Author Archives: laurencereade

No, not me

11 Tuesday Jun 2024

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Saturday 4th May 2024 ko 14:00

Thames Valley Premier League, Premier Division

SLOUGH HEATING LAURENTIANS 2 (Aragrez 55 Lovering 77p)

HOLYPORT RESERVES 1 (Brinsden 8)

Att c30 at Polish Club, Stoke Poges

The weather was warm and sunny, and I had a lovely double lined up. Yet for all of that I felt conflicted, I’d made a fairly major decision in my footballing life, and that evening was when I was going to have to make that choice public and deal with the consequences. I wanted something beforehand that was low-key and relaxing.

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The Final Walk

09 Sunday Jun 2024

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Tuesday 30th April 2024 ko 19:45

West Midlands (Regional) League- Division One

GORNAL ATHLETIC 1 (Lawrence 32)

TIPTON TOWN 3 (Holder 35 Clifton 50 Piggott 85)

Att 725

Entry £5

Programme £3 (special commemorative issue)

For many years those in the know venerated Garden Walk. You made sure you visited as the West Midlands finest example of a classic non league ground. I’d made a beeline back in 2011, and was shocked to find out that the club were about to move off. I wanted to visit to say goodbye, and show my wife Robyn the place too, but after the Peninsula Hop I was without a car, the games kept coming and we couldn’t get there. In the end, the new car arrived, and we made for Dudley with just the one game left.

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A Different Corner

06 Thursday Jun 2024

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Saturday 24th April 2024 ko 14:00

Thames Valley Premier League- Division One

GORING UNITED 0

TADLEY CALLEVA RESERVES 6 (Cunningham 11 55 Theodore 22 38 Reid 32 61)

Att c25

Free Entry

On a personal level, finally my transport issues were over. I had an appointment on Saturday morning to complete the paperwork, and collect my new car, in fact there were only two issues with it. The first was that I absolutely had to be home by 5pm, and that the car wasn’t due to be ready until midday. But like the bluesman who thrives when restricted to 3 chords, sometimes the difficulties make you choose well. And I’d been hankering after Goring for a while…

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Lifts

05 Wednesday Jun 2024

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Saturday 20th April 2024 ko 14:30

North Wales Coast East League – Division One

LLYSFAEN 1 (J Reynolds 16)

PENRHYN BAY 4 (S Farrrell 58secs (pen) 81 A Roberts 8 Dickens 74)

Att c25

Free Entry

After what I regarded as the maddest of mad Marchs I needed a break. I’d made the decision to watch no more than the odd midweek game, but to lean more towards seeing the end of Oxford United’s season and helping with the North Berkshire League’s cup finals. But then 4 of us fancied watching United’s away game at Burton Albion.

Unfortunately, we managed only to get on to the motorway before the gearbox gave way. I managed do no more than to limp the car to safety, and we ended up listening to the game on the radio of the low loader taking the car and we the passengers back to Oxford. After doing just over the distance to the moon in 4 years, the car had finally died, and I ended up having to wait 3 weeks for its replacement to be ready.

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Dormie

31 Friday May 2024

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Saturday 30th March 2024 ko 18:30

South West Peninsula League – Premier East

IVYBRIDGE TOWN 6 (Rush 40 90+1 Pritchard 64 75 80 Mabin 78)

DARTMOUTH 0

Att 388

Entry £6

Programme £1

Teamsheet 50p

It felt like the end of an era as the groundhopping circus reached Ivybridge. It was the final game of this year’s Easter Hop but also the end of 3 hopping weekends in March. We’d visited Blackpool, Perth, and Exeter with a mere weekend off between each. I and others were exhausted so thank heaven Easter is later in 2025!

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Alcantara & Last

29 Wednesday May 2024

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Saturday 30th March 2024 ko 15:00

South West Peninsula League Premier East

ELBURTON VILLA 1 (Alcantara 56p)

Alcantara sent off 90+10 (violent conduct)

BOVEY TRACEY 2 (Haynes 12 29)

Thomas sent off (DOGSO) 56

Last sent off 90+10 (violent conduct)

Att 311

Entry £6

Programme £2

From Liskeard the cavalcade headed more or less due east, and over the Tamar to Plymouth and its environs. Elburton sits on the south-eastern edge of the conurbation, subsumed into Plymstock but the football club maintains the village’s identity.

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The Final Day

24 Friday May 2024

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Saturday 30th March 2024 ko 11:30

South West Peninsula League Premier West

LISKEARD ATHLETIC 2 (Kane 23 M Gilbert 50)

DOBWALLS 0

Att 508

Entry £6

Programme £1

It wasn’t just the final day of the Peninsula League Hop. It was also the final day of 6 weeks’ worth of organised groundhopping events that had started at FC St Helens in the North West Counties League, meandered round the northern reaches of the East of Scotland League two weeks later, and the start of the end of it saw us dipping into Cornwall!

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Disco In Kernow

21 Tuesday May 2024

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Friday 29th March 2024 ko 19:00

South West Peninsula League Premier West

HOLSWORTHY 0

BUDE TOWN 0

Att 906

Entry £6

Programme £1

If there was one of the Good Friday Peninsula Hop games in danger of postponement it was definitely Holsworthy. We’d all seen their tweets worrying about a section of the pitch, advising on a 4pm inspection and asking if anyone had a heater they could borrow, but sometimes as a groundhopper you have a decision to make.

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The Outskirts

15 Wednesday May 2024

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Friday 29th March 2024 ko 15:00

South West Peninsula League Premier East

TORRIDGESIDE 0

OAKHAMPTON ARGYLE 3 (Rowe 8 12 Mortimore 22)

Att 451

Entry £6

Programme £2.50

The cavalcade moved to the outskirts of Torrington, and the programme enthusiasts greeted the car park attendents as old retainers. They’d been here earlier, before the Torrington game to make absolutely, doubly certain they got a programme. They needn’t have worried, the club had more than enough to spare, even for the hoppers who’d decided to go off-piste to Ilfracombe but had been forced to turn tail when they discovered the game was off due to waterlogging.

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Devonian

12 Sunday May 2024

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Thursday 28th March 2024 ko 19:30

South-West Peninsula League- Premier East

HONITON TOWN P

SIDMOUTH TOWN P

postponed due to a waterlogged pitch

Friday 29th March 2024 ko 11:30

South-West Peninsula League- Premier East

TORRINGTON 1 (Davey 18)

Harper-Penman penalty saved 52

CREDITON UNITED 0

Att 422

Entry £6

Programme £2

It was good to be attending the Easter Hop without being too closely involved. We at GroundhopUK were pleased to have the Peninsula League’s Phil Hiscox along for last July for the United Counties League Hop, mainly for the company. I’m fairly sure we can’t teach him much about running one of these events, he’s been doing it longer than we have!

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