The People's Forum: Thanks again mate, agree with everything you said

I proper froze when I saw Reid but shaking Mountfields hand, I said to him "you're a bit of a hero to me" and he must hear that all the time but he said "thanks so much lad" and that was awesome for me.

Thanks again mate, will never forget it.

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It was a genuine pleasure - I'm just so glad that it all worked out the way myself and Beechside had hoped it would for yourself and Mya, and the unexpected bits and bobs that happened along the way just added to the enjoyment for me (your face was an absolute picture when we bumped into Degsy and I stepped back from that gate saying "After you Mr Reid" )

Just for a bit of context for everyone, I was originally expecting the whole family to be coming up, including Liv, so it threw me a bit when it was just Aaron and Mya - however, having had leukaemia as a teenager myself and being acutely aware of how that affected my brother, I was really keen to make a fuss of Mya and make it a special day for her, so I called Aaron to discuss it and was pleased when he said that it would be fine and Liv would be all good with it.

I really enjoyed the whole day getting to know you both, and also the other Evertonians we bumped into along the way - I've only ever driven past the tower before myself, so it was good to see that (and bump into some American fans!) and I don't think I'll ever tire of the reactions of people seeing BMD for the first time (again - loads of other fans down there with excitement clearly building)

The club did brilliantly with the pitchside photos (including the Junior photographer Izzy) and Graham Stuart and Ian Snodin did a great job of making a fuss of you and making you feel special, having a brief chat about the situation with Liv, from just the minimal information I'd provided when arranging it. Really great stuff.

I'm glad we got to spend some time with Beechside - and I loved the fact that he deliberately went off to several stalls in search of a "matchday badge" for Mya to remember her first ever game - just over 16 years after he did exactly the same for my son Alex at his first game in December 2008, after securing us tickets that day as well - a great bloke and a brilliant Evertonian.

The match wasn't brilliant (especially with your view of it!) but at least we got the equaliser - and nearly a late winner - but for me, the whole day was just a re-affirmation of how lucky we are to support this special club of ours. Evertonians aligned to make it such a great day (and also a shout-out for Richie from the Heritage Society who bundled up a few goodies for Mya and Liv) and I genuinely feel privileged to have shared that experience with you. The only bit that didn't quite work out was that, at the time we were in the Fanzone, Giulia was too busy with interviews to give Mya the shout-out that I'd messaged her to to ask her to try to do if she could, and my only real regret of the day is that I didn't take a few more photos of YOU, with Degsy and Peter Reid and especially with your mate Mark as that was a genuinely brilliant and serendipitous moment when you realised he was sat there with his family (although I share your reservations about being "Tik Tok famous"!!!)

I'm just glad you both enjoyed it and had a memorable first/last day at our beloved and unique Goodison...just 4 more left there for us now. Crazy times.

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Hi all,

I wanted to post to let you all know how my final (and first for Mya) trip to Goodison went last Saturday.

Thanks so much to Beechside who managed to get us 2 tickets in the main stand (and lent me £25 when I couldn't find a cash point!!) - it was really appreciated and it was lovely to meet you, Mya has put her game badge onto her school blazer! Was nice to meet Delaware too, awesome fellas.

Pablo (very, very) kindly volunteered to be our guide for the day and (after weeks of planning and phone calls to arrange it all) picked us up at about 11 from our Hotel near West Derby, near where I grew up. He took us to St Ruperts Tower, which I remember from when I was a kid but had forgotten how truly tiny it is. Had a look around Everton before heading over to Bramley Moore. Honestly, it was like having a professional tour guide with all the info flying around.

If you haven't been in the flesh yet then you are in for a shock - it's absolutely massive, I couldn't actually quite believe just how big it is (talking about Bramley Moore here...). Not just the stadium but the whole area, it's huge. Genuinely taken aback by it, can't wait to get in there.

From there we nipped into Sans Cafe, which is round the corner to Bramley Moore, to say hello to my mates mum who has ran it for decades, I used to stay over there as a kid every 2 weeks or so for years and have great memories of it. Anyway, I told them I was an old mate of Marks as I wasn't expecting him to be there and lo and behold, sat behind me was Mark with his 3 kids - not seen him since 1995. He was completely shocked, Mya said if we filmed it and put it on Tik Tok it would go viral, but I wouldn't know about that!! Anyway, that was awesome and very wholesome.

After that we went around the ground, had a Scouse pie (recommended) went into St Lukes and had a look at some merch and the art display downstairs, the place is steeped in history - Mya picked up the FA Cup! Shook hands with Derek Mountfield and saw Paul Power in the street, which was nice. Saw Peter Reid too, which I know for some of you will be like "so what" but for me that was a big deal, some hero worship was going on!! Has he shrunk or am I just massive?(don't answer that).

Pablo had arranged for us to get some signed shirts so we went into the ground and were presented them by Snodin and Stewart, they were absolutely amazing and made us feel so welcome. It felt like a real honour and Mya was just really taken aback by it all. the club know how to look after their fans with this sort of stuff. Mya got a signed Branthwaite shirt and they gave a signed Pickford shirt to Liv. Don't mind me fellas, I'll be ok . It was a real honour and what a memory for Mya.

Then it was onto the game, which was exciting but not a classic - didn't matter, we had an amazing time and it would not have been anywhere near as good or special if Pablo hadn't spent literally all day showing us around, introducing us to people, organising the shirt presentation etc. Big shout out to the guy sat next to Mya who, although extremely friendly, broadened Mya's vocabulary in various ways I can't repeat here, all I can say is Jack Harrison must have thick skin.

Pablo even dropped us back at our hotel afterwards which is completely out of your way, I can't express enough how brilliant you were mate, thank you so much. You also bought the girls a shirt each out of your own pocket and again, I can't express how brilliant that was. With all the other stuff she got given that day she had 2 full carrier bags! Happy is an understatement!

Some pics below - look out for the post!! Was elated just to be there tbh and if anything the post and I became friends before the end. Hung about for 20 mins to soak it all in one last time. Big thanks to what the FAB do there, it's great to see the fans represented by people who really care.

Hopefully get to Bramley Moore next year and see a few more of you.

Thanks again - Aaron, Mya and Liv xx