National Day

11 Monday Aug 2025

Posted by in S

≈ 3 Comments

Tags

, , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Friday 6th June 2025 ko 14:00

Division 3 Östra Svealand

IK VILJAN STRÄNGNÄS 1 (Malmqvist 87)

IFK NYKÖPING 2 (Thunström 50p Björklund 79)

Att 206 at Vasavallen

Entry 80sek

Programme online

The Swedish Hop’s cost of £350 included bed and breakfast for two nights, all transport in Sweden, together with entry fees for all games, and a goodie bag!

It was Thursday evening, and I was airside at Heathrow Terminal 2. Robyn was contemplating how far it was to our gate (SAS, so 200 metres only) and Adrian was complating whether he had time for another beer (as always- yes). As for me I was contemplating the series of occurences that had got us to there for a flight to Stockholm’s Arlanda Airport.

Continue reading →

The Knockin Shop

08 Friday Aug 2025

Posted by in T

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

, , , , , , , , , , , ,

Saturday 30th May 2025 ko 14:30

Montgomeryshire Amateur League

TREFONEN 2 (C Jones 4 L Davies 32)

LLANGEDWYN 1 (Buckley 36)

Att 72

Free Entry

With the season in England and Wales in its last couple of days it was a case of leagues squeezing in their final fixtures. I decided to do something specific and that is to mine the seam that is the narrow strip of territory in Shropshire, that’s still English but the place names are Welsh.

Continue reading →

Goats

06 Wednesday Aug 2025

Posted by in C

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

, , , , , , , ,

Saturday 24th May 2025 ko 14:00

East Berkshire League-Division One

CAVERSHAM UNITED 5 (Doran 14 23 49 Mole 78 Abery 90)

van Luk sent off 39 (violent conduct)

OLD WINDSOR RESERVES 1 (Spires 26)

George sent off 39 (violent conduct)

Att 22

Free Entry

If you take the A4074 from Wallingford towards Reading, you’ll pass by some lovely villages as you pass through west Oxfordshire into east Berkshire. I’ve documented the likes of Checkendon and Goring on here but my connections to the area go back far further back- to childhood in fact.

Continue reading →

Epic

31 Thursday Jul 2025

Posted by in C

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

, , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Saturday 18th May ko 18:00

Championnat National 3 Groupe E

RACING CLUB DE CALAIS 3 (Merien 6 Sylla 14og Knockhaert 58)

STADE DE REIMS II 1 (Diadeie 47)

Att c500 at Stade de l’Épopée

Free Entry

I must admit, a trip to France wasn’t on my list of priorities for the end of the 24/25 football season, but sometimes a random conversation changes everything. Here the conversation was between Robyn and Chris Garrett (he’s a weatherman) at the hop game at Newquay. He’d spotted a fairly random game at Racing Club Calais on a Saturday evening making it straightforward enough to get there and back via the Channel Tunnel in a day.

Continue reading →

The Chicken And The Egg

21 Monday Jul 2025

Posted by in C

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

, , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Saturday 10th May 2026 ko 15:00

Alex Horne’s Comedy Trophy

CHICKEN CITY 6 (Adam 18 Grant 29 75 Smith 79 Robins 35 90)

EGG UNITED 7 (Euman 6 Daly 14 Key 52 59 Baker 56 McQueen 77)

Egg won 4-4 on penalties 😉

Att 3,992 (all ticket-sold out) at Chesham United

Entry £12

Programme & Teamsheet £3

Now there are plenty of grounds you’d happily visit once, but very few you’d revisit time and time again, so when Chesham United volunteer Giles Stevenson suggested an end of season charity game, and one I could pair with the North Berkshire cup final that evening, Robyn and I jumped at the chance. And now I think of it, the suggestion came on March 1st, just after Giles handed Robyn a bunch of Daffodils as it was St David’s Day. The joke that Bristolian Robyn is basically Welsh is a long running joke. A joke you see….

Continue reading →

Football From A Stone

20 Sunday Jul 2025

Posted by in S

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

, , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Wednesday 7th May 2025 ko 18:30

Aylesbury & District League Premier Division

AW FC 1 (Sheppard 37)

GREAT MISSENDEN 3 (Smith 18 73 Stephenson 59)

Att 11 at St John’s Sports & Social, Stone

Free Entry

If you drive on the A418 between Thame and Aylesbury then inevitably you’ll pass through the pretty village of Stone. It’s one of those places that thousands of people drive through giving the place barely a thought. But there is plenty to enthuse….

Continue reading →

Communique

16 Wednesday Jul 2025

Posted by in M

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

, , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Saturday 5th May 2025 ko 15:00

Kent County League Premier Division

METROGAS 3 (Wall 27 Meledje 67 90+1)

PECKHAM TOWN 0

Att 52

Free Entry

The issue I tend to have with some locations is that it can be difficult to predict just how long it is going to take to get there? That goes double for anything within the M25 so with another trip to New Eltham in the offing, I planned a little detour with the idea being that it could be ditched if the traffic misbehaved- on this occasion it didn’t, so we spent a few minutes in Deptford.

Continue reading →

Gary

16 Wednesday Jul 2025

Posted by in L

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

, , , , , , , , , , , ,

Saturday 3rd May 2025 ko 14:30

West Yorkshire League-Premier Division

LITTLETOWN 3 (Reece Thompson 8 11 31)

POOL AFC 1 (Farrimond 88)

Att c50 at Beck Lane, Heckmondwike

If you are ever stuck for a game, and wonder where to head to on a Saturday I’ve long opined that a fair stating point are either of Peter Miles’ excellent articles “20 Glorious” and “20 More Glorious Non-League Grounds“

Sadly, the likes of Consett’s wonderful Belle Vue are no more, but there are still some gems to go after, and I for one have always got Pete’s list in the back of my mind when I’m thinking about where to go. Beck Lane in Heckmondwike is on the second list, so it was an easy decision when I spotted they were at home, and I was free…

Continue reading →

Halsbury

11 Friday Jul 2025

Posted by in L

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

, , , , , , , , , ,

Tuesday 29th April 2025 ko 18:30

Middlesex County League Premier Division

LARKSPUR ROVERS 3 (Durrant 24 O Lewis 65 Bransbury 90+3)

LONDON TIGERS 0

Att 26 at Lord Halsbury Playing Fields, Northolt

For those in the know, the Middlesex County League almost always provides a source of late season, non floodlit evening games. There is a quirk, the league is one of very few that still uses the Mitoo website fixtures but it is reliable, so Robyn and I used a Middlesex game to bookend what had been a fairly brutal April for football.

Continue reading →

Cricket?

10 Thursday Jul 2025

Posted by in A

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

, , , , , , , , , ,

Thursday 24th April 2025 ko 18:30

Witney & District League Hughes Supplementary Cup Semi-Final

ASTON RESERVES 3 (Harper 18 Wain 53 Pawar 60og)

SHERBORNE HARRIERS 0

Att 30 at Stanton Harcourt Cricket Ground

Free Entry

I know I’ve said it before, but I do think every football fan ought to go and watch the Sherborne Harriers at least once. I was honoured to take 120 or so hoppers there during the days of the Witney Hop and the day turned into something far more than a fundraiser, important though that is at grassroots.

Continue reading →