Category Archives: D

Gritstone

19 Friday Jul 2013

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Thursday 18th July 2013 ko 19.30

Pre-Season Friendly

DRONFIELD TOWN 2 (Bradwell 63 Whitehead 80)

STAVELEY MINERS WELFARE 3 (Damms 35 Digiralamo 39 Gurnhill 87)

Att 42 at Gosforth Fields 3G, Bubnell Road, Dronfield Woodhouse, Derbys.

Entry Free

No Programme

I think groundhoppers can be separated into 2 broad categories, the ones that are aware how daft the hobby can be and those who aren’t! Becalmed in M1 traffic half-way through a 130 mile drive to the northern-most tip of Derbyshire to watch a friendly on a plastic pitch in a cage, yes I did question my sanity! I’m sure fellow hopper Lee thought exactly the same thing, as he interrogated the traffic app on his iPhone to supplement the sat-nav’s directions.

The trouble is I quite like this part of the world, despite Notts-born Lee’s immediate prejudices against the county in general. I like the Church of St Mary and All Saints, Chesterfield famous for its crooked spire, caused apparently caused by the lead that covers the spire, which was added 300 years after it was built in 1362. When the sun shines the south side of the tower heats up, causing the lead there to expand at a greater rate than that of the north side, resulting in unequal expansion and contraction. This was compounded by the weight of the lead (approx. 33 tons) which the spire’s bracing was not originally designed to bear.

The scene changes when you reach Dronfield, the topography becomes more undulating as you reach the beginnings of the Pennines, and the characteristics of the town seem as much South Yorkshire as Derbyshire. That feeling is heightened when you pass the Coach and Horses ground of Sheffield FC, the oldest football club in the world.

These are exciting times for Dronfield FC. They won last season’s Central Midlands League North Division, and have been accepted into the Northern Counties East League. That means ground improvements, and as I write this the floodlights are being erected. Many groundhoppers will remember Stonelow Road from the excellent Central Midlands Hop game the club hosted http://wp.me/p1PehW-zz, although so far organiser Rob Hornby has not managed to convince me to try the local “Delicacy” Pork dripping sandwiches!

This game was played at the Gosforth Fields facility which is used by Dronfield’s reserves, AFC Dronfield, and Dronfield Rugby Club. Around the location there’s been a spate of house building which is proving to be something of a boon for the place as the bar area serves as a pub for the new community! And there are far worse things you can do on a warm Thursday evening than sit on a balcony with a beer and watch two decent sides play football.

I know Staveley from the Northern Counties East hop which I help organise. They were, and are a joy to deal with http://wp.me/p1PehW-EU and above all else I will remember my trip to Gosforth Fields as being the visit where both clubs and officials were notably friendly and willing to help with fripperies as line-ups.

And despite the fact that at half time there were 21 substitutions, it was a good game to watch. Staveley wore Chesterfield FC change kit in the first half and Spireites home kit in the second, and seemed to have a far stronger first half team. They were good value for their half time lead, but Dronfield took control in the second half, and when Steve Whitehead danced through the Staveley defence to equalise it was a fair reflection on the balance of play. That roused Staveley and Tony Gurnhill won the game with a well-taken strike from the right-hand side of the 18-yard box.

It not often I enjoy a trip to such a ground, maybe it was the company, Lee and I got to meet Sheffield-based hopper Mark Hartley, but this was a hugely enjoyable evening out. Maybe it would be a different story on a wet November Saturday?

Didcot Snow

24 Sunday Mar 2013

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At 2pm on Friday 22nd March they shut Didcot Power Station. An icon of the Oxfordshire countryside became a mausoleum at the flick of a switch, and a mausoleum that won’t be around for long either. With land prices high and a railway line nearby, once decommissioning has finished in around 18 months, the demolition will start. Inevitably the story is slightly more complicated, as there are two Didcot Power Stations. It’s the Coal and Oil fired Didcot A that’s closed, as it can’t meet EU emissions targets but the smaller Combined Cycle Didcot B is still in use, but the huge cooling towers and the vast majority of the skyline will disappear.

Many will be pleased to see it go, the plant was voted Britain’s third ugliest building by readers of Country Life magazine in 2003, and many times I’ve driven past and wondered how on earth it got planning permission! It’s visible for miles, from the M40 at Stokenchurch, and from the A34 at West Ilsley. The ecologists hated the place, in 2006, 30 Greenpeace volunteers invaded and a group chained themselves to a broken coal-carrying conveyor belt. A second group scaled the 200 metre high chimney, and set up a ‘climate camp’. They proceeded to paint “Blair’s Legacy” on the side of the chimney overlooking the town, claiming it was the second most polluting in Britain after Drax in Yorkshire. Friends of the Earth describe it as the ninth worst in the UK, so these groups will doubtless be celebrating.

The locals take a completely different view. For Friday’s light show finale, artists were seen sketching the towers, and descriptions comparing the towers to Antony Gormley’s Angel of the North were recorded. As far as I know, no-one went quite as far as Kelly Green who had the towers tattooed on her shin, but it’s clear that Didcot’s identity and the power station have become intertwined since its opening in 1968. Before then, Didcot was a Garrison town, with the Great Western Railway running through, itself only there because Lord Wantage objected to the line going through the more logical Abingdon to the north. I sat in the pub in Oxford last night and we talked about the station. I was surprised at how as children, we all used the place as a landmark to place when we were close to home after a long journey.

I visited the site after the celebrations had finished, the cameramen had packed up and gone, the artists nowhere to be seen. The cooling waters still flowed from the bottoms of the towers, as the snow began to fall gently. I smiled, Didcot got snow sometimes when nowhere else did, due to the cooling tower’s steam condensing and freezing. I contemplated the curves of the towers designed by Sir Frederick Gibberd, who also designed Liverpool’s Metropolitan Cathedral. It’s obvious he was massively influenced by the likes of Le Corbusier and the entire Bauhaus movement. Those designs, noted for functionality rather than form, think of 1950’s tower blocks, were seldom easy on the eye but I do think the Didcot residents have a point. There is a sense of “So ugly its beautiful,” about the station, and on that level alone I’ll be sad to see them demolished.

The Sons of Light

22 Friday Feb 2013

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Thursday 21st February 2013 ko 19.45

Combined Counties League Premier Division

DORKING 3 (Harper 10 70 Jackson 23)

MOLESEY 2 (Tawonezui 51 Spencer 65)

Att c50

Entry £6

Programme £1

There are so many similarities between Dorking’s Meadowbank and Wakefield’s Belle Vue, the traditional football grounds both set in the centre of town. From then on, the similarities cease, this is the land of composer Ralph Vaughan Williams, actor Laurence Olivier, and the builder of much of Belgravia, Thomas Cubitt.

There’s nothing remotely Cubitt-inspired about Dorking’s football ground. The influences here are the needs of the Isthmian League, one notch higher up the pecking order than the club’s present status, the club leaving the Isthmian League when that competition disbanded their Division Two at the end of the 2005/6 season. What’s left is a gorgeous 200 seat stand dating from the ground’s opening in 1956, and shallow terracing on most of the other sides. On the far side there’s the asbestos and concrete covered enclosure seen at so many Isthmian League grounds. It’s slowly being grasped by the ivy, but the club badge can still be seen, the famous Dorking chicken, popular on Victorian dining tables, and identifiable from the breed having five claws rather than the normal four.

I strolled into the clubhouse to read my programme and found the club stalwarts setting up a portable television to watch the closing stages of Tottenham Hotspur’s Europa League game. I ruefully spotted the frame where the projector-style set once stood. Still the welcome was effusive, and for once the game lived up to the surroundings, even of there was a caveat of sorts!

When copying down the line-ups outside the referee’s room I’d managed to hear the Dorking manager’s team talk; it does help when someone has punched a hole in the door! Two words were used a lot. One I can’t repeat here, but I’m sure you can guess; the other was naivety. There was no trace of that though straight after kick off, as Dorking raced into a two goal lead and it wasn’t for some appalling finishing it could have been double that at half time.

Molesey looked a far better team in the second half, but what happened next….well imagine you are the referee, what would you do? The Dorking defence didn’t clear the ball properly and so Arnold Tawonezui attempted to lob the keeper, Kieran Campbell. Campbell could only push the ball up and back, so the ball slowly dropped down into the……and that’s when the floodlights failed!The goal was given, although the Dorking management undoubtedly had a point when they wondered how the officials managed to see the ball cross the line!

It became obvious that this wasn’t a simple case of floodlight failure as the darkness extended to many of the surrounding streets. Nevertheless, the lights had to be allowed to cool down before re-lighting but during the 15 minute wait I discovered a wonderful piece of football ground design. Yes, the gents is designed so you needn’t miss the action, complete with paper towels to wipe away the condensation!

After the re-start Molesey carried on what they’d started, centre half Moses Spencer half heading, half bundling home from a corner, to give parity that looked barely plausible just before half time. Dorking’s naivety suddenly was lost, and they won the game with a twenty-yard screamer from Tommy Harper that seemed out-of-place with the charming errors it followed.

I travelled home, dropping off a fellow hopper on the way, and why on earth I’d waited so long to pay them a visit. It really is a gem.

O, wad some Power the giftie gie us

31 Monday Dec 2012

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Sunday 30th December 2012

At St Michael’s & The South Church, Dumfries.

I woke after a night drinking in Dumfries at some of the warm taverns frequented by the national poet of Scotland, Robert Burns, which in all honesty is more of a case of finding a pub which he didn’t visit regularly! It was an escape from the cold wind, and judging by the way the locals were shoveling the hot food down I wasn’t the only one thinking along the same lines. I was visiting my pal Iain, and he’s moved house since I last visited and when I woke, I poked my head between the curtains and spotted an interesting cemetery. Continue reading →

No, we didn’t!

23 Sunday Sep 2012

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Friday 21st September 2012 ko 19.45

FA Cup 2nd Qualifying Round

DIDCOT TOWN 3 (Clark 62 73p Osborn-Ricketts 77)

CLEVEDON TOWN 1 (Flurry 22)

Att 190

Entry £9

Programme £2

With the North Berkshire League hop the next day, this fixture couldn’t have been more convenient for those staying over the night before. Or in fact anyone who fancied a “warm-up” game. There were even 3 hoppers who’d watched Didcot Casuals, on Town’s training ground 2 years ago. I bet its unusual for the two grounds to be ticked off in that order! The convenience of the fixture lead to a rumour that Chris and I had got the fixture moved to attract hoppers. Not the case I’m afraid, we don’t carry that much clout, but Phil Annets media officer at the NBFL did get the club to put a full-page advert for the hop in the excellent programme!

Continue reading →

Two Classrooms

06 Thursday Sep 2012

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Monday 27th August 2012 ko 6.15pm

Mid-Wales League Division One

DYFFRYN BANW 2 (Molloy 6 G Lewis 33)

BUILTH WELLS 3 (J Williams 14 C Jones 16 Morgan 23)

Att 181

Entry/Programme Hop Ticket

Badge £3

We’d got a sneak preview of Cae Morfa on the way out to Dolgellau, and the one thing that was clear is that if the rain didn’t stop, a lot of us were going to get wet! Just a small lorry stand, popular around here, and insufficient for a large crowd.

Dyffryn Banw is a group of houses next door to the village of Llangadfan, in Powys. The river Vynwy runs behind the ground, eventually feeding the lake of the same name near the border with England. The village is home to St Cadfan’s, a medieval church whose original features have been obscured by a 19th century restoration. The church was originally said to have been established by Saint Cadfan somewhere between 510 and 515, shortly before he departed and founded a monastery on Bardsey Island where he served as its abbot from 516–542. These days there’s a pub, which many hoppers used as part hostelry, part shelter before the game, and the primary school that the club use for changing.

Even after the event I do wonder whether some hoppers saw Cae Morfa, and immediately assumed they’d already done the ground, and made for home. The club used to play on a pitch behind the school, but moved down, and across the road a couple of years ago. To make things worse the old ground was called Cae Morfa too….

On arrival I got the distinct impression the club hadn’t read their briefing notes. They’d charged a young boy with counting the crowd with a clicker. A minor issue but when counting a crowd we want one count, on one game on a Hellenic hop, we got three counts, all different! More pressing was when I asked where they intended to put up the line-ups. The response of “Don’t worry, they’re in the programme,” again shows they hadn’t done their homework, so I grabbed lifts to the school and back courtesy of Dave Jolly, and Barry and Linda Neighbour. Thanks to them I avoided a soaking!

The trip proved to be interesting; it was easy enough to get the sheets from the referee and I found a classroom that had been co-opted for use as a dressing room to copy the information across. No showers, and barely any privacy for the players, and with the absence of either power or water I began to wonder how they were allowed to play in the top tier of the league with these facilities. Still, once the teams entered the field of play, everything slotted into place.

The game set off at the frantic pace we’d come to expect on this hop. Banw took the lead early yet at only the 23rd minute they found themselves 3-1 down. They pulled one goal back before half time through Guto Lewis, but sadly that proved to be the end of the scoring. Builth tightened up noticeably in the second half, and try as they might Banw couldn’t make this half any more than a virtual copy of the second half at Welshpool earlier in the day.

I didn’t mind, as I’d found somewhere to shelter! No one could work out why the home bench weren’t using their dugout, despite the appalling weather. “Welsh Football” editor David Collins and Martin Bamforth had set up camp in it, and after doing the crowd count I joined them! One hopper even brought us cups of tea at half-time! It was a most convivial way to finish a hop.

As we left Cae Morfa, a club official took Chris Berezai to one side, to report that a hopper had tried to pressure the young lad with the clicker to give him a discount on entry. Quite why he thought he was worthy of paying less than everyone else is a mystery to me, but we know who it was, and our cards are now marked. It won’t happen again, and I’m pleased to report that the young man stood his ground, and the hopper paid full price. Obviously he’d read the briefing notes!

From there it was a case of heading back to Welshpool, passing the steam railway on the way, that seemed an eternity earlier, before organising a collection for Clive and Alan, our two drivers/heroes. It was then a case of organising those heading south on to one coach, allowing Alan to head back to Shrewsbury, before thanking everyone for coming then heading for home. As ever I allowed myself to comment to Chris, “I think we managed it again.”

There are of course so many people who deserve our thanks. Alan and Clive on the coaches were new to all this, but fitted in like old-hands. Having a coach allows hoppers without cars to attend games, and at Dyffryn Banw around 40% of the crowd arrived by one of our coaches. Thanks also to hoppers Graeme and Terry for helping with ferrying, and helping one hopper who obviously had difficulties. All our landlords, for cooking umpteen breakfasts all at the same time, including Cheryl at the Dolforwyn Hall who seemed genuinely sad to see us go. I will miss her hotel, and the evenings spent having a beer and a chat in the lounge. Thanks to Phil Woosnam, and Paul Worts at the Mid Wales and Mid Wales South Leagues respectively, it is always a real bonus to have the league officials supporting their hop and I think Phil and his family particularly enjoyed the steam train ride!

Finaly, thanks also to all the clubs, who without exception were a joy to meet and work with, and having now had emails back from some, made a healthy profit too. One club made £1900; that’s why we do what we do.

Hopefully we’ll see you on the 22nd September for the North Berkshire Hop. Advance tickets, at a discount from groundhopuk@yahoo.com.

Glaw

05 Wednesday Sep 2012

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Monday 27th August 2012 ko 3.00pm

Mid-Wales League Division One

DOLGELLAU AAFC 2 (Williams 62 70p)

CARNO 1 (Thomas 82)

Att 206

Entry/Programme Hop Ticket

Badge £3

Sticker £2

From Welshpool we headed out due west, giving the folks at Dyffryn Banw, our third game a wave as we passed by. From there is was into the wilds of Snowdonia, and across the border from Powys to Gwynedd, and the county town of the long since abolished county of Merionethshire. There is very much the feeling of being off the beaten track here, as even the main A458 snakes its way around the mountains before dropping into Dolgellau like an asphalt waterfall.

The name of the town is pronounced “Doll geth Lee” but the spelling has only been definitively decided on recently, in 1958. In fact, the local railway station until its closure under the Beeching axe, used signs saying variously Dolgelly, Dolgelley and Dolgellau! The town has been in the past a centre for Quakerism, and in the 19th century was the centre of a minor gold rush, and to this day the Clogau St Davids mine in Bontddu, and the Gwynfynydd mine in Ganllwyd have supplied gold for many royal weddings. Rally driver Gwyndaf Evans who won the 1996 British Rally Championship hails from here which seems somehow appropriate!

Other than the appalling weather, consistent and heavy rain, I was struck by how keen the club were to make people welcome. The club have no clubhouse of their own, so the rugby club’s facilities were co-opted, and despite the local council declaring the site “open land” the area was secured with temporary fencing so as to allow a gate to be taken. When the coaches arrived, a queue quickly formed, not good in the rain, but the club quickly took the initiative and shepherded ticket holders though another entrance. An excellent bit of quick thinking, and much appreciated by all concerned.

As organiser you love it when a club reads its briefing notes, and acts on them. Here they had no board for the line-ups so copied the line-ups out and left them in the bar for people to write down. During that time Chris, the two coach drivers and I were being given packed lunches by the club as ” I bet you haven’t had time to eat.” Space was also found for Derek Coupe to sit quietly, as although his health issues seem to have been resolved, he hasn’t got all of his strength back. Small things that cost nothing, but made a fantastic impression on us all.

We were glad of the stand at the half way line, although it’s a shame it incorporates the dugouts. Without it there would have been few places to avoid a soaking, a fact that may well have affected food sales as you had to queue outside for service. That would have been fantastic on a dry day, as you could watch the game while you waited, but on a day like this queueing was a trial. As organiser there are of course two things you can’t influence, the weather and the quality of the game.

And to be honest, the entertainment wasn’t quite of the quality we’d be used to. Perhaps we’d been thoroughly spoiled previously, but for a high percentage of the game this one looked like it had “Nil-Nil written all over it. It wasn’t that either side didn’t create chances, it’s just that they found a variety of ways to spurn them. Carno will no doubt have driven back to Powys wondering how they lost this, they had far more possession, but once Sion Williams fired home to collective a sigh of relief, that lead was quickly doubled, via the penalty spot. It speaks volumes for the game that on a hop where goals positively flowed, when Carno reduced the arrears with 8 minutes left, no one expected a come-back.

For all of that, I won’t remember Dolgellau AAFC (Amateur Athletic Football Club) for the game, the ground, or even the first completely bi-lingual programme I’ve seen on a hop. No, I’ll remember Dolgellau for its wonderful hard-working band of volunteers. And for a small club there is no better advert.

Influence

31 Tuesday Jul 2012

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Saturday 28th July 2012 ko 3.00pm

South of Scotland League

DALBEATTIE STAR 3 (MacBeth 31 Milligan 45p 74)

NEWTON STEWART 2 (Taylor 37 Sutherland 79)

Att 61 (h/c)

Entry £3

No Programme (old copy FREE)

Scotch Pie £1

Tea 50p

The original plan was to watch Hamilton Academical versus Airdrie United, but when the M6 decided to misbehave, Chris and I decided to divert to Dumfries and Galloway. That meant a new league as well as a new ground, and a town neither of us had visited either. Continue reading →

Probables? Possibles?

22 Sunday Jul 2012

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Friday 20th July 2012 ko 7.45pm

Pre-Season Friendly

DIDCOT TOWN 1 (Vincente 84)

OXFORD UNITED 1 (Smalley 78)

Att 593

Entry £9

Programme £2

To be honest, on Friday afternoon I was fully intending to give this one a miss. The new job with its commute is tiring, and I’ve been to Loop Meadow Stadium many times. However Dad asked if I was going, and that’s Dad-speak for “Can you give me a lift?”

And there’s a lot to like about the place. From the ground next door, used by Didcot Casuals that is in fact the floodlights and rail from Town’s old ground at Station Road, to the well-designed stand with far better sightlines that at, say Oxford City’s Court Place Farm. There’s a spacious bar, and now there’s cover behind the goal to keep the groundgraders happy. That, sadly is for the time being is irrelevant with Town relegated to the Southern League- South and West Division.

More than anything else it’s the friendly welcome that appeals most, and this evening was no exception. Didcot tends to be thought of as the town with the power station, and the cooling towers do dominate, but its significant garrison town too. There’s a significant railway presence because Lord Wantage prevented the Great Western Railway from having a station in Abingdon, thus passing the economic benefits around 5 miles south. The Isambard Kingdom Brunel designed station has been long since superceded, but the nearby Didcot Railway Centre is well worth a visit.

It was everything I expected from a pre-season fixture between these sides. Good passing football from both sides with the visitors dominating possession. United could, and should have led, but found no-one to do the simple thing and pass the ball into the net. James Constable forced a smart save from Marco Belloli in the home goal, and later saw his improvised bicycle kick sail just over the bar. Didcot were working extremely hard but could not get to grips with Jake Forster-Caskey who, in midfield was behind almost everything good United did. One through ball to Constable will live long in the memory, although the chance was eventually smothered by Belloli.

Oxford made 8 changes at half time, with just Adam Chapman, Wayne Brown and triallist Femi Orunuga remaining. Orunuga, formerly of Everton didn’t last long, yet another piece of trickery with no end product saw him replaced by first-year professional Tyrone Marsh. Chapman in the first half showed what a good midfielder he is and in the second, how he really shouldn’t play at right back. His sloppy pass was intercepted by Anaclet Odhiambo but Wayne Brown saved well.

Last season, the form of forward Deane Smalley was a major disappointment. A one-goal return and an unsuccessful loan spell at Bradford City, can only be improved on, and two goals in two pre-season games is a fair start. The root of the goal was an excellent diagonal pass from Tyrone Marsh to Sean Rigg on the right side of the box. Rigg crossed well and Smalley timed his run perfectly to tap home.

And that should have been that, but Odhiambo’s cross was horribly spilled by Brown, and there was Danilson Vincente to tap into the empty net. Of course you shouldn’t read too much into friendlies, but have a look at the right side of the teamsheet and ignoring the triallists, its hard not to see the two OUFC line-ups as “Probables” for the first half and “Possibles” for the second.

 

Rain o’er me

22 Sunday Jul 2012

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Thursday 19th July 2012 ko 7.00pm

Pre-Season Friendly

DESFORD 0

LUTTERWORTH ATHLETIC 1 (Laxton 30p)

Att 22 (h/c)

Played at Kirkby Road, Desford.

It was, I suppose the classic reason to do a pre-season friendly, a ground not normally used for Saturday football. With the pitch at Peckleton Road, being relaid, and improved drainage being installed, this fixture was moved across town to Kirkby Road. It’s very much a community facility, the facade of the changing room block reflecting the multi-cultural nature of the community here. Mind you, I didn’t know that the Simpsons live in Desford!

This part of Leicestershire is a former coal mining area, reflected in the pit wheel used as a logo by the home team. Nearby is Market Bosworth, where to the south in 1485 the House of Lancaster led by Henry Tudor, beat the House of York led by Richard III who was hacked to death during the battle, ending the Plantagenet dynasty.  It must be an unlucky place as Lady Jane Grey was born here, before being beheaded 16 or 17 years later after being monarch for only 9 days.

None of which seemed relevant on an evening where the weather was as wet as the football was uninspired. I was fortunate to have company in the form of Lee West, together with the self-styled poor man’s Peter Ustinov, Dan Bishop. Dan’s general manager of Newhall United latterly of the Leicestershire Senior League, and its fair to say his view of that league is less than complimentary! He kept us entertained through 3 dire periods of 30 minutes, where we got throughly soaked.

What seemed to be lost on Desford was the word, ” Friendly.” The tackles were consistantly late, and they took full advantage of the convention that no-one gets a card in a pre-season friendly. If the same tactics get used during the regular season, they’ll be fundraising to pay the disciplinary fines. We did get a goal, just before the end of the 1st third, Ben Laxton picking himself up after being chopped down in the box, to put away the penalty. After that it was simply a case of whiling away the time until the players finished. For that Dan and Lee’s presence was greatly appreciated.