Partially sighted gran, 92, is moved to tears by visit to Nottingham Forest

20 February 2024 , 21:16

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Vera Hill, 92, was moved to tears by Nottingham Forest's anthem

A 92-year-old football fan who is losing her eyesight was moved to tears when she was invited to stand at the side of the pitch to hear her club’s famous anthem.

Nottingham Forest fanatic Vera Hill gave up her season ticket in 2012 when her eyesight began to deteriorate.

But her family arranged for her to visit the City Ground on Saturday to hear the Forest fans’ rendition of Mull of Kintyre.

Video footage of Vera standing at the side of the pitch with her grandson has been viewed eight million times online. And the Premier League strugglers rewarded her with a 2-0 win over West Ham.

Vera said: “My daughter and son-in-law told me we were going out for the afternoon, so I thought we were going for a meal. I never dreamed we would be going back to Forest.

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“I was so emotional when I heard Mull of Kintyre again. It brought back all the memories. I couldn’t see the match, it was just a blur, but they gave me a headset so I could listen to the commentary. It was fantastic that they won.”

Vera first started going to Forest matches with her late husband, John, in the 1970s. Just 5ft tall, she had to stand on a milk crate to see the action.

Vera is a lifelong Forest fan

Her love affair with the Reds continued for the next five decades as she watched them home and away.

But after being diagnosed with macular degeneration, she took the heartbreaking decision to give up her season ticket and stopped going in 2012.

She first started going to matches in the 1970s

Vera, from Strelley, Nottingham, missed the pre-match rendition of Mull of Kintyre – adapted by the fans to “City Ground, oh mist rolling in from the Trent” as much as the games themselves.

She even got her daughter, Debbie Caldwell, to park outside the stadium on matchdays so she could hear the fans singing. With the help of Forest bosses, Debbie, 61, recently decided it was time to make her mum’s dream come true.

Vera, who has four grandchildren, two step-grandchildren and three great-grandchildren, was joined by grandson
Reece Warner, 31.

Debbie, who filmed the emotional moment, said: “It was absolutely amazing to see mum so happy.

She gave up her season ticket after she began losing her eyesight

“All she wanted was to go and hear Mull of Kintyre again. I wrote to Forest hoping for a couple of tickets, but I never expected the welcome they put on.”

After John died in 2000, Vera went to matches with her son. Her favourite player is Stuart ‘Psycho’ Pearce – and favourite matches were the European Cup wins under Brian Clough in 1979 and 1980.

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Since giving up her season ticket, Vera listens to matches on the radio.

“I hate listening to the commentary,” she said. “I’m a nervous wreck for the whole game. I turn it on at half-time and again at full-time.”

Martin Fricker