The Ghost Train

23 Friday Nov 2018

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Tuesday 16th October 2018 ko 19.45

Southern Combination Peter Bentley Cup 3rd Round

NEWHAVEN 2 (Robinson 31 76) Robinson missed penalty 16

Jallou sent off 79 (2nd booking)

CRAWLEY DOWN GATWICK 1 (Leslie 69)

Att 72

Entry £6

Programme £1

Here’s a riddle for you. I’ve been to Newhaven hundreds of times but never visited, how is this possible? The answer is via my late Grandmother Rose, who was from the East Sussex town. She moved to Oxford to get married, but her nod back to her home town was to name the family home in Valentia Road, “Newhaven.” The house was a 5 minute walk from the Manor Ground, so I visited the place hundreds times in my youth! Rose has long since gone, but the stencilled “Newhaven” above the front door is still there! Continue reading →

Landlord & Tenant

22 Thursday Nov 2018

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Saturday 13th October 2018 ko 17.00

Bedfordshire County League Premier Division

WOOTTON BLUE CROSS 2 (Sarrington 53 A McDonald 65)

MARSTON SHELTON ROVERS 2 (Sholsky 25 J Cerminara 35)

Att 137

Entry FREE

Programme £1

The Bedfordshire Hop had been a resounding success this far with both Bedford Albion and Queens Park Crescents both taking organiser Craig Dabbs’ advice and reaping the rewards from it. Knowing Craig as I do, he knew that Wootton Blue Cross’s plans were rock-solid, but even with that in mind he was nervous about what was going to happen.  Continue reading →

Crescents

21 Wednesday Nov 2018

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Saturday 13th October 2018 ko 13.45

Bedfordshire County League Premier Division

QUEENS PARK CRESCENTS 3 (Parrella 21 Rasol 53p 90) 

Yusuf sent off 90 (2nd booking)

CALDECOTE 0

Att 161

Entry FREE

Programme £2

We picked our way through suburban Bedford, and passed the Charles Wells Brewery on the way. Adjacent to that was the site of the Eyrie, home to Bedford Town from 1908 to 1982 and still just about recognisable as a ground, if you know where to look. This is the Queens Park district of Bedford, and it did come with a history all of its own.  Continue reading →

Reversals

19 Monday Nov 2018

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Saturday 13th October 2018 ko 11.00

Bedfordshire League Division One

BEDFORD ALBION 9 (Kelly 3 Babbington 17 30 44 50 Wright 23 Lewis 35 39 Sidhu 64)

SANDY 0

Att 149

Entry FREE

Programme £2

It was an uncommonly early start for the Bedfordshire Hop. An unfeasibly strong coffee jolted the senses before driving from Oxford to Wavendon to pick up Chris Garner (anything eastbound seems to involve him!) before heading to Biddenham to meet organiser Craig Dabbs for a spot of role reversal.  Continue reading →

The Dry Run

19 Monday Nov 2018

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Tuesday 9th October 2018 ko 19.45

Spartan South Midlands League- Premier Division Cup 2nd Round

CRAWLEY GREEN 1 (Silford 52)

BIGGLESWADE FC 3 (Cookman 35 Marsh 47 Coles 60p)

Att 53

Entry £6

Programme £1

Sat, as I often am at my PC I had a problem. I’d spotted an interesting weekend away involving flights to and from Luton Airport, but getting there on a Friday looked rather tight for time, especially during rush hour, with Robyn having no holiday allowance left at work. Then I spotted Crawley Green had a midweek game- it was time to try a dry run… Continue reading →

Is Vic There?

18 Sunday Nov 2018

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Sunday 9th October 2018 ko 14.00

Western League Division One

BRISTOL TELEPHONES 1 (Goulding 60)

KEYNSHAM TOWN 2 (Shorney 27 38)

Att 310

Entry £6

Programme £1

There was no secret as to why the final game of the 2018 Western Hop was always going to be the most popular amongst the groundhoppers. Bristol Telephones are only in their second season in the Western League having won the Gloucestershire County League in 2017 so many would target this game, and this game alone in order to re-complete the league. By means of an example, the BTRA Ground, Stockwood Lane was to be my only new ground of the weekend! Continue reading →

Fairfax

15 Thursday Nov 2018

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Sunday 7th October 2018 ko 11.00

Western League Premier Division

BRIDGWATER TOWN 1 (Ellis 74)

BRIDPORT 0 Martin sent off 70 (Serious Foul Play)

Att 371

Entry £6

Programme £1

 

Sunday dawned and with it the longest drive of the hop, from our base in Almondsbury to Bridgwater. It was odd driving one of our 3 minibuses, full of hoppers but utterly incapable of going more than 60 mph! The extra time on the M5 did give me time to consider what we’d be likely to find at Fairfax Park. Continue reading →

The Insurance Men

13 Tuesday Nov 2018

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Saturday 6th October 2018 ko 19.45

Western League Premier Division

CRIBBS 2 (Dowdell 4 Wanjah-Smith 83)

HENGROVE ATHLETIC 1 (Fear 74)

Att 227

Entry £6

Programme £1

I remember well my feeling of unease when I first visited Cribbs six years ago. Back then the ground and club were very much the works side of insurance company Friends Life, and as couple of years earlier that firm in its guise as AXA had turned me down for a job twice! It’s strange how things work out isn’t it, if on either occasion I’d have got the job, there would have been a fairly high chance that I’d have moved to Bristol. Now given my fiancee Robyn is from Bristol that would have been handy, but we didn’t meet for another 6 or so years… and if I’d moved then would we have ever met? Continue reading →

Planning Gain

08 Thursday Nov 2018

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Saturday 6th October 2018 ko 17.00

Western League Premier Division

HALLEN 0

SHEPTON MALLET 3 (Willmott 45 Pollard 59 Morgan 77)

Att 218

Entry £6

Programme £1

Given one or two groundhoppers’ predisposition for getting their geography in a twist I ought to make it clear that this in the Hallen, which is the other side of the M5 from Bristol and not the club playing at the World’s oldest football ground- that’s Hallam! And while we were never ever going to visit the Hallen Centre on the Northern Counties East Hop, we could have easily have visited back in the day on the Hellenic Hop, the club are based in, and affiliated to the Gloucestershire FA, and it took until 2000 to prise themselves away and into the more logical Western League. That isn’t the limit of the club’s adventures though! Continue reading →

Knee Deep In the Hoopla

05 Monday Nov 2018

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Saturday 6th October 2018 ko 14.15

Western League Premier Division

CLEVEDON TOWN 1 (Camm 12)

BUCKLAND ATHLETIC 3 (Johansen 30 Bush 72 Richards 85)

Att 213

Entry £6

Programme £1

Without wishing to be in any way disparaging to the good folk at Clevedon Town, the Western Hop’s visit to the Hand Stadium was the one I was anticipating the least. That was for two reasons, I’d visited twice before, during their Southern League days, and that the ground is still relatively new, being opened in 1992. Of course, life being as contrary as it is, it turned out to be one I’ll remember the most! Continue reading →