Decades-Long Football Friendship Rekindled with Weekly Cleethorpes Meetings

A group of retired men, whose bond was forged by their mutual love for football in the 1960s, has re-established their connection by convening once a week at a café in Cleethorpes. The individuals, who refer to themselves as “The Boys at the Back,” initially met as teenagers on the terraces of Grimsby Town’s Blundell Park stadium but subsequently lost contact due to the demands of work and family life. After concluding their professional careers, they began gathering every Wednesday at Oliver’s Eatery, located near Cleethorpes Pier, starting in 2015. Chelsey Auckland, the proprietor of the café, referred to their morning assembly as “paracetamol time.” Auckland expressed her delight, stating, “We love having them every week.” She further remarked, “It’s great that the friendship still has stuck together 60 years on. It’s absolutely fantastic.”