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One Sunday lunchtime from my childhood in Belfast will live with me forever.

I was around 15, so we’re talking 54-odd years ago.

A chair was positioned by the telephone in the hallway and I was told to sit on it.

I was puzzled why but did as I was told.

The phone rang and, with a bit of encouragement, I picked it up. The voice on the line said, ‘Hello Michael, This is Joe Royle’.

He’d have only been about 18 but was playing centre-forward for Everton. He was my favourite player. I absolutely loved him.

His picture is probably still etched on the wall of my dad’s cluttered old garage where I used to practice with the little band I played in. Joe won’t be lonely, Alan Ball and Colin Harvey were up there with him.

Music runs in the family and my Uncle Freddie played in a band in Liverpool with Joe’s dad.

I was so excited to get talking to Joe and he would send me a few bits and bobs over the years, programmes and so on. The only downer was I never had the opportunity to take him up on his offer of a tour round Goodison Park because it was a long time before I managed to visit.

I was well into adulthood when I got to the stadium. Even then, the first time I went to Goodison wasn’t for a game. Oddly enough, it didn’t matter. Just to finally be there was so exciting and it is no different to this day.

My first match is a blur, it was gone before I knew it. Everything happened so quickly, I was looking for action replays that weren’t there.

The abiding memory, though, is the contrasting sounds from different parts of the ground. I was spellbound by the whole occasion; by Everton.

But I was hooked on the Club long before then – and this lifelong obsession began purely because of a pretty fortunate chain of events.

My dad, Jack, was from Norris Green, although that had nothing to do with my choice of football team.

Dad was a military policeman and sent to Northern Ireland during the war. He met my mum in Downpatrick and they settled in the country.

My older brother played in Van Morrison’s band and dad became a fairly well-known musician in Belfast.

Football wasn’t on the agenda at all. Not until I switched on the television one Saturday in May 1966 and a game was starting.

I decided to watch because it was a rare thing to see a football match on TV. The World Cup was coming to England, too, so I thought I should take an interest.

I sided with the team in blue – I always liked anything blue and wore blue clothes all the time – and was jumping out of my skin when Everton won.

But I didn’t know it was the FA Cup final – I had no idea what the FA Cup final was.

I was just really excited watching this team coming from two goals behind to beat Sheffield Wednesday.

When dad came home from work that night I was nervous about telling him I’d found a team other than Liverpool – his entire family were Liverpool supporters.

I anxiously told him it was Everton and he asked if I knew where they were from. I had no idea. But he said it was a perfect match.

I have three sons now and their first Everton games were among the best experiences of my life. I took them individually, to ensure they each had my full attention.

They were beside themselves with excitement and I was so proud to have taken them.

Everton were responsible for a lot of bonding in our household.

We were very early getting Sky and when the Everton matches were on, the four of us would make sure we were together and glued to the television.

There were teddy bears named after Bob Latchford and Duncan McKenzie. One of my sons now lives in Geneva. He has two boys born and bred in Switzerland but they are staunch Evertonians.

I’ve converted quite a few people over the years, as well. My wife was a Manchester United fan but now she’s a Blue.

I’m not above having Everton heroes all this time after my call from Joe, either. I went to a game in one of the Goodison lounges for my birthday a few years ago and when Duncan McKenzie came over, I was shaking and just so excited to meet him.

You wonder if your feelings for Everton will dilute with age but there’s no sign of that happening any time soon.

Quite the opposite.

I love the Club more than ever.

By Michael Harrison, Evertonian