please. The excitement felt as the eleven crested the hill of Reservoir Road looking down onto Stockland Green and getting that first glimpse of the floodlights.
A shilling in, IIRC, no programme as I couldn't afford one and the full interest wasn't there anyway that came later. The sheer joy on the return journey if we'd won and a slight upset if we hadn't, the ruination of a weekend also came later. The whole experience cost one and eight 1/8d! Under 10p in today's loot.
I will be seventy-two this coming Saturday and those memories are as fresh in my mind now as if they were last week, so much so that I'm on the verge of welling up. Now if I could only remember where I put the bird feeder.