Why the name Yard Ball??

ANSWERED BY SCOTT RILEY

Well that is an easy one! My younger self had some of the best times playing out on the yard. For the mums on the maisonette, the yard was a place to hang out the washing (if you lived on the bottom floor ), stand and natter, and when the sun was out sit and bask.

To me it was my Wembley stadium. It was my BMX track. It was my playground. A place for not just me, but my mates to express creativity our “find something to do”. Often, that something to do was 1 v 1 or 2 v 2 on the yard using the washing poles as nets. We’d spend hours on end using these humble washing poles as goal posts, and yes the odd window would get smashed.

But no biggie, the council would fix it 6 months later if we were lucky. But a broken window wasn’t the end of the world — we were outdoors getting some fresh air, only stopping for a second to run in and grab a crisp sandwich and getting told “are you in or out!?” (my mum not knowing I was in a vital cup game on the verge of victory just needing some quick calories).

The name Yard Ball for me brings back all of those memories personal to me, and the fact that me and my mates had minds that allowed us to be creative. All we needed was a ball and some washing lines and we were happy.