Category Archives: M

Hicks’ Law

24 Wednesday Sep 2014

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Saturday 20th September 2014 ko 16.00

North Berkshire League Division Two

MARCHAM 1 (Armstrong 82)

EAST HENDRED AFC 7 (Moss 18 29p Sutton 26 Hummel 32 Doig 42 Wise 56 Hicks 86)

Att 201

Entry & Programme £4

Badge £3

Catering: Baked Potatoes with various fillings. Cakes

Beer: Loose Cannon

When we put together these hops one of the many things we co-ordinate is catering. On reflection we should have added another item to the menu, on top of the baked potatoes with a myriad of fillings, curry included, and that was celery soup. Why, I hear you ask, well the March in Marcham is derived from the old English word, merece meaning a place where celery grows! Ham means settlement so we visited the village where celery grows! Continue reading →

Two Magpies

27 Tuesday May 2014

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Sunday 25th May 2014 ko 13.00

Scottish Womens Football League 2nd Division South East

BOROUGHMUIR THISTLE 3 (Livingstone 10 Hanson 50 To 83)

HUTCHINSON VALE RESERVES 1 (C Devlin 15)

Att 13  at Meggetland Sports Complex, Edinburgh

Entry FREE

No programme

As I stood in the almost deserted stand watching a game a pitch’s width away I watched two magpies stand on a crash barrier and survey the scene. Like me, they were sheltering from the torrential rain, most of the other spectators tried to keep their umbrellas from turning inside out at pitchside, but lets face it, if there’s cover its best used! Continue reading →

Meine Freunde Deutsch

13 Sunday Apr 2014

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Sunday 6th April 2014 ko 15.00

Oberliga Baden-Wüttemberg

VfR MANNHEIM 2 (Erdogu 3p Kyei 85)

1FC BRUCHSAL 0

Att 550

Entry €11 (Haupttribüne/Main Stand)

Programme FREE

Steak Roll €3.50

It was fitting that I arrived in Mannheim by car, the city is after all where Carl Benz produced the world’s first car powered by the internal combustion engine in 1886. I note that he used his wife, Bertha as the first passenger which shows either confidence in his invention, or his marriage! The running theme on this tour of clubs with neighbours continued with SV Waldhof Mannheim’s Carl-Benz-Stadion dominating the skyline, along with the 212.8 metre Fernmeldeturm Mannheim telecommunication tower complete with observation deck. But if you head down the driveway to the right of the Chinese restaurant a cornucopia of delights awaits you.

Continue reading →

Northern Ventures

02 Sunday Mar 2014

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Saturday 1st March 2014 ko 11.00

Northern League Division One

MARSKE UNITED 0 O’Sullivan sent off 37 (violent conduct)

GUISBOROUGH TOWN 4 (Johnson 30 90 Roberts 63 86)

Att 433

Entry £5

Programme £1

Badge £3

One of the advantages of a one-day Northern League hop is also its great disadvantage! I left darkened Oxfordshire at 5.30am wondering what the weather would be like, and as the sun rose over scenic Coventry it became clear that organiser Harvey Harris had booked the weather; the cold I can live with, but getting wet on a multi-game day is just plain depressing. Continue reading →

The Secret Policeman’s Ball

15 Friday Nov 2013

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Saturday 9th November 2013 ko 20.00

NB-I

MTK BUDAPEST 1 (Kanta 82)

BUDAPEST HONVÉD 1 (Hidi 85)

Att 2,000

Entry 2000 HUF (approximately £5.60)

No Programme

Team Sheet FREE

Scarf 1500 HUF  (approximately £4.20)

From Vasas it didn’t take long for Andy and I to retrace our steps back to
Stadion Hidegkuti Nándor, home of Magyar Testgyakorlók Köre, or MTK Budapest.

We’d called in earlier, before the Elóre game and called in at the main office to try and buy tickets. We were met by a man who spoke absolutely no English but more than made up for it with a magnificent Magyar moustache! He gave us a magical guided tour of the ground, including a sight of the new statue of Nándor Hidegkuti to be unveiled before the evening’s game. Continue reading →

Doing it Right #2

12 Saturday Oct 2013

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Saturday 12th October 2013 ko 10.30

Bedfordshire County League Premier Division

MARSTON SHELTON ROVERS 3 (Reid 59 60 Franks 79)

SHEFFORD TOWN & CAMPTON 1 (Jones 62)

Att 162

Entry FREE

Programme £2

Bacon Roll £2

Badge £3

This season has been by far the busiest by far for organised groundhops with, if I’m correct, this Bedfordshire League being the fifth so far with another six still to come. The diary is congested, and I expect that to be the case for years to come as it seems that Leagues have finally worked out that there’s a windfall to be had from the purse of the groundhopper. There has never been a better time to Continue reading →

Beautiful Deception

19 Thursday Sep 2013

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Sunday 15th September 2013

Matlock Bath and The Heights of Abraham

Stood in the Derwent Valley you are aware of so many different sights and sounds. There’s the tree-lined sides, the shops, the bed and breakfasts, even the grumble of a motorbike’s exhaust. In many respects its a seaside resort a good 80 miles from the coast, but take a cable-car trip up and over the gorge and the secrets are revealed. Continue reading →

Essence of England

16 Monday Sep 2013

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Saturday 14th September 2013 20.00

Matlock Bath Parade of Illuminated and Decorated Boats

Entry £5

When I was asked to photograph Rowsley versus Newhall, it gave me a excuse to stay on and photograph a wonderful English tradition.

Matlock Bath lies just over a mile south of Matlock, in Derbyshire. It’s a spa town, sitting snugly in the Derwent valley, and Princess Victoria of Kent’s visit in 1832 made the village the place to visit for those attached to the social scene. The likes of Ruskin and Lord Byron took the waters and the latter nicknamed the place Little Switzerland, a name that has stuck! Continue reading →

Lead Zeppelin

05 Thursday Sep 2013

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Monday 26th August 2013 ko 18.00

Welsh Alliance Division Two

MELIDEN 2 (Moss 34 Cassidy 84)

ST ASAPH 0

Att 323

Entry £3

Programme £1

Badge £3

It seems like the end of an era writing this, the last game of the Welsh hop marathon. A few things have happened since this game, the main one being that Chris attended a league meeting where a full debrief was held on the hop, the first in the league. The good news new that we’ll be back next season, and that the planning has already started.

Yet despite the magnum opus nature of the hop it didn’t feel like we were stretching the joy too far as we approached the mining village of Meliden. Yes, people’s feet still hurt, and there were tired bodies on show, but what we saw as the coaches reached the Mine lifted the soul. Continue reading →

The Moon Extinguishers

01 Thursday Aug 2013

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Sunday 29th July 2013 ko 20.30

Belgian Pro-League

YELLOW RED KONINKLIJKE VOETBALCLUB MECHELEN 0

ROYAL STANDARD DE LIÈGE 2 (Mujangibia 56 Batshuayi 84)

Att 10,402

Entry €20 (terrace)

Programme FREE

Firstly, lets abbreviate those club names, its KV Mechelen versus Standard Liège. I’m all for getting things recorded correctly, but there is a limit! Continue reading →