Category Archives: W

Dreams

13 Tuesday Jun 2017

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Saturday 27th May 2017 ko 17.30

FA Cup Final

ARSENAL 2 (Sanchez 5 Ramsey 79)

CHELSEA 1 (Costa 77) Moses sent off 69 (2nd booking)

Att 89,472 at Wembley Stadium

Entry £45

Programme £10

I’m old enough to remember the FA Cup when it took over all of the television on whatever Saturday it fell. You could watch “Cup Final Multi-Coloured Swap Shop” if you so desired, such was the importance attached to the final game of the season. Then after lunch I’d sit with Dad and watch the game, preceeded by the marching band, and the singing of “Abide with me,” and it goes without saying that from the moment I first set eyes on the spectacle I wanted to go to a final. There were a few problems with my idea though….

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Wootton By Woodstock

22 Monday May 2017

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Wednesday 19th April 2017 ko 18.30

Witney & District League – Division 3

WOOTTON SPORTS 0

BLETCHINGTON 7 (White 34 Buschay 35 Evans 40 Deabill 55 73 84 Godfrey 56)

Att c25

Entry FREE

No Programme

After the exertions of the Easter Hop, even I felt like slowing down. I’d talked to the other half of GroundhopUK, Chris Berezai and he did absolutely nothing for three days! But when you’re helped organise and event consisting of 13 football matches in 4 and a half days how do you recharge your batteries? By going to a football match of course! Continue reading →

The Hopsters!

17 Wednesday May 2017

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Monday 14th April 2017 ko 14.30

North West Counties League Premier Division

WEST DIDSBURY & CHORLTON 3 (Bayunu 70 Henderson 90 Mendes Gomes 90)

CONGLETON TOWN 1 (Gardner 84)

Att 295

Entry £5

Programme £1.50

The coach picked its way through the affluent leafy suburbia of Chorlton-cum-Hardy as we worked out exactly where to park, the club had earmarked a car park near to a pub, but that was full, and even when empty had a height barrier precluding coach entry. Eventually a club official found us, we disembarked, and Godfrey the driver found alternative parking arrangements. I saw him later in the cafe, so Plan B was clearly a good one! Continue reading →

Child’s Play

03 Friday Mar 2017

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Wednesday 1st March 2017 ko 19.00

Annual Challenge Cup

KINGS SCHOOL 3 (Rees 13 Hall 17 Newton 79)

ROYAL GRAMMAR SCHOOL 2 (Hughes 25 Saunders 27p)

80 minute game

Att c1,100 at Sixways Stadium, Worcester (Worcester Warriors RUFC)

Entry £5

No Programme

I do like a fixture that tests groundhoppers’ self-imposed rules. I’m certain that if this had been billed as a youth team game then I’m sure more than the 10 or so travellers here would have paid Sixways a visit. And let’s make one thing absolutely clear, those who decided to miss this missed out on a real treat. Continue reading →

Lordship

01 Sunday Jan 2017

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Tuesday 27th December 2016 ko 14.00

Southern Combination Division Two

WORTHING TOWN LEISURE 0

LANCING UNITED 3 (Page 45 Meason 57 61)

Att 60

Entry FREE

Programme £2

I must admit when planning this day I saw Worthing Town Leisure’s fixture and assumed the club was another quasi-reserve team and looked elsewhere for my middle game. As is always the case a little more research reaped rewards. Continue reading →

The White Horse (2nd from) Final

21 Friday Oct 2016

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Saturday 8th October 2016 ko 16.30

Western League Division One

WESTBURY UNITED 0

MALMESBURY VICTORIA 1 (Wilkins 52)

Att 233

Entry £5

Programme £1

I’m beginning to think the time and place and to organise groundhops is in hospitality on the previous year’s event! Westbury had been the visitors at Keynsham Town last year, and I remember seeing their committee at half-time during a quite wonderful time, and their enthusiasm was both infectious and magnetic. It was an easy decision to include them this time round. Continue reading →

Elizabeth Gaunt

20 Thursday Oct 2016

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Saturday 8th October 2016 ko 13.15

Western League Premier Division

WELLS CITY 2 (Pitman 52 Spill 84) Batchelor missed penalty 47 Brown sent off (2nd booking) 86

CADBURY HEATH 5 (Huxley 25p 48 56 Bailey 26 McElroy 82)

Att 219

Entry £6

Programme £1

We arrived at the Athletic Ground, in Rowden’s Road, and I pleased to see a geographically challenged hopper park up next to me. The previous day he’d very nearly paid Bishops Sutton in Hampshire a visit rather than Bishop Sutton in Somerset, so I did wonder whether he’d made a beeline for Wells-next-the-sea. At one point we could have found GroundhopUK hopping the Anglian Combination I suppose, but then we could have easily been easily in a number of leagues. The Western League have been excellent hosts for us, and Chris Berezai had I had a special reason to want to be at Wells City.  Continue reading →

Comparatively Speaking

16 Sunday Oct 2016

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Saturday 1st October 2016

10.45 Bedfordshire County League – Division One

HENLOW 3 (Hills 11 Knight 45 Walker 50)

ICKLEFORD 3 (Miceli 48 Bussle 72 G Follano 83) G Follano sent off 87 (2nd booking)

Att 126

13.45 Bedfordshire County League – Division Two

KEMPSTON HAMMMERS SPORTS 2 (Grandidge 16 67)

WIXAMS 0

Att 93

16.30 Bedfordshire County League – Division Three

WOOTTON VILLAGE 2 (A Flynn 49 Churchill-Hall 80)

WHITE EAGLES 2 (Cygan 55 Ptak 87)

Att 131

Entry for all games was free with programmes available for £2, and badges for £3

It’s a point of some regret that the only organised hop on the calendar this season that I’m not involved in is this one. I like to attend other people’s hops, firstly because I’m under no pressure, and secondly because there’s always an opportunity to learn something. Here the organiser is Craig Dabbs and the beauty of his offering is that there’s a direct comparison possible with at least one GroundhopUK offering, and his his philosophy of offering the maximum opportunity for clubs, hoppers and league is the same as ours. Continue reading →

Dashwood

14 Friday Oct 2016

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Sunday 25th September 2016 ko 11.00

Kent Youth League U18 North

WEST WICKHAM 0

DULWICH HAMLET 6 (Wilson 19 Osideko 34 42 Histon 39 Buchan 56 Kamara 87)

Att 48

Entry FREE

No Programme

Now here’s a curiosity, a part railed pitch with hard standing near Bromley in Kent that until recently would have passed muster for Step 6. But to use a piece of groundhopping vernacular it doesn’t fall under many hopping “Radars.” But the reason Corkscrew Hill is an oddity is due to what happened in 1907.

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Supreme Irony

21 Sunday Aug 2016

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Wednesday 9th August 2016 ko 19.45

Eastern Counties League Division One

WISBECH ST MARY 6 (Lennon 9 18 Davey 23 62 Harris 60 Woods 76)

DEREHAM TOWN RESERVES 0

Att 72

Entry £4

Programme £1

It was an evening of ironies, not least passing the likes of Thorney and Eye that the Peterborough Hop had visited less than a fortnight earlier en route to an Eastern Counties League game. Then  was the fact that a few had opted to miss two hop games to visit this ground. I know and understand the hopper that refuses to drop below Step 6, and of course there were plenty who couldn’t simply pick Beechings Close up on a midweek like this. I did ponder also the irony of the hop organiser getting 3 ticks out of Thorney, Eye, and Wisbech St Mary when plenty managed one. Each to their own of course… Continue reading →