Sandra Turner

Sandra Turner An Oral history

Sandra Turner
My first game was 1983 at Wembley, Featherstone Rovers against Hull.
My husband, Alan, has been supporting since he was a boy, came with his Mum and Dad, but through life and work he just followed the games in newspapers.

The trip to London with neighbours was life changing, I packed an ice cream tub with toast which sustained us for the journey down and then after the game we went into London and enjoyed a bit of the nightlife before arriving home at 1am. Because I had recorded it we sat and watched the match again that night and relived the match again.

We started attending odd matches, the boxing day match becoming tradition, until 2010 when Alan
retired and we started coming to the matches regularly but at first we would watch and then go straight home. But soon I wanted more so we started going into the clubhouse and it built and we started going to away games and made friends… then we started hearing the talk of the stand!

(The stand was unwanted and semi derelict in Scarborough but with the right vision and volunteers it became a reality at Featherstone)

Alan used to play football with Paul Coventry and Alan offered his services for transportation with his own truck, that led onto offering to help with the rebuilding and then suddenly it was 5 days a week and I was left home alone. So in 2011 when scrolling through Facebook I saw a piece asking for help volunteering with the IT sessions, I decided to offer my help, I’d worked on a computer at work and studied a CLAIT qualification on the computer so felt confident to help with the IT.
I helped on the morning session but soon Amy asked if I could stay for lunch…’Soup and surf’ and then help with the afternoon session which fit in with picking up the grandchildren.

I love to see the academy players coming up and the atmosphere, where we sit we know everyone, it’s full of banter, I met Judy through the rugby and we’ve built a great rapport, made a real friend and then when I look at the new stadium I am ever so proud you just can’t believe it that. I remember talking with Judy and us saying “Wow This is really going to happen”…

“Rugby is the heart of the Featherstone”