About the Author

Martin Perry hails from Cheshire and Geoff Smith from Nottingham. In his teenage years Martin lived in Sunderland and became a lifelong fan of Sunderland AFC while Geoff has always been a Nottingham Forest devotee. Martin moved to Nottingham in 1967 and in 1971 met Geoff at the beginning of a 44 year friendship during which they both enjoyed long and successful teaching careers. In the late 1970s and early '80s they both witnessed the amazing success of Forest under the stewardship of Brian Clough. In the 1990s both aspired to Deputy Headships and during this time Martin met Brian Clough when he invited him to preside over his school's annual award ceremony. On entering their fifties both became avid long distance walkers and completed together most of the well known walking trails.