Your dad really did a lot for this club, can you let us know how he got involved with Eskmill BC as PAYFC was known then?

I started playing for Eskmill Boys Club in the late 1980s which I think would have been his initial contact with the club. A couple of years later he started coaching the team two years younger which he took all the way up to Under 18s. He was also on the committee while coaching so was very much an integral part of the club. I suspect he got involved with the club for similar reasons to myself, a desire to provide a positive experience for local children and to give back to a game that benefited him for which he had a real passion. In addition since he was first elected in 1986 he was able to support and advise the club through his position as a local Councillor so his contribution to PAYFC was a constant.

Was he a passionate football fan in general, and was there other sports he liked?

Football was the main sport he was interested in, originally from Auchinleck he was a Kilmarnock fan and always maintained a strong connection to the local junior team Talbot which involved numerous trips to the Scottish Junior Cup Final. He went to many Scotland games over the years from Wembley trips in the 60s to World Cup ‘98 with my brother and I. In his later years he could be found watching Penicuik Athletic most Saturdays. He did have an appreciation for other sports but nothing came close to fitba.

How do you think he would feel about you joining the committee?

Pleased but he probably thought I should have done it before now! He would have known that it would be inevitable I would want to contribute to the club once Jackson started playing. As a parent when I saw first hand the amazing work of the local parent volunteers running the teams and club, I felt I should do likewise. I appreciate not everybody has the time but a number of people making small contributions can make a big overall difference and there a lots of different ways to get involved.

It must have been a very emotional but great moment finding out that the end of season trophies and medals would be in his memory?

Unfortunately I missed the inaugural festival last year due to attending the Unison Conference which made this years event all the more special. I did feel a bit emotional walking up to the park with my son and girlfriend Laura when the scale of it became evident. The festival was befitting of my dad’s name and on behalf of the family I would like to express how grateful we are that he is remembered in this way. My dad’s widow Karen was there along with other family including his nephew who was also playing. My sister Mairi and family intend to come up from London for the weekend to see it next year. Leigh who was the main organizer has done a highly professional job and I owe him a pint or two!

Can you tell us a bit about yourself, are you a big sports fan?

I started playing football aged 10 with Eskmill BC as a forward, played collegiate soccer in the USA in my late teens/early 20s as a midfielder before finishing up playing junior for Penicuik Athletic and Edinburgh United as a defender. The direction of travel on the park was backwards and fortunately injury forced me to pack in aged 35 before I ended up in the sticks! I loved my time spent playing and I was subsequently involved with coaching at my last two clubs. My Saturdays are a generally a combination of watching Penicuik and Aberdeen and like my dad I follow Scotland and am looking forward to my trip Moscow in October.

It must be nice having your son playing for PAYFC, three generations involved in the club is fantastic!

I am delighted that my son Jackson is part of the club and especially pleased my Dad was there to watch him when he played his first game for PAYFC in September 2017. My brother also played for the club growing up so it has been connected to our family in a number of ways. Football has been passed on through generations of our family and PAYFC is now very much part of that tradition.

Whilst its still in the early stages in your planning, can you please tell us a bit about your charity run you intend on doing next year?

I wanted to contribute to the festival next year to compliment the brilliant work of the club. I thought it would be a good idea to have some banners at the event with my dad’s name on them. I would not expect the club to buy them so I plan to raise the money for them through a sponsored run. I plan to run the 56 miles from my Dad’s birthplace of Auchinleck to Penicuik. I aim to do this in one day, it is roughly the distance of an ultra marathon and one of my friends who ‘claims’ to be an experienced runner of this distance has agreed to complete it with me. The more the merrier so feel free to get in touch with the club if you fancy all or part of it? I am looking to do this in early May next year to give time to order the banners for mid June by which time I should be able to walk again.