Baby joy is icing on the cake for Mileson after week to remember

He has announced plans for a redeveloped 6,000 seat stadium to see the club into the Scottish Premier League, sold his former company headquarters for £1.4m, bought out his overseas partners in a "multi-million pound" deal and - best of all, says Brooks - taken delivery of his first baby alpaca.

"It was just tottering about the paddock when I went out on Monday night. It's absolutely beautiful," he says.

Chairman of Albany Group Holdings, Brooks also handsomely sponsors the Northern League in perpetuity, a deal which extends throughout his lifetime and that of his children.

Born in Sunderland, seriously injured as an 11-year-old when a sand quarry fall broke his back - doctors feared he'd never walk again - he has become one of the region's best known, and most philanthropic, businessmen.

Peterlee-based Albany now employs 680 across a range of insurance, property, car hire and construction portfolios. Four of his companies alone made a combined £4.5m profit last year, £1.5m in the first quarter of 2004.

The previous headquarters - Morton House at Fencehouses, near Houghton-le-Spring - was sold to a private buyer on Tuesday for £1.4m, around seven times what he paid for it.

Once residence of the Morton, Lascelles and Belasis families, it was latterly home to an elderly lady called Mrs Berriman. "I promised her that I'd look after it, so after a couple of years dithering I'm delighted that it's gone to a very nice couple who'll live there," says Brooks.

He has given the new owner the Venetian chandelier and several of the valuable paintings which adorned the walls.

It was his takeover of Scottish third division Gretna, and the decision to make the first team squad full time, which particularly raised sporting eyebrows, however.

Though they narrowly missed promotion in 2003-04 he's confident that the former Northern League champions can be playing Scottish Premier League football within four years.

The new stadium, to be built on the site of the existing Raydale Park ground, is expected to meet revised SPL capacity criteria after the present problems over Inverness Caledonian's promotion.

"Six thousand is still twice the size of the village. I've seen examples elsewhere when people have built huge stadiums and regretted it," says Brooks, once tipped as a possible Darlington buyer.

Four years, he thinks, is a reasonable top flight target. "If not four, five. We're really pushing the boat out this year."

The alpaca was born at the wildlife sanctuary next to his home just this side of the border and has yet to be named. His first baby ostrich was called Amos and keeled over a few weeks later. There's probably a moral there somewhere.

Still with The Queen's Own Cross Borderers, the Crook branch of the Ross County supporters' club - now officially the Durham Staggies - was prominently on parade at the Crook Games League's annual presentation on Monday.

Ross play at Dingwall, senior football's most northerly ground. Crook is a 540 mile round trip away.

The club was the idea of Trevor Smith - known universally as Tree, the arboreal thing - who liked the sound of the name.

"I used to support Wimbledon but they got too big," he says.

His own crazy gang made nine or ten visits last season and plan to be there for the first game of 2004-05. "They didn't have a very good year but we're certainly not giving up on them," says Tree; the Backtrack column may well join the Ross County set, too.

Meanwhile back in Crook, most winners again gave their trophy money to charity - ranging from sundry hospitals to the locally founded Chernobyl Children appeal.

Former England darts international Doug McCarthy - at 62 still top of the "maximums" league - gave his winnings to the Mara Unit at Bishop Auckland General, which has helped his successful fight against cancer.

It was also the night of the annual Backtrack-McCarthy dominoes challenge, a grudge match were it possible for anyone in the world to hold a grudge against so lovely a chap as Dougie.

They might now: Backtrack 0 McCarthy 2.

Martin Gill top scored for Seaham Harbour last Saturday, 23 against Eppleton, and might have been a bit happier had anyone else scored at all.

None of the other ten managed a run between them. Six extras brought the total limping to 29 in 58 minutes.

"It's quite amazing, I've never come across ten ducks in all my time in cricket," says Durham Senior League secretary Ray Matthews.

The demise was chiefly due to former Durham County quickie Shaun Birbeck - seven first class matches, ten wickets, average 42.80 - whose 8-12 included a hat trick. The evergreen Gary Hume, wrong side of 50 nowadays, chipped in with 2-11 before Jimmy Daley, another ex-Durham man, knocked off the runs.

Sadly we have been unable to contact Seaham skipper David Thompson, a solicitor with Sunderland council and Gill's opening partner.

Eppleton secretary Elliott Alexander confirms that the pitch hid few demons, however. "We've had terrific pitches all season. I think it must just have been one of those days for Seaham."

Elliott himself was playing for the seconds, against whom Seaham did rather better. The Harbour were all out for 39.

Talk in Tuesday's column of Kirby Sigston - the village cricket club near Northallerton where John Thompson is 50 years not out - reminded Racing Welfare man Raye Wilkinson of a cup match he played there for Middleham when he and Nick Brown managed an all-run six.

"The ball got lost in some long grass under a tree. I was quite peeved at the time, because I got sent back on the seventh. It was a poor throw, we could have got home easily."

Approaching its 25th season and ever stronger in wind and limb, the Over 40s League has a new sponsor. Henceforth it'll be the Fosters North-East Over 40s League - Fosters as in lager and league secretary Kip Watson - an 86-year-old teetotaller - is delighted. "When you've got a brewery behind you," says Kip, "you know that you're secure."

That truly extraordinary sportsman Bobby Guy is back with a team gold medal from the world clay pigeon shooting championships in Cyprus.

Last month he won the English automatic ball trap title, last year he took team gold in Britain and Europe.

It would be a singular feat for any 63-year-old. What really fires the imagination - as we revealed last October - is that 35 years ago he lost an eye while welding at work.

"When it first happened I couldn't put a cup on that table or sugar in my tea," he said when first we met.

Eldon Lane lad, now in Toft Hill - west of Bishop Auckland - Bobby was in the English down the line team eight years after the accident and continues relentlessly on target in international veterans' competitions.

"The last two years have just been incredible.

"I can't really get my head around it," he admits. "It just all seems to have clicked. I sit looking at that world medal, wondering when the bubble is going to burst."

Still trigger happy, he hopes next year to have a shot at the world individual title. "You just have to make the most of what you've got," says Bobby and in the high visibility land of the clay pigeon, it's the one eyed man who's king.

Praise given to 'St Peter'

At Tow Law Football Club they call Billy Hall St Peter, because he's been on the gate so long. Heaven may be rather more temperate.

"Oh it can be pretty cold up here, and then there's the times you're standing in water as well," says Billy, who's also committee member, letter draw organiser and bingo caller.

When first there was an opening for a gateman - 45 years ago - he and others were able to take turns. Now he keeps the gate because no one else wants it.

"It's just something you get used to, I just wish I'd seen more of the match sometimes," he says.

His dad, the locally legendary W C Hall, was the oldest former Football League player - Manchester City and Blackpool - when he died in January 2000, aged 98.

Billy senior has also been on the Lawyers' committee, though he professed not to have the brains of a willick. ("I fill in my time aggravating folk," he once told the column.)

His ill health meant that his son missed the Lawyers' finest hour, the 1998 FA Case appearance at Wembley.

Club chairman Harry Hodgson has made a presentation to mark Billy's "many years" service - "the backbone of the club," says Harry.

"We'd be absolutely lost without him."

And finally...

The five post-war goalkeepers who've made more than 700 league appearances (Backtrack, June 8) are Peter Shilton (1,005), Ray Clemence (758), Pat Jennings (757), Phil Parkes (743) and Neville Southall, who topped the 700 when finishing his career with Torquay United.

Brian Shaw in Shildon today invites readers to name the only two Football League founder members who've played on the same ground throughout - and since a week's holiday is due, they've until June 22 to answer it.

Published: 11/06/2004