A brand new exhibition 'Jumpers for Goalposts' is to open at the National Football Museum at Deepdale.
The exhibition aims to help visitors recall their childhood memories of first discovering football - from kicking a ball around in the park to eagerly anticipating the next instalment of Roy of the Rovers.
And while Roy of the Rovers himself won't be at the opening, the next best person will be. Paul Trevillion, who drew the popular comic strip hero in the 1960s, will be the star turn at the official opening of the exhibition on Thursday 26th June.
Paul, who also draws the highly successful 'You are the Ref column' is acclaimed as the world's leading sports artist. He has worked for almost every national newspaper and has met and drawn many sporting greats including George Best, Pele and Bobby Moore. As a young man he also met and drew Winston Churchill.
His varied career has seen him work as a stand up comedian alongside Tommy Cooper and Bob Monkhouse, devise a split-handed golf putting technique and even be crowned World Speed Kissing Champion!
Museum Director, Kevin Moore said:
"Paul has so many memories of football and has met so many of football's heroes, we thought he'd be the perfect person to open the exhibition. It's really good of him to spare the time to travel up here and a real honour for us to welcome him to the museum.
"This is his first visit here and we hope he enjoys it…we're certainly looking forward to hearing his stories."
The exhibition takes visitors on a nostalgic journey of watching and playing football and collecting memorabilia. The displays include objects from the Museum's extensive collection, including Victorian toys and games, football collecting cards, cartoons, scrapbooks and annuals.
There's also the chance to get 'hands-on' playing football games old and new, watch football cartoons and films and listen to other people's childhood memories about football. Visitors will also have the chance to record their own memories about what football meant to them as a child.
Exhibition Curator Alex Jackson commented:
"As a child I loved anything and everything to do with football. I was looking through some of my old comics and football cards and the memories came flooding back.
"This was really the inspiration for putting the exhibition together and I hope that visitors young and old will find this really nostalgic. "
The exhibition runs until Sunday 8th March 2009.
