THE MAN behind Bromsgrove’s Walking Sports Hub is writing his first novella ‘A Symphony with the City’ which centres on Sevilla FC in Spain.
A combination of factors has inspired Alan Gormley to write the piece, including a love of football and history and, as Alan is a Birmingham City fan, Jude Bellingham’s move from the club he supported to play abroad.
Alan told the Standard: “When Jude went off to Dortmund, I started speaking to a lot of people in Germany about their football clubs and then, when he moved to Madrid, I did the same with people in Spain.
“We holiday in Spain anyway, so I’ve always had an interest in the place.”
Alan started reading histories of both football clubs and the cities and countries they are based in.
He said: “I follow 15 clubs around the World and, on one flight to Spain, read up on their histories – one of them was Sevilla.”
Alan said he became fascinated by both the club and the history of the city.
“It was where the Spanish conquering America began and I know a lot about the city – I love the history, the music, the buildings, the food and the beer there.
“It was just as we were leaving Seville to go elsewhere in Spain they beat Barcelona 4-1 – it was the first time in years they had won against them. It was almost as if it was a sign so I stuck with Sevilla as the subject for my novella.”
The way Alan has written the manuscript has been ‘like a symphony’ which, he said, inspired the title.
“A Symphony with the City’ is both memoir and meditation – a journey through streets and stadiums, through history and hope.
“Told with the sensitivity of a traveller the precision of a historian, and the heart of a supporter, it reveals how one club and one city move together to the same ancient rhythm.
“This is not just a book about football.
“It is about belonging – about the red thread that binds generations, and the song that never surrenders.”
Alan has given the book to several people to read and is currently going through their feedback and will be redrafting his novella in the coming weeks.
He said he did not think it would make much money once completed but added that, once it was, he would give any proceeds to charity.
“Our Walking Sports Centre has a partnership with Primrose Hospice so that’s one option but I’d love to hear from other local causes.
“The next stage of the plan is to tidy up the manuscript and get three or four people to read it before I press the publish button (by publish I’m thinking ebook and pdf).”
The book’s blurb states: “In Seville, the game is not a pastime – it is pulse, poetry and prayer.
“Its anthem rises like a hymn from the whitewashed streets, its rhythm echoes in the tap of a dancer’s heel, its heart beats in the roar of the Ramon Sanchez-Pizjuan.
“This is the story of a club born of fire and faith, shaped by artisans and dreamers, sustained by a city that sings even in silence.”
Anyone wanting to find out more about the novella, give it a read or put forward a good cause to benefit can email Alan at: [email protected] or call him on 07731 369942.
