Category Archives: W

Stars

17 Tuesday Oct 2017

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Saturday 16th September 2017 ko 16.15

North Berkshire League Division One/ James Rennie Trophy

WESTMINSTER 5 (Connolly 18og Younie 26 72 75 78) Hughes missed pen 5 Hickey sent off 65 (Serious Foul Play)

NORTH OXFORD 1 (Hamis 19) Ward sent off 88 (2nd booking)

Att 108 at Appleton Sportsfield

Entry by programme £4

In planning this event I’d come close to drawing a blank with where to head for our last game. An option was Ardington & Lockinge but I want the hop to visit there next season, and another was Hagbourne United but the Parish Council’s habit of booking out their clubhouse at short notice causing late postponements made that a non-starter. The answer came when I was doing a spot of stadium announcing for the NBFL’s War Memorial Cup Final, and Westminster were one of the finalists. Continue reading →

The Devil’s Dyke

13 Sunday Aug 2017

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Sunday 30th July 2017 ko 17.00

United Counties League Premier Division

WISBECH TOWN 2 (Beck 2 Ford 45) Fairweather sent off 90 (2nd booking)

WELLINGBOROUGH TOWN 1 (Dowling 50)

Att 433

Entry £6

Programme £2

On the face of it Wisbech Town ought to be in the Eastern Counties League. The Fenland Stadium famously sits the width of a dyke on the Norfolk side of the border with Cambridgeshire. It was to be GroundhopUK’s first and probably only foray into Norfolk at Step 5 or 6 and that dyke was making it’s presence felt.

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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 →