Saturday 28th October 2023 ko 14:15

Southern Combination – Division Two

BOSHAM 1 (Harris 32)

JARVIS BROOK 1 (Edmunds 41)

Att 232

Entry & Programme £4

We’d watched the Shoreham game in the midst of a deluge, and the downpour carried on all night. It was therefore of no surprise that at breakfast the news had come through that our first game at Pagham had been lost. And for the record saying the pitch was waterlogged doesn’t do the conditions justice. The place was flooded, as were many of the approach roads.

That gave us some time, so the coach party had some free time in Chichester. With Robyn’s ankle still causing her pain, I didn’t stray far from the coach, just enough to discover the Waitrose cafe will sell you a takeaway coffee, but you have to provide your own mug….

Perhaps it was no bad thing that we regrouped, and made for Bosham, where I can confirm the beer glasses incurred no extra cost! In the immediate term the state of the roundabout by Walton Lane showed just how fortunate we were to have lost just one game, but once we’d untrusted ourselves to Bosham FC’s hospitality everything began to look up.

It’s worth saying this was the club on the Sussex Hop with the least to work with. No stands, no floodlights and even a Parish Council that was keen to ensure there weren’t too many of us there. I mean God forbid watching a football match might be popular pastime. But from the moment we walked in there was a gentle charm to everything they did.

It was lovely to see volunteers from other clubs coming along to help out, and thankfully that didn’t include working on the pitch. It was clear that it drains extremely well, even if that seemed to be on the gardens of the houses on the far side! But this was an afternoon to enjoy a club getting everything right. The branded beers, the fish finger baps, even the Bosham mugs! Everywhere that could serve a crowd was utilised, including a youth club, and the volunteers managed to keep the queues moving, and make friends with everyone there.

Special mention should also go to Jarvis Brook, who entered the spirit of the day with gusto. Thanks to them for publicising the event, and yes, the idea is to visit them next time, with the proviso that we will need to find a way of getting either the coach, or its party through the narrow lanes to the ground.

The game was a hard-fought draw, but as I sheltered from the rain’s return I found myself reflecting on a how a club like this can be so completely stymied from progressing from this level? After all they stand for everything good that Bosham is and stands for; why not help them? But if that help never comes I know that I did my best for them, and in the future any Sussex Hop host club wants to know what good looks like, all they have to do is use Bosham’s example.