LOVING LIFE AS A SYNNER

ILLLINGHAM Synthonia claim a place in my heart mainly because my elderly mother lives in Billingham, and the lady who ran the pie counter when the Synners played at their previous residence of Stokesley Sports Club walks past her window most days on her way to Asda.

- 

Well, there's a good deal more to it than that, but we'll kick off there.

What has my little old mum got to do with anything, I hear you ask. Or, for that matter, the pie lady? Quite a lot, actually, if we are talking about the underlying romance of lower-league football. Allow me to elaborate.

Notwithstanding the fact that the lady in question would sell you a hot pork pie and a Bovril for only £3.50 (arguably the best value for money in any league, anywhere), the point is that local roots run very deep indeed.

Going about their business in the shadow of Middlesbrough, Billingham Synthonia FC continue to hold fast the affections of many Teessiders, not least because the team was formed, in 1923, as the works XI of ICI Chemicals, taking its name from 'synthetic ammonia', one of ICI's products. Given that thousands of locals worked at ICI (including the teenage Brian Clough, as an office boy), it is hardly surprising the team represents a strong cultural affinity with the region. (Mum's house, for example, is one of hundreds previously owned by ICI and used to accommodate employees.)

Granted, Synthonia, who proudly ply their trade in Northern League Division Two, and nowadays groundshare as the guests of Stockton Town, are not the only club in Billingham, but the team playing in green and white quarters are by far my favourites. Billingham Town feature as their main rivals, and the town now boasts Billingham Coolers and Billingham Lions too (named after the landmark cooling towers and a local sports bar and grill, respectively).