It’s December 22nd 2004, Heathrow Airport, and SP and I are queueing at the Ethiopian Airlines Check-In Desk, looking around to see if any other cricket fans are on the same insane journey to South Africa. There were some obvious suspects, a Manc Herbert with an England Cricket top on, but with him was a quiet, bespectacled middle aged man. Alan Wolstencroft, a bank worker from Audenshaw, who within days became Midnight to a group of people he had never met, a group who are all still proud to call him a friend 19 years on.
Alan, immediately earned everyone’s respect as a knowledgeable man who liked a pint and a joke. A modest man, not wanting to be centre of attention. Then towards the end of the first night out we all had together, he suddenly stood up at the table and launched into Suspicious Minds. He came alive, at midnight, he became Midnight Al, our beloved Midnight.
Midnight was kind, warm, funny and often very, very grumpy. Many of Midnight’s rants and grumpiness were related to his principles and standards. His famous Chicken Skin Curry incident, when many of us would have sighed and left the meal, Midnight let the waiters know what was what, and what wasn’t acceptable.
The funniest one I saw concerned Midnight’s poor opinion of Gary Ballance and when Ballance brought up his century in Grenada, we all jumped to our feet and applauded and then turned round to see Midnight sat in his seat, arms crossed, refusing to acknowledge someone he considered wasn’t good enough to wear the shirt. Midnight thought this century was just delaying Balance being found out at this level and dropped.
In the end, Midnight was proved right.
My favourite story of Midnight, that truly shows his character, was giving up his Manchester United season ticket after many, many years. He felt the owners were milking season ticket holders, pricing people out of their club and generally showing a contempt for fans. Midnight wasn’t priced out, he could afford to go still, but he saw it happening to other fans. That is what Midnight was about. A man of principles and standards.
We will miss you Midnight. We will miss your grumpiness, we will miss you denying you now live in Yorkshire, we will miss you kindly attracting all the mosquitoes and ants on tour so they didn’t bite us, we will miss your songs but most of all we will miss you being our friend.
They say in life you die twice. Once when your heart stops beating and then for a second time when people stop remembering you and saying your name. Midnight, that second passing won’t be for a long, long time. If you will allow me to alter the words of one of your favourite bands…
To be by your side, the pleasure the privilege was ours.
There is a light and it never goes out.