Monthly Archives: September 2015

The Mother Of Invention

30 Wednesday Sep 2015

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Saturday 26th September 2015 ko 12.00

4 Liga Ilfov

ATHLETICO FLOREASCA 4 (Dorlan 20 Trendo 25 Nicolau 57 Brinza 59)

ACS CORBEANA 2 (Timesol 28 Serban 90)

Att 16

Entry FREE

No Programme

Bottle “Ursus” Beer 5 Lei (c 84p)

“O wonder!
How many godly creatures are there here!
How beauteous mankind is! O brave new world,
That has such people in’t.”

William Shakespeare “The Tempest” Act V Scene I

It’s simple enough to get to Stadiunul Athletico Floreasca, just take the Bucharest metro north on the M2 line to Aurel Vlaicu station, a day’s pass on the underground costs 8 lei, about £1.34. From there you cross the road and head south passing the Floreasca Park retail development a modernist vision of concrete, glass and steel before going to through the double gates into the altogether more humble surroundings of the football ground. Continue reading →

Play From Your… Heart

29 Tuesday Sep 2015

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Friday 25th September 2015 ko 17.55

International Club Veterans Friendly

ATHLETICO FLOREASCA 8 (Florea 4 66 70 Parashiv 8 20 38 52 Di Salvatore 30)

TuS BAR KOCHBA NÜRNBERG 0

Att 16 at Centrul Tehnic al Federatiei Romane de Fotbal, Buftea, Romania

Entry FREE

No Programme

 “Yes! Yes! Play from your ******* heart!… I am available for children’s parties, by the way.”

 Bill Hicks “Relentless” 1992

My contact in Romania Andrei had alerted me to this highly unusual ground to visit, to the north west of the capital. He’s involved at Bucharest-based Floreasca, and was kind enough to organise travelling companion Sim and I a lift out to Buftea with the visiting team. It would save a lot of time, effort and worry in new country, and all of that looked in jeopardy when our flight was delayed, sat on Luton Airport’s runaway. Continue reading →

Winning At Life

24 Thursday Sep 2015

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Wednesday 23rd September 2015 ko 19.30

Anglian Combination Division One

BECCLES TOWN 2 (Joe Clarke 60 62)

BUNGAY TOWN 1 (Whiteman 7)

Att c200

Entry & Programme £2

If you’re on Twitter and like football then I suspect you follow Shaun Cole and Bungay Town. Yes, even you at the back, the Manchester United fan that’s never actually been to Old Trafford, because Shaun sells his club like no other. They are the team that once offered everyone 5p to attend a game then the next year offered free mushrooms to patrons. Because just because your club exists 12 promotions from the Premier League doesn’t mean you can’t tell the world that you’re alive and kicking, and it does give you the freedom to do it with wit and charm. Continue reading →

Real Ales, Real Owls, Real Football

21 Monday Sep 2015

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Saturday 19th September 2015 ko 16.30

North Berkshire League Division One/ James Rennie Memorial Trophy

EAST HENDRED AFC 1 (Rowe 48)

LONG WITTENHAM ATHLETIC 1 (Cheong 24)

Att 204

Entry & Programme £4

Badge £3

“They dined on mince, and slices of quince,
    Which they ate with a runcible spoon;
And hand in hand, on the edge of the sand,
    They danced by the light of the moon,
          The moon,
          The moon,
They danced by the light of the moon.”

Except from “The Owl and the Pussycat” by Edward Lear

For someone who had only ever seen one game previously at Mill Lane, I seem to have visited this place a lot! The most abiding memory is the the series of meetings I attended in 2010 to get the North Berkshire Hop up and running. I met a third of the clubs across three meetings, and one of those was here. I remember one comment especially,  Continue reading →

Aim For The Plane

21 Monday Sep 2015

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Saturday 19th September 2015 ko 13.30

North Berkshire League Division 3

GROVE RANGERS 4 (Pickering 2 Vaux 18 Cramp 21 22)

BENSON LIONS 1 (Radcliffe 88)

Att 154

Entry & Programme £4

Badge £3

The first clubs on my wish list for this hop were Grove and the Lions. They’d kept us royally entertained at the Defence Academy last time round, so it seemed entirely logical that we’d simply reverse the fixture this time. What I entirely forgot about was the full sized model of the De Havilland Venom nearby, marking the site of RAF Grove which closed in 1974, but also I felt also marking the visitors’ links to the RAF. Continue reading →

Can I Call You?

20 Sunday Sep 2015

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Saturday 19th September 2015 ko 10.30

North Berkshire League Division Two

HANNEY UNITED 4 (Bishop 16p 41 Woodside 75 Woodside 88)

MARCHAM 2 (Larman 7 Dobbs 24)

Att 171

Entry & Programme £4

Badge £3

You have to be an enthusiast to organise a groundhop. I mean you wouldn’t subject themselves to the kind of day I had unless you enjoy it. Its not often that you find yourself at Radio Oxford at 7.40 in the morning to publicise the hop one last time, then get a lift to the other side of town to collect the last of our 3 minibuses before pick-ups at Steventon and Didcot Parkway station. Continue reading →

All Aboard

20 Sunday Sep 2015

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Friday 18th September 2015 ko 19.45

North Berkshire League Division One

WALLINGFORD TOWN 0

ABINGDON TOWN 1 (Pitson 59)

Att 125

Entry & Programme £4

There are so many tales I could tell of the North Berkshire League. The most important one for me personally is that they invited me on to their/our management committee a few weeks ago. It’s a massive honour, and validation for what Media Officer Phil Annets, GroundhopUK’s Chris Berezai and I have done together for the last 4 years’ worth of hops. What it did do too was imply more pressure on this year’s event, and true to form we ended up having to work far harder for our success than in previous years. Continue reading →

For Old Times’ Sake

17 Thursday Sep 2015

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Saturday 12th September 2015 ko 14.30

Welsh Cup 2nd Qualifying Round

PENRHIWCEIBER CONSTITUTIONAL ATHLETIC 2 (J Evans 18 S Thomas 64) Bennett missed penalty 34

LLANDRINDOD WELLS 4 (A Jones 44 Layton 38 B Jones 54)

Att 23

Entry FREE

Programme £1

You climb to get to Penrhiwceiber, up past Pontypridd then up again through Abercynon. Not for nothing is a nearby village called Mountain Ash! It’s just about superfluous to say that the South Wales Valleys villages were built on coal, with just about every settlement having its pit. Except here the pit was called Penrikyber, a piece of Anglicization which at least give the outsider an idea of how to pronounce the place! Continue reading →

The Newbies

16 Wednesday Sep 2015

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Wednesday 9th September 2015 ko 18.00

Cheltenham League Division 5

WINDYRIDGE ROVERS 5 (May 15 33 48 Brady 18p 60)

REGENCY TOWN 3 (Jones 17 Pullen 66 Lee 79)

Att 39

Entry FREE

No Programme

As a child I remember when I discovered the real joy of the FA Cup. It was and still is at that point where the last amateur clubs meet the professional ranks, and the latter’s fans indulge in the same question,” What League do they play in?”

Continue reading →

Roger, Steve & Gary

16 Wednesday Sep 2015

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Tuesday 8th September 2015 ko 18.15

Cheltenham League Division One

R.S.G. 0

KINGS AFC 1 (Newgil 75)

Att 26

Entry FREE

No Programme

I’ll miss the early evening kick-offs without lights, although I’m fairly certain that the players won’t! It can’t be easy finishing work, then heading over to the ground, getting changed and warmed up, and be ready to kick-off at 6.15. But I’m grateful the players are, and once again the Cheltenham League gave me plenty to ponder. Continue reading →