Author Archives: laurencereade

The Cold Wind

29 Sunday Nov 2020

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Saturday 22nd March 2008 ko 10.30

Central Midlands League – Premier Division

NEWARK FLOWSERVE 1 (Sharpe 20)

BOLSOVER TOWN 1 (Robb 50)

Humphries sent off 44 (violent conduct)

Att 260

Entry £2

Programme £1

Sometimes organised groundhops get remembered for certain characteristics. One Welsh Hop got remembered as the “Dog Shag” hop after two dogs misunderstood the excitement on the pitch at Carnetown, and the 2018 South West Peninsula Hop was the “Wet Hop” as organiser Phil Hiscox had to switch one game on to Exwick Villa’s 3G to get the game played. But without question the 2008 Easter Hop in the Central Midlands League was the cold hop! Continue reading →

The 3rd Ground

25 Wednesday Nov 2020

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Friday 26th September 2008 ko 19.45

East Midlands Counties League

DUNKIRK 2 (Senko 51 Smith 78)

HEANOR TOWN 1 (Wells 81)

Att 113 at Ron Steel Sports Ground, Lenton Lane, Nottingham

Entry £4

Programme £1

When I wrote about Stockwood Wanderers a few weeks ago, I compared the 3 clubs cheek by jowl in southern Bristol as akin to the Lenton Lane treble of Bilborough Pelican, Dunkirk and Greenwood Meadows in Nottingham.  In terms of this blog there is a catch- if you’ve clicked the Dunkirk link you’d have spotted that that game was on Dunkirk’s second pitch. Since there’s time with 2 weeks worth of lockdown left, let’s put that right! Continue reading →

The Palace

23 Monday Nov 2020

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Saturday 31st October 2009 ko 10.30

Oxford University Middle Common Room League Division One

NUFFIELD COLLEGE 3 (Gallo 16 55 Strang 73)

WOLFSON ST CROSS 1 (Cockfield 22)

Att 7 at Worcester College, Oxford

Free Entry

So with another dose of lockdown, I’m both up-to-date with this blog and at a loose end. So while I can’t watch anything live, I’ll dip back into my photo archive and tell the tales from back when. To start with here’s one that involves a bone fide legend. Continue reading →

Fade To Black

19 Thursday Nov 2020

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Wednesday 4th November 2020 ko 19.45

Southern League Division One Central

DAVENTRY TOWN 3 (Hayward 18og Bowen 40p Orosz 68)

Jackson sent off 46 (2nd booking)

DIDCOT TOWN 0

Att 120

Entry £10

Programme- Online

With England’s second month-long lockdown due to start at midnight, Robyn and I knew we weren’t the only ones planning what was going to be at best our only live game in November and possibly longer. Continue reading →

The Kett Rebellion

12 Thursday Nov 2020

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Saturday 31st October 2020 ko 14.00

Anglian Combination Division One

WYMONDHAM TOWN 3 (Tuttle 62p 71 Woodcock 90)

NORWICH UNITED 2 (Diggens 57 Middleton 85)

Att 42

Free Entry

Just like in March I could feel the walls closing in, Oxford had just moved to the more restrictive Tier 2 Covid restrictions, and I ended up taking advice on firstly whether I could make this trip, and then whether I ought to. I ended up picking a game, like those that had gone before, that was in an area of low infection, and somewhere I could easily maintain social distancing. I also wanted a game without floodlights; with clocks now on GMT a 2pm kick-off would get Robyn and I  back to Oxford early enough to spend time with friends wrapped up against the cold, outside in the pub garden, for a beer or two . As the landlord put it at the time, with all the new restrictions it seemed easier to lock down altogether. 

Continue reading →

Dance With Me

07 Saturday Nov 2020

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Tuesday 27th October 2020 ko 19.45

Isthmian League Division One North

COGGESHALL TOWN (Claridge 33p)

AVELEY 0

Att 126

Entry £10

Programme £2

I suspect it’s all too easy to see Coggeshall Town is the Olly Murs club; it was a reason why I delayed visiting West Street until Robyn could come with me! For those who didn’t know pop star Murs bought a 50% stake in the club and is responsible for the refurbishment of the clubhouse. 

Continue reading →

The Stockwood Treble

28 Wednesday Oct 2020

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Saturday 24th October 2020 ko 15.00

Somerset County League Premier Division

STOCKWOOD WANDERERS 1 (Britton 64)

KEYNSHAM TOWN RESERVES 1 ( Banfield 70)

Att 38

Free Entry

Back in the day the test of the committed hopper was the completion of the Lenton Lane treble. The rather unprepossessing road in Nottingham is less than half a mile long but nevertheless used to sport the grounds used by Bilborough Pelican , Dunkirk and Greenwood Meadows. Unless you were on the 2004 Central Midlands League Hop that featured all three, doing the Lenton Lane Treble did take a certain amount of commitment! Continue reading →

The White Peak

21 Wednesday Oct 2020

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Saturday 17th October 2020 ko 15.00

Central Midlands League Division One Central

WIRKSWORTH IVANHOE 3 (Mellor 3 34 36)

Leask missed penalty 53

WOODHOUSE COLTS 3 (Hajman 54 Glenn 74 Clarke 90)

Att 62

Entry FREE

Programme £2

I had something of a dilemma.  I knew wherever I was going I was going alone. Robyn had been in contact with someone who had subsequently tested positive for coronavirus, so she was in the middle of two weeks self-isolation. She encouraged me to find a game, but what game to find? Continue reading →

Karma Police

16 Friday Oct 2020

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Wednesday 15th October 2020 ko. 20.00 (ish)

Hellenic League Veterans Division One

JET VETERANS 3 (Lynch 4og Parry 5 Jackson 35)

RG VETERANS 2 (Lucas 24 Webster 48og)

Att 5 at Tilsley Park, Abingdon

Free Entry

Karma police
Arrest this man
He talks in maths
He buzzes like a fridge
He’s like a detuned radio

Radiohead, “Karma Police” 1997

I can hear the howls from the traditonalist hoppers as I type this.

A veteran’s game? You can’t count that!

Well here’s another adage; “My hobby, my blog and my rules”, so I can and I will. Besides, I’d wanted to visit Tilsley Park for a while. Continue reading →

Witness

14 Wednesday Oct 2020

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Saturday 10th October 2020 ko 14.30

Anglian Combination Division 4

NORTON ATHLETIC 2 (Burcham 9 MacDonald 24)

THORPE ST ANDREW RESERVES 0

Att 23

Free Entry

Programme by donation

On the face of it there wasn’t much going on in the south Norfolk village of Norton Subcourse. Just a crossroads, a bus stop with no bus service, and the round towered St Mary’s Church, with one service every two months. It’s rural, with a farm and a cement works but despite the fact that the entire population is only around 300 you’d be hard pushed to find a more vibrant club.

Continue reading →