WHEN Barbara Kerks joins the Bolton Wanderers faithful at the Reebok on match days her eyes are more on the crowds than on the pitch.

This is no reflection on the standard of football - it's simply because Barbara is more interested in the supporters than the players.

The 49-year-old writer and teacher is involved in a joint project involving Bolton Literacy Trust and Bolton Wanderers' learning centre to collate fans' memories of their team.

These personal recollections will be on the club's website, in programmes and will form a book to capture individual stories for posterity.

Barbara said: "Wanderers is very important to this town. Its glory days and its dark days have always been influential in life here."

So, to ensure that incidents and anecdotes from ordinary fans are not forgotten - and to complement the Wanderers study centre and literacy projects - Barbara was asked to record them.

"These can come from adults or children, from recent matches, or from the Burnden days. I just want to hear from people about something they remember which relates to the club," she added.

As a result, Barbara has already gathered memories about the pie shop near Burnden Park, walking to matches over Orlando Bridge, right up to this season's trip to Arsenal when hundreds of Bolton fans travelled by coach.

She has become a regular at home matches - much to the envy of her husband and two children - armed with a tape recorder and notebook.

Barbara said: "At first, I found approaching strangers a bit daunting, but people have been very helpful and prepared to chat so far."

She is now also wearing a big badge urging supporters to "Talk to Me"

"That should help!" she laughed.

A spokesman for the Wanderers' study scheme said: "We are hoping that the project will provide an outlet for the community to share memories about the club before they are lost forever.

"However big or small, long or short they may be, we want to hear from people and they can also send photos if they like."

  • To share Wanderers' memories for the project, contact Barbara on 01204 524349 or email memories@studybwfc.co.uk