Tag Archives: groundhopping

The Old & The Young

19 Sunday Nov 2017

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Friday 27th October 2017 k0 19.15

Development Squad Fixture

RANGERS 1 (Shiels 19)

LIVERPOOL 4 (Lewis 9p Adekanye 20 Miller 32 Camacho 56) Johnston sent off 62 (Serious Foul Play)

Att c1,500

Entry £5

Let’s face it, when you think of Scottish football you really can’t avoid the Glaswegian behemoths Rangers and Celtic can you? Very much the yang to the other’s ying I suspect both clubs have grown from the obvious political and sectarian rivalry between the two clubs. But let’s make one thing absolutely clear right from the start, I cannot abide sectarianism, I’m the product of a Catholic mother and a Protestant father, after all! As for football and politics listening to slogan chanting and virtue signally leaves me completely cold. I go to football in part to escape from all that.  Continue reading →

Flight Path

13 Monday Nov 2017

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Saturday 14th October 2017 ko 18.00

Bedfordshire County League Premier Division

CRANFIELD UNITED 1 (Allen 62og)

RENHOLD UNITED 0

Att 116

Entry FREE

Programme £2

I’d greatly enjoyed the Bedfordshire Hop’s first two games, and I suspect everyone else had too. So I was disappointed but not surprised as I left AFC Kempston to see a steady stream of hoppers walking back towards Bedford and the railway station rather than turning right like me and making for Cranfield.  Continue reading →

New Turf

12 Sunday Nov 2017

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Saturday 14th October 2017 ko 14.00

Bedfordshire County League Premier Division

AFC KEMPSTON TOWN & BEDFORD COLLEGE 2 (Smith 23 Ronayne 36)

CALDECOTE 2 (Boyd 9 Aris 34)

Att 109

Entry FREE

Programme £2

From one ground I couldn’t find on a map it was time to head to another. It meant travelling from the south side of Bedford to the north, and hop organiser Craig Dabbs supplied directions. They were needed, as not only was this to be the first game at Kingsfield, a lot of the roads to Great Spur, Biddenham were new too. Whilst it was lovely to be present as the opening of the new ground, I also know how much stress this place put Craig under. Continue reading →

The Belle of Snodland Town

11 Saturday Nov 2017

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Wednesday 11th October 2017 ko 19.45

Southern Counties East Division One

SNODLAND TOWN 0

LYDD TOWN 1 (Lockyer 65)

Att 86

Entry £6

Programme £1

The Kentish town of Snodland grew based around, like so much in the area around paper making, in principle due to the lime deposits in the area. Today the town is still well-to-do in an unobtrusive way, but it’s the story of the village nearby that needs to be told.  Continue reading →

Order, In All Things

07 Tuesday Nov 2017

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Sunday 8th October 2017 ko 11.00

Western League Premier Division

SHEPTON MALLET 4 (Billing 20 47 89 Pollard 47)

BRISLINGTON 1 (Hunt 85)

Att 285

Entry £6

Programme £1

About 2 weeks before the Western Hop I’d been at a game and a hopper came up to me and told me how excited he was about the hop, but then commented.

“But why couldn’t you have put the Bishops Lydeard game on before the Shepton Mallet game?”

My response was to ask why would that be of any help? His response was telling,

“Because then I’d go home after the Lydeard game” he said. Never has the compromise that is the organised groundhop been put in clearer focus. Continue reading →

Origins

03 Friday Nov 2017

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Saturday 7th October 2017 ko 19.30

Western League Premier Division

HENGROVE ATHLETIC 3 (White 54 Hickery 69 Fillingham 90p)

HALLEN 3 (Mills 20  Mills 27 Cousins 71)

Att 239

Entry £6

Programme £1

We approached Norton Lane with a large dollop of anticipation. For my girlfriend Robyn this was the nearest ground to her family in Bristol and her nephews Jack, Kai and Che were at the ground waiting for us. For many heading there it was the chance to catch up with the tour-de-force that is Martin McConachie now at Hengrove, but who had masterminded Oldland Abbotonians’ superbly hosted hop game two years ago. I had another reason for wanting to re-visit though, much as though I was looking forward to seeing Martin, Jack, Kai and Che. Continue reading →

Sounds

02 Thursday Nov 2017

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Saturday 7th October 2017 ko 13.30

Western League Division One

RADSTOCK TOWN 1 (Gregory 21og)

OLDLAND ABBOTONIANS 0

Att 213

Entry & Programme £6

The two mile trip uphill to Radstock saw us still very much in coal mining country, albeit like Welton, a place where the mines have long since given way to trees and a far more gentle pace of life. I’d visited Radstock Town’s Southfields Recreation Ground three years ago and got to know committeeman Simon “Wurz” Wilkinson, mainly due to a mutual liking for playing punk band “Stiff Little Fingers” on the PA on a cold night. Little did I know that this time round the theme would be more “Pepe Le Pew”  than “Nobody’s Heroes?” Continue reading →

Waffley Good

01 Wednesday Nov 2017

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Saturday 7th October 2017 ko 10.45

Western League Division One

WELTON ROVERS 3 (Smith 27 Pile 42 90)

KEYNSHAM TOWN 1 (Curnock 4)

Att 247

Entry £6

Programme £1

We picked our way along narrow roads through the Mendips, the windscreen wipers shooing away fine drizzle. Julian French at the league proved to be spot on, we’d see rain at the first of the four Saturday hop games, but then it would be dry for the rest of the day. But why was I singing Flanders & Swann songs with fellow hopper Michael Squires? Continue reading →

The Reverse Takeover

26 Thursday Oct 2017

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Friday 6th October 2017 ko 19.45

Western League Division One

ASHTON & BACKWELL UNITED 2 (Skidmore 40 57) Thomas sent off 83 (2nd Booking)

BISHOP SUTTON 1 (Rendell 73)

Att 225

Entry £6

Programmes £1

It seemed that Street FC’s Tannery Ground was a million miles away. We’d finished the 2016 Western Hop there, and as the game finished I’d wished the league’s General Secretary Mark Edmonds all the best for the rest of the season. His untimely death due to cancer in December hit us all hard, and this hop took place with the feeling that there was something missing. That’s no reflection on anyone or anything; Mark’s absence was keenly felt, and that will continue to be the case. Rest in peace my friend.  Continue reading →

Footprints

25 Wednesday Oct 2017

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Tuesday 3rd October 2017 ko 19.45

Southern League Challenge Cup 1st Round

HAYES & YEADING UNITED 3 (Ofusu 28 54 Hutchins 34p)

ASHFORD TOWN (MIDDX) 0

Att 103

Entry £6

Programme £1

The history books state that Hayes FC and Yeading FC merged in 2007 and the new club moved into Hayes’ iconic Church Road ground. The idea was to redevelop Yeading’s home “The Warren” using funds raised by the sale of Church Road. The tale ever since has been one of mystery and disappointment as despite a good start- the new club reached the National Premier in 2009, the money ran out.  Continue reading →