In August of 2007, I was living in New Zealand and writing The Bromley Boys. I needed some information on football boots in the 1969/70 season so I went online and managed to find a rather niche UK website devoted to boots. I emailed the man who ran the site and he was incredibly helpful - so much so, that after we lost touch a couple of weeks later, I thanked him in the acknowledgements.
Fast forward ten years and I've just moved to Guiseley, a small town near Leeds. When I was talking to one of the neighbours, a vaguely familiar name came up, but I couldn't place where I'd heard it before. I soon discovered that the man who helped me with football boot information all those years ago LIVES ABOUT 20 YARDS AWAY FROM ME, IN THE SAME STREET, ALMOST OPPOSITE. The picture shows us finally meeting up on New Year's Day. At a football match, naturally.