Meet Peggy, Liverpool FC's 93-year-old superfan of 80 years
When Peggy Pickavant first went on the Kop at Anfield in 1945, she was one of only nine women in the entire stand. Peggy was just 14 at the time, and soon found the company of a woman in a long red coat. "She said, 'Come and stand here by me, girl," before another lady passed around cups and saucers and poured tea from a flask. It was the start of a lifelong love of Liverpool which will see Peggy, now 93, join the crowds to watch her team's Premier League victory parade on 26 May.
The women in the stand that day in 1945 - when Liverpool were still competing in the wartime North Regional League - became firm friends. Peggy remembers how the woman who had took her under her wing "used to call all the players over, and they used to say hello."They had never seen women before in the Kop."They thought it was wonderful to see women, as it was all men."
Peggy, a great-grandmother from Halewood, said she had a red front door on her home, with the club's flag flying proudly outside. She shared her love of the club with her husband, Tommy. "He used to come straight from work and I used to meet him up the Kop," she said."He used to say, 'I'm not standing by you because you shout too much'."He would say, 'You take it too serious'."
'My wish'
Hundreds of thousands of Liverpool fans are expected to watch the club's Premier League open top bus parade through the city on Monday.The bank holiday celebration marks Liverpool winning their 20th English league title win.It comes after the Reds clinched the victory after beating Tottenham Hotspur 5-1 at Anfield last month."I would love to meet the players. That would be my wish," said Peggy, who is due to celebrate her 94th birthday next week."If I met them I would say 'Well done - you've kept me happy for all these years'."
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