Sky Blue Nostalgia Treat
For Coventry City fans of a certain vintage and maybe even younger supporters, a new book provides a fine insight into the history of the club's memorabilia. Got Not Got The Lost World of Coventry
City provides a trip back through time featuring old kits, programmes, badges, kits and much more. The latest in a series of books that started with one on across the board football artefacts,
features our very own club harking back to the halcyon days of Hill and Milne.
Its a throwback to the days of the terraces, dodgy photoshoots and even ropey political correctness as the Sky Blue Matchday Girl of the early seventies mirrored tabloid trends. Its a fascinating
look at a time when the bobble hat was an essential fashion accessory. While the players themselves were still figures of worship, they were paid a more normal wage and often worked in factories
and offices etc after their football retirement. A time when testimonials were much merited and big occasions for player and fan alike.
Many of the items in the Coventry City edition of the book were provided from the collection of Sky Blue City historian, Dean Nelson. His remarkable collection of club heirlooms show a incredible
attention to detail with everything from scrapbooks to Subbuteo figures lovingly preserved. Also a member of the CCFC Old Players Association, he shows a fine dedication into the conservation of the
club's history. Its lovingly mirrored throughout the book's many photos and quotes.
In these days when football could be accused of losing the common touch, it shows how decades gone by had a real connect between players and fans with things like image rights not even thought
of. Youngsters somehow felt closer to their heroes and collected homages to them with zeal. We are lucky people like Dean and other contributors to the book understand the worth of football
collecting as a form of social history as we are transported back through the decades.
The latest in the much acclaimed, Got Not Got series, The Lost World of Coventry City is a beautiful collection from the corridors of time reflecting the club's meteoric rise to a thirty
four year stay in the English league's top flight. Those days may be long gone but they have been time restored and presented with an admirable passion. Authors, Derek Hammond and Gary Silke have
clearly hit on a winning formula. There is a great warmth in the book that will light up many a winter until our sky returns to blue. Now where's my bar scarf and rattle?
