Board Members

The first words that my Dad ever said to me were “up the Clarets,” just seconds after I had been born – I didn’t have much choice but to follow Burnley for the rest of my life after that! With a Bertie Bee teddy in my arms, I would hightail out of Blackburn Hospital and not look back. After a childhood spent attending school with dozens of Blackburn fans, the 9^th  of March 2014 would be a special day indeed (thank you Danny Ings). My little legs first walked – well, got carried – into Turf Moor when I was just six months old, and they’re still quite little to this day.

Over the years, I have scored at cricket games, waited on at wedding venues and served chicken at KFC, all in a bid to fund my ventures up and down the country following our beloved Clarets. Those KFC hours would tick up drastically in 2018 as I scraped enough money together to fly across Europe following our heroes. From a tortuous drive up to Aberdeen to guiding Rocky around Istanbul on the metro, to sleeping overnight on a bench in Corfu on my way to Athens (tight budget…) – it was the adventure of a lifetime.

More recently, getting to home games has been as much of a challenge, having studied at the University of Bath since 2019. It is safe to say I have become acquainted with the Megabus route from Bristol to Manchester, as I try and make my way up North for every home game.

In my spare time I am a panellist on the No Nay Never Podcast, which is your audio home for all things claret and blue, and I try to get to as many festivals and gigs as I feasibly can! Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band, DMAs and Blossoms are three of my favourite artists.

It has been a pleasure to step up in responsibility on the Clarets Trust board in recent months and I can’t wait to see how far we can take the Trust in the future. We are Fans Representing Fans at Burnley FC, and I am looking forward to ushering in a new generation of Burnley fans with the Clarets Trust. It is the young generations who will drive the Trust into the coming decades and ensure that our great football club goes from strength to strength as the years go by.

Born, bred and living in Burnley, Clarets supporter for more than 60 years. Married to Janet with two (fairly) grown up daughters – all four of us are season ticket holders in James Hargreaves Upper.

Civil servant for 35 years working in various parts of the North of England. Second career working for a charity/voluntary organisation in Burnley for 12 years until retirement in September 2014.

Other interests/roles include active member of KSC and Catenians, voluntary work for the Lancashire Lieutenancy. Loves most sport.

I was a Board Member of the Board of Management at a Housing Association where I was also on the Audit Committee, Diversity Committee and served as Diversity Champion.

Previously served as a Governor at a local Primary School.

As well as Board Member, Treasurer & Webmaster of the Clarets Trust, I am currently a Trustee and Treasurer of a local registered Charity.

I am fourth generation to “stand on the terraces” at Turf Moor.

Outside interests include travel, photography, cooking & computing.

I have been involved in the Trust since it started back in September 2004, and have been a board member for over 10 years now.

The role of membership secretary has been an enjoyable one, and before that I was involved in the Trust’s anti-racism work.

I always attend as many meetings as possible, given that I live in Sheffield, and try to come up with ideas to raise the profile of the Trust, such as the “Trust The Clarets” beer produced in association with Worsthorne Brewery.

I also used to take a lead role in producing the newsletter on a regular basis for several years, which drew on my experience as fanzine editor of “When The Ball Moves…”, which ran for around 17 years.

Outside of the Trust, I enjoy playing football, am a qualified referee and coach, and also do the occasional 10K run, as well as brewing my own beer from time to time!

Growing up a stones throw from Turf Moor it was inevitable I’d become a lifelong Burnley fan. I would plead with my dad to take me on to matches in the 1970s when sadly football wasn’t the friendliest of environments for a little girl. I’ve flown the flag for Burnley wherever I’ve gone – travelling back from University just to make it to crunch games in the early 90s, to wandering off in the Salt pans in Bolivia to get radio reception for the final scores.

I spent 20 years living in London – working both in Parliament and in the voluntary sector on policy, research and campaign projects: including – among other things, work on homelessness; food safety policy; and supporting the All Party Parliamentary Football Group (I ensured Burnley FC were invited to give evidence to an enquiry into governance of football).

I was actively involved with the London Clarets, serving on the Committee for 10 years or so: representing the Supporters Club at APFSCIL (the Association of Provincial Supporters Clubs in London) which shared and sought to progress shared concerns and issues like travel to games, as assisting Editor and then Editor in Chief of the bi-monthly magazine “Something to Write Home About”.

So a varied past! I returned to the North in 2012 and was co-opted to the Clarets Trust a couple of years later before being elected to the Board. A chronic illness sufferer (with M.E.), I remain a season ticket holder at Burnley. There’s no doubting the importance of the Club within the town – Burnley FC plays a pivotal role in the community and, as the largest small shareholder, I hope to see the Trust’s role develop as lynchpin between community, club and a voice for the small shareholders.