Tag Archives: groundhoppers

Adur

30 Wednesday Jan 2019

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Tuesday 8th January 2019 ko 19.45

Southern Combination Division One

SOUTHWICK 0 

SELSEY 2 (Coates 55 Miller 77) Jefkins sent off 38 (2nd booking)

Att 35

Entry £5

Programme £1

I’m not sure how I managed to miss this place. 35 years ago I regularly used to visit my aunt in Hove (actually) and since she owned a beach hut in Shoreham we regularly took the train from Hove and given that the line runs behind Old Barn Way, I must have passed here many many times. Somehow I managed to contrive to miss Southwick’s home, but I can assure you, that wouldn’t happen on a train now! 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 →

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 →

Attack! Attack!

18 Thursday Oct 2018

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Monday 27th August 2018 ko 14.00

South Wales Alliance- Premier Division

CAERPHILLY ATHLETIC 7 (Tedstone 31 49 55 76 Leadbeater 44 74 Edwards 50)

CWM WELFARE 0

Att 252

Entry £3

Programme £1

I refuse to believe there isn’t a groundhopper out there that doesn’t have more than a healthy dose of O.C.D., it goes hand-in-hand with the hobby! My version of it is an odd variant, if I see a town’s name on a road sign, I want to go and see that town’s club. So after 15 or so years heading up and down the A470 passing Caerphilly each time, you can imagine how pleased I was to be finally seeing a game here! Continue reading →

Level Crossing

15 Monday Oct 2018

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Sunday 26th August 2018 ko 17.00

South Wales Alliance Division Two

LLANGEINOR AFC 4 ( Lock 38 73p Evans 45 Laidler 84)

AFC WATTSTOWN 2 (Fisher 53 Huggins 65)

Att 130

Entry £3

Programme £1

After the games at Vale United and Porthcawl Town we needed the groundhopping equivalent of a hug and a blanket. Whilst the two previous host clubs had been excellent, the weather had left us cold and wet, and with my organiser’s hat on I wondered what we’d find at the last game of the day.  Continue reading →

Passing On The Baton

03 Wednesday Oct 2018

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Saturday 25th August 2018 ko 11.00

Gwent County League- Division One

A.C. PONTYMISTER 3 (Thomas 53 Davies 71 Kidman 85p)

BLAENAVON BLUES 2 (Burton 28 Cuff 76og)

Att 238

Entry £3

Programme £1

Saturday dawned, and the University of South Wales looked the same as it always did. I readied myself for the day ahead and walked down the hill to meet the coaches. The hill was still as steep as ever. And breakfast at the Upper Boat Inn, at Rhydyfelin was the same as ever, and I remain amazed that there’s any bacon left in Wales. But for all the familiarity, everything had changed. Continue reading →

The Flour of Wellingborough

19 Wednesday Sep 2018

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Sunday 29th July 2018 ko 13.15

United Counties League Premier Division

WELLINGBOROUGH WHITWORTH 0

COGENHOE UNITED 3 (Dore 27 Dove 45 82)

Att 302

Entry £5

Programme £1

Quite literally it was a 30 second walk from Wellingborough Town’s Dog & Duck to Wellingborough Whitworth’s Victoria Mills Ground. One lies at right-angles to the other, and for years Whitworth were seen as very much the junior neighbour to Town. The club were started in 1973, and despite the name seem to have had little or no connection to the famous flour-making company based originally in Irthlingborough and now in Wellingborough. But in the here and now I had a queue to contemplate.

Continue reading →

Milestone

11 Friday May 2018

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Wednesday 11th April 2018 ko 18.00

Oxford City FA League

HEADINGTON BUTCHERS 1 (Rowbotham 80)

DORCHESTER 3 (Kay 18 Brown 46 J Lyne 58)

Att 5 at Sandy Lane Sports Ground, Oxford

Free Entry

By far the most common question about groundhopping I get asked is how many grounds I’ve done. It’s an obvious one, but it’s also one with little meaning, after all it’s a figure that is only really relevant to myself. There is no award, thank God, to the groundhopper with the most grounds visited.  I used to celebrate each hundredth  ground I visited, 900 was the Cardiff City Stadium, and the thousandth was Newbridge (on Wye) Town.

Since then those milestones have felt less and less important, but there was an unintended consequence of Honiton Town’s game on the Easter Hop being moved to Exwick Villa, a ground I’d visited before. Continue reading →

Flower of Scotland

05 Thursday Apr 2018

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Saturday 17th March 2018 ko 17.00

East of Scotland League

HERIOT-WATT UNIVERSITY 2 (Ward 11 34)

Dows sent off 77 (dangerous play)

Lane sent off 90 (2nd booking)

LEITH ATHLETIC 3 (Robertson 40 67 Mein 87)

Att 207 at Oriam Indoors, Riccarton, Edinburgh

It was with some regret that we crossed over the new Forth Bridge and left Fife, the county, or is that kingdom (?) had been good to us, despite the biting cold. We headed back towards Edinburgh and Riccarton, and aimed for the game that was virtually guaranteed to be on, whatever the weather! Continue reading →

The Stalking Horses

28 Wednesday Mar 2018

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Saturday 17th March 2018 ko 13.30

East of Scotland League

KELTY HEARTS 11 (Ritchie 10 Dalziel 27 51 McCabe 42 Douglas 45 75 84 Husband 55 79 Cargill 60 Greig 81)

TWEEDMOUTH RANGERS 1 (McKenna 21)

Att 278

Entry £5

Programme £2

Climbing up to the former pit village of Kelty involved a lot more than a further drop in temperature and a steady increase in the snow flurries. Kelty Hearts switched from the East Region Juniors to the Senior ranks for this season, and their reasoning was abundantly clear. Continue reading →