Tag Archives: Chris Berezai

The Good Queen

09 Sunday Aug 2015

Posted by in S

≈ 1 Comment

Tags

, , , , , , , ,

Saturday 1st August 2015 ko 16.30

Peterborough & District League- Division One

STAMFORD BELVEDERE 1 (Saddington 42p)

WITTERING 3 (Middleton 17 McRoyal 23 Watson 76)

Att 314

Entry £4

Programme £1

Badge £3

So, on to game 3 of the day, and the slot that proved to be the most problematic to fill. The original idea was to visit Uppingham Town, they turned us down so we then turned to Oakham’s Rutland Dead Rabbits FC, but due to a small committee and an unhelpful landlord we had find another host club. That was a real shame, we loved the name, it was another Rutland-based club and those of you who saw their badge on sale by Terry’s Badges, the club crest was a corker! But Dead Rabbits’ loss was Stamford Belvedere’s gain, and they made the most of their opportunity. Continue reading →

Terms of Endearment

08 Saturday Aug 2015

Posted by in B

≈ 2 Comments

Tags

, , , , , , , ,

Saturday 1st August 2015 ko 13.45

United Counties League Division One

BLACKSTONES 1 (Evans 64p)

RUSHDEN & HIGHAM UNITED 1 (Cormack 30)

Att 327

Entry £5

Programme £1

Badge £3

So back to the UCL for our second game of the day, and over the border to Lincolnshire and the historic market town of Stamford. Blackstones take their name from their background as the works team of the Mirlees Blackstones engineering firm (more here) but I did wonder what the crowd would be like here. Continue reading →

Much In Little

07 Friday Aug 2015

Posted by in K

≈ 1 Comment

Tags

, , , , , ,

Saturday 1st August 2015 ko 10.45

Peterborough & District League Premier Division

KETTON 2 (Waldron 32 Brockbank 83p)

NETHERTON 2 (Randall 16 Rankin 65)

Att 284

Entry £4

Programme £1

Badge £3

When we at GroundhopUK took on a the task of organising a hop for the United Counties and Peterborough Leagues, one area loomed large and that was the tiny county of Rutland. The tradionally smallest county in the UK intrigued Chris Berezai and I, and when I paid Uppingham Town a visit around 4 years ago, I wrote an article titled “Rutland Weekend Television.” a nod to Eric Idle’s 1970’s humorous TV show. So when we agreed the hop we were able to see if we could organise a groundhop exclusively in Rutland but was it even possible? Continue reading →

Types

06 Thursday Aug 2015

Posted by in H

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

, , , , , , ,

Friday 31st July 2015 ko 19.45

United Counties League Premier Division

HARBOROUGH TOWN 1 (Wright 2)

YAXLEY 3 (Cotton 9 Gearing 48 82)

Att 313

Entry £6

Programme £1

Badge £3

The more organised hops I help organise the more I feel I can see how the future of the organised hop will pan out. On one hand it would be easy for Chris Berezai and I to simply organise events in leagues we’re interested in. With around 3,000 grounds visited between us that would see lower level leagues featuring, along the lines of the Ceredigion or North Berkshire Leagues, but we both feel that we owe it to those with far lower ground counts to organise events at Step 5 and 6. Continue reading →

Imagine

12 Sunday Apr 2015

Posted by in S

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

, , , , , ,

Saturday 4th April 2015 ko 16.45

Northern Counties East League Premier Division

SHAW LANE AQUAFORCE 1 (Denton 38)

HEANOR TOWN 0

Att 344

Entry £5

Programme £1.50

Imagine if you will, you were from Barnsley and a keen Sheffield Wednesday fan. You’ve started and built a successful water meter business, so you decide to rent an executive box at Hillsborough. You’ve won the game of life, and are metaphorically munching the prawn sandwiches at your favourite club, but there’s something missing.

Continue reading →

Circumstances

09 Thursday Apr 2015

Posted by in G

≈ 3 Comments

Tags

, , , , ,

Friday 3rd April 2015 ko 18.30

Northern Counties East Division One

GRIMSBY BOROUGH 3 (Fuller 21 70 Hall 81)

HALL ROAD RANGERS 1 (Walker 5)

Att 284

Entry £4

Programme £1

When Chris Berezai and I started working on this hop, Grimsby Borough were the first club on our wish-list. That’s mainly because the club have only recently moved into the Bradley Football Development Centre, but it was a decision that created a few headaches. The first was which side to watch, Cleethorpes Town use the facility too, and the idea of watching a Cleethorpes side playing in Grimsby appealed (Grimsby Town famously play in Cleethorpes!), but the fact that the ground is council-owned caused a bigger headache.

Continue reading →

The Clutch

06 Monday Apr 2015

Posted by in B

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

, , , , ,

Friday 3rd April 2015 ko 11.30

Northern Counties East League Premier Division

BARTON TOWN OLD BOYS 0

CLEETHORPES TOWN 3 (Robertson 36 90 Grant 87)

Att 517

Entry £5

Programme £1.50

I woke up with a start in Wakeford, and I really must learn to put some clothes on before opening the curtains to check the weather. It was hammering it down with rain, and my torpor was only slightly eased during breakfast with the news that it wasn’t raining in Barton-upon-Humber. That ground had seen significant rainfall during the week and the last thing we wanted was a postponement. I was worried enough about Barton’s prospects anyway.

Continue reading →

The Lump

06 Monday Apr 2015

Posted by in N

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

, , , , , , , ,

Thursday 2nd April 2015 ko 19.45

Northern Counties League Premier Division

NOSTELL MINERS WELFARE 2 (Boardman 30 90)

RETFORD UNITED 0 Thornton sent off 90 (Foul language)

Att 265

Entry £5

Programme £1.50

Badge £3

So for the final time this season back on GroundhopUK duty, and to complete our triptych of Ceredigion, Lowland, and North Counties East hops in a mere 5 weeks! From Chris Berezai and I’s perspective this hop was possibly one that we were the most used to organising. Take a look at the 12 year history of the organisation, and the blueprint for the Step 5/6 league (or similar) is one we’ve used the most often.

Continue reading →

Grand Day Out

29 Sunday Mar 2015

Posted by in T

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

, , , , , , , , ,

Sunday 22nd March 2015 ko 15.00

Lowland League

THREAVE ROVERS 2 (Struthers 7 Donley 43) Miller sent of 87 (violent conduct)

EDINBURGH UNIVERSITY 3 (Daniels-Yeoman 12 Aitken 61 Ward 81)

Att 462

Entry £5

Programme £1.50

Here’s a first for you, has a groundhop every visited a club named after a tea rooms? The club is named after the café in Castle Douglas where it was formed in 1953. The tea rooms in turn were named after Threave Castle, and Threave is derived from the Welsh term “Tref,” meaning homestead. Perhaps that’s why we used two Welsh coaches for the weekend! Continue reading →

The Game Changer

23 Monday Mar 2015

Posted by in E

≈ 11 Comments

Tags

, , , , , , ,

Friday 20th March 2015 ko 19.45

Lowland League

EAST KILBRIDE 1 (McLeish 64)

WHITEHILL WELFARE 0

Att 491

Entry £5

Programme £2

Badge £3

In 1992 the Northern League’s Mike Amos invented the organised groundhop, a series of staggered kick-offs with transport between the fixtures. Phil Hiscox took the concept to the South-West and GroundhopUK’s Chris Berezai to Wales, but Scotland had never seen a groundhop. That wasn’t through lack of trying, we at GroundhopUK tried for the Highland League who told us variously that they didn’t need any extra crowds, and that we’ve never bring them, “More than 30 hoppers.” A region of the Juniors even told us we could hold a hop in their leagues but all the games would have to kick-off at 2.30 on a Saturday….

To be honest, we’d given up and when hoppers mentioned the idea we’d trot out one of the stories and shrug our shoulders. A shame, but that was life.

Continue reading →