Football Fever has gripped Scotland this week, with the national team qualifying for the World Cup for the first time in 28 years. Such was the excitement and celebration at the game against Denmark on Tuesday that mild earthquakes were felt!

Football is very much part of the Brawley family history. Searching through the British Newspaper Archives for the name “Brawley”, many of the returns relate to the sport. I need to do more digging on that. I have heard from various sources, including newspapers, that there was, at one time, a Brawley team in the village. There were certainly enough of them.

And talking of “football history”, in 1936 the St Brigid’s Parish school team had an unbeaten season winning all of their 26 games. I love this report below which just shows what this achievement meant to the school and the parish. “Young men supporters carried each member of the team shoulder high through the village to the Parish Hall where the boys were right royally treated.”

And here they are proudly displaying their trophies. My grandfather Hugh Brawley is pictured back row left and my Uncle Dan is the second boy from the right in the front row.