Shrimpsvoices

I'm sorry to be saying my dad passed away suddenly yesterday.
Since the late 50s he was a regular fixture at Christie Park with his butchers shop next to the social club.
After retiring in the early 90s he became a permanent fixture at CP.
Anyone who managed to blag a free ticket at CP will know him from the tardis, or his usual place in the disabled stand.
I could spend all night typing up his stories from Christie Park, he loved telling them.
Well, not all of them, some are classified (but funny)!
Goodnight dad.

Sorry for your loss Brian. I can remember from a very young age going in to the shop and chatting with your dad about football. He always had time to chat, and despite me being a child, he never did so in a patronising manner.

Brian, very sad to hear this news. Your dad was a fixture at Crusty Pie, a true Shrimp and a gentle, witty and kind man.
He loved the club and served so many years dishing out tickets to all comers in the tardis in all weathers.
Decent butcher too.
RIP Alan.

Freez wrote:Brian, very sad to hear this news. Your dad was a fixture at Crusty Pie, a true Shrimp and a gentle, witty and kind man.
He loved the club and served so many years dishing out tickets to all comers in the tardis in all weathers.
Decent butcher too.
RIP Alan.

Echo all of that.

Sorry for your loss Brian. A lovely man every time I spoke to him in the Tardis at Christie Park and elsewhere.

Another great fixture from our Christie days gone but for you something far greater. Thoughts with you and your family.

Condolences, Brian, thoughts with you at this time

Deep condolences Brian.

Alan was a lovely gent and I had many a good chat with him when I was attending games at CP.

RIP Alan and thoughts with the family.

Tom Collins

Thank you. He always had a story to tell and I joked the seat in the tardis wasn't for him but for those listening to his stories. My favourite but one rarely told was "Nobby Stiles is my 2nd cousin" and there's a great one about sitting on a sofa between John Motson and David Moyes discussing tactics. The most repeated story has to be the kitchen table, no one could get into the house without being shown the notch when they filmed the club's version of the M&W stripper scene. Happy days.

My sincere condolences to you and your family Brian

I used to stand and chat to your dad for ages upon my arrival at Christie Park. He was an amazing gentleman to chat to.

Rest in peace.

Always a pleasure to see your dads cheery smile and as Keith has mentioned, always treated us kids with
respect in the butchers shop all those eons ago. Another local character lost to us.

Sincere condolences to you Brian.

I'm very sorry to hear that Brian. Your dad was probably my favourite person to chat to at the old CP and in the street. His cheeky smile and generous and kind demeanor always lifted my spirit. I have images of him hanging small and laughing children on butcher's hooks in his shop ..... did that happen or was it apocryphal?

Bare bum wrote:I'm very sorry to hear that Brian. Your dad was probably my favourite person to chat to at the old CP and in the street. His cheeky smile and generous and kind demeanor always lifted my spirit. I have images of him hanging small and laughing children on butcher's hooks in his shop ..... did that happen or was it apocryphal?

I don't think he hung any children on butchers hooks. He hung a bin from the hooks and put them in the bin One or two had brief spells in the walk-in fridge

Sad news Brian, best wishes to you & your family.
Picked up your Mum & Dad a while ago (when I was a taximan!) reminisced all the way home!
Learnt a thing or two I didn't know (realise?) as a child!
The fridge lock in thing has certainly got me thinking!! I hadn't remembered it before, but now.....

Sincere condolences to you and your family Brian.

Neil Roebuck

captain sparkle wrote:Sad news Brian, best wishes to you & your family.
Picked up your Mum & Dad a while ago (when I was a taximan!) reminisced all the way home!
Learnt a thing or two I didn't know (realise?) as a child!
The fridge lock in thing has certainly got me thinking!! I hadn't remembered it before, but now.....

I think you may well have been

Sorry for your loss Brian. Your Dad was our butcher, but also became a firm friend of all our family. He allways had a smile on his face and a funny story to tell and was an all round great guy.

Colin Hudson
ex of 200 Lancaster Road.

Condolences, Brian, thoughts with you and your family.

Brian,
Can I just say that I was personally saddened to hear of your father's passing, I knew him way before MFC and he was a great man, always smiling and we had many a laugh,
Please offer my best wishes to your mother at this very sad time and look after yourself too, as I've been through this recently myself and I have an idea of how you're feeling inside.
Adrian.

Deepest condolences to you and your family Brian.

I remember Alan from when I was growing up; I had a Saturday morning job at the butchers (then Fretwells) on Princess Crescent in Bare. Shelly also worked there, and as others have mentioned - was always good for a chat about the club and town. Really nice chap, very sad news.

Stuart Rae

Sincere condolences mate.
Love to you and yours.

So sorry to hear the sad news Brian. Your dad & my dad spent plenty of time at CP usually in the potting shed drinking tea or looking after my Matthew. Not sure if he ever got the tunnel dug from the school though so Matthew could still get into CP instead of school ?

Shrimpman wrote:Not sure if he ever got the tunnel dug from the school though so Matthew could still get into CP instead of school ?

He extended the tunnel to save crossing the road to Sainsburys

RedRedWine wrote:I remember Alan from when I was growing up; I had a Saturday morning job at the butchers (then Fretwells) on Princess Crescent in Bare. Shelly also worked there

He did, after he retired to help out. Didn't know you also worked there.

OLDHAMADE wrote:Can I just say that I was personally saddened to hear of your father's passing, I knew him way before MFC and he was a great man, always smiling and we had many a laugh,

Thank you Adrian and the next time we meet, I hope we get more time than through the car window

Phoenix Shrimp 2017 wrote:Your Dad was our butcher, but also became a firm friend of all our family.

Colin, he always kept an eye on what was going on at your old house.

Thank you everyone for your kind words. The service and cremation is at Lancaster Crematorium on Monday March 11th, 1:30pm, and if no one minds, I would like to use snippets taken from these messages in the service.

Brian Sheldon.

Brian, sincere condolences to you and your Mum. I have some great memories of your Dad both from Christie Park and personally. Alan helping around the ground with Chesh & John & some great banter with Chesh's gang of merry men. He would stand in as an "official" on the team coach if I was short of travelling companions (he was with us at Lincoln City for Perks first game) and would always be immaculately turned out and proud to represent our club. His stories of earlier years at Christie were always interesting and his favourite period was the Ken Waterhouse era. In the NPL & Conference days I used to drive our mini-bus to away games with Len & Stan in the wheelchair. In October 1993 we drew Telford United away in the FA Cup and I was approached to see if we could take Alan's quadriplegic neighbour, Michael, to the game. We did and many more away trips followed with Alan helping me with Len & Stan and caring for Michael's every need on these trips. This was quality time for Michael (and his Mrs) and would not have been possible but for Alan's efforts and help. I was always late to pick them up from Lancaster Road and Alan would refer to this as "Taylor time!" We had some great trips, we would laugh, talk football all day, analyse the match, criticise the referee and sometimes stop for a drink at the Roebuck in Bilsborrow on the way home. Happy days!

After the North Stand was built the car park was finished in stone chippings and dust and in the summer months a sandy dust cloud would blow across Lancaster Road and cover Alan and Shirley's drive, one day Alan came across to Peter Howard's portacabin and asked me if I could get Shirley a pith helmet and as their drive was covered in sand he was going to audition for the Desert Song! Alan manned the "tardis" on the car park at Christie where complimentary tickets would be collected by visiting scouts, officials, etc, in this role he became a great ambassador for the club although I know it sometimes frustrated him. Prior to the FA Cup 3rd Round tie v Ipswich Town in 2001, the TV crew wanted to film a remake of the famous Morecambe & Wise kitchen sketch in the Christie Park canteen with two Morecambe players playing Eric & Ernie. The canteen wasn't suitable for this so I asked Alan if they could use their kitchen. Alan & Shirley duly obliged and the rest is history. The scar on the kitchen table where one of the lads attempted to chop a grapefruit in half remains a permanent reminder of the day.
RIP Alan, a true gentleman.

Thank you Rod, those and many other stores were told time & time again. He kept in touch with Ken long after he left and no one was allowed into the kitchen without being shown the table

Superb memories Sir Rod.

I miss Len and our away trips with him in the NPL.

I think I’m right in saying it was Steve Walters and Mark Smith who were “Morecambe and Wise” in the sketch remake Gents?

I believe it was, I have the video but thanks to the music used, YouTube quickly removes it for copyright reasons.