Tag Archives: GroundhopUK

Sargeant Major

01 Sunday Sep 2019

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Saturday 27th July 2019 ko 17.00

United Counties League Premier Division

ROTHWELL CORINTHIANS 3 (Archer 5 Duffy 57 Henson 66)

LUTTERWORTH TOWN 0

Att 316

Entry £5

Programme £1

The move from Orton Rangers in Peterborough to Rothwell in Northamptonshire added up to far more than a 5 division jump in status, although that fact is one reason I love this hop. It meant that in the event’s fourth game we were taking in a United Counties game for the first game, and fittingly that was marked by a minutes applause for the late league chairman John Weekes. Other than being the reason for this hop and being the person I’d most associate with the UCL, he was a gentleman and like many others I miss him immensely. Continue reading →

The Cotswolds (and a little Wales)

31 Friday May 2019

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Sunday 21st April 2019

11.00 Hellenic League Division Two West

BOURTON ROVERS 3 (Nurse 19 Tyack 76 Way 90)

HEADINGTON AMATEURS 1 (Curtis 83)

Att 278

Entry £4

Programme £1

14.15 Hellenic League Division Two West

MORETON RANGERS 0

ADDERBURY PARK 1 (Northam 62)

Att 384

Entry £2

Programme £1

18.00 Hellenic League Premier

BRIMSCOMBE & THRUPP 4 (Blackie 5 Pitts 55 Campbell 70 J Pitt 90)

ABINGDON UNITED 0 Butler sent off 55 (2nd Booking)

Att 403

Entry £5

Programme £1

Easter Sunday dawned, and the compromise that is an organised hop was brought into sharp focus. On one hand we were always likely to see the most hoppers today when compared to the rest of the weekend, but then we were asking more of the clubs in asking them to play on Easter Sunday. You could argue that extra crowds mean extra revenue for our host clubs but that doesn’t help the visiting clubs taking part. I know there was some discomfiture amongst those involved at Headington Amateurs, Adderbury Park and Abingdon United in playing on this day so our sincere thanks to them for helping us, the league and the host clubs. Thanks also to Brian King and all at the league too, plenty of leagues wouldn’t have even countenanced trying!

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The Oxfordshire Day (That Wasn’t)

25 Saturday May 2019

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Saturday 20th April 2019

11.00 Hellenic League Division 2 East

STOKENCHURCH 0

CHALFONT WASPS 3 (Letterman 29 42 Williams 47)

Att 234

Entry & Programme £5

15.30

15.30 Hellenic League Division 1 East

CHINNOR 1 (Knowles 54)

HOLYPORT 4 (Raply 4 45 56 Driffill 16)

Att 196

Entry £4

Programme £1

19.00 Hellenic League Division 2 East

LONG CRENDON 0

YATELEY UNITED 0

Att 269

Entry £6

Programme £1

It was unusual to be in the middle of an organised hop and for me to wake up at home. But with the Hellenic Hop visiting 3 clubs all within 20 miles from home and with an elderly father to keep an eye on, it made sense to have a couple of nights back home, even if Robyn and I did miss the full English breakfasts back at the Almondsbury Interchange! I found myself harking back to the days of the North Berkshire League’s Hops too, and on arrival at Stokenchurch you could see why. Continue reading →

The Good

22 Wednesday May 2019

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Friday 19th April 2019

12.00 Hellenic League Premier Division

LONGLEVENS 2 (Welch 59 Malshanskij 62)

READING CITY 1 (Darboe 14)

Att 331

Entry £6

Programe £1

15.30 Hellenic League Premier Division

LYDNEY TOWN 2 (Thompson 59p Halford 83)

WINDSOR 0

Att 337

Entry £5

Programme £1

19.00 Hellenic League Division One West

NEWENT TOWN 0

CHELTENHAM SARACENS 1 (Barnard 54)

Att 369

Entry £5

Programme £1

Looking at it selfishly,  the Easter Hop moving from the North West Counties League to the Hellenic was a neat way of me swapping a probable 11 new ticks from 13 games to 11 re-visits. The Hellenic hinterland is my stamping ground, and so many of these clubs I know reasonably well, so for this weekend the pleasure was in the catching up rather than the process of accumulation. Look out for the click-throughs for the grounds as they were when I first visited them. In some cases the changes are remarkable.

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The Hellenic Western Side

19 Sunday May 2019

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Thursday 18th April 2019 ko 19.30

Hellenic League Division One West

ALMONDSBURY 3 (Sheppard 45 Lane 85 Bisp 87)

MALMESBURY VICTORIA 2 (Jones 6 Tranter 77)

Att 195

Entry £5

Programme £1

As I mentioned in the Barnton article the original plan for Easter was for GroundhopUK to be based in the North West Counties League. Conventional wisdom would be that they made a mistake in turning down Easter for their hop, but they got excellent crowds for their event in March, so perhaps they bucked that trend. If turning down Easter could be said to be their loss (and I’m not totally convinced), then the Hellenic certainly gained. By swapping the two events around the Hellenic got a prime groundhopping slot, and he chance for 13 clubs to host rather than the 7 we’d originally planned. Brian King at the Hellenic jumped at the chance of an expanded hop but we did create an oddity though, and that was Almondsbury hosting.

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The Cuddy

07 Tuesday May 2019

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Sunday 31st March 2019 ko 12.30

East of Scotland League Conference A

PEEBLES ROVERS 1 (Lindsay 72)

NEWTONGRANGE STAR 3 (Jamieson 13 Scott 40 Porteous 78)

Att 288

Entry £5

Programme £1

With the Scottish Hop coach full I found myself driving from our base in East Kilbride to the event’s final destination in Peebles. It wasn’t a quick drive once I’d left the M74, but the rolling hills of the Borders and the roads’ sweeping bends made for a enthralling journey. It was time to reflect on how this game should have taken place on last year’s hop, the cold and snow saw the game, also scheduled for Sunday lunchtime postponed. I pulled into the rugby club car park, and pondered on how many fewer people would have attended the game last year given the lousy conditions? Continue reading →

Dragon Soup

03 Friday May 2019

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Saturday 30th March 2019 ko 20.00

East of Scotland League Conference C

LINLITHGOW ROSE 3 (Roddie MacLennan 15 39 Coyne 63)

JEANFIELD SWIFTS 2 (Davies 6 Connor McLaren 46)

Att 618

Entry £6

Programme £2

We left Blackburn, and headed over Cockleroi Hill. We were a little tight for time, I’d spent a little too much time thanking those involved at our previous game. The nerves jangled slightly, was driving past a Korean War Memorial part of the plan? But then the county town of the Lothians peeped into view, and as it turned out, the hop coach used exactly the same route as we had. The over-riding reason for the nerves was due to a massive sense of anticipation. Continue reading →

The Wreck Of The Old Mauritania

27 Saturday Apr 2019

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Saturday 30th March 2019 ko 14.15

East of Scotland League Conference C

INVERKEITHING HILLFIELD SWIFTS 2 (Cowie 71 Hamilton 75)

Miller sent off 60 (2nd booking)

Francis sent off 78 (Foul & Abusive)

Cowie sent off 82 (Foul & Abusive)

HERIOT WATT UNIVERSITY 4 (Muttitt 27 57 Huxford 31 Singh 82p)

Att 301

Entry £6

Programme £2

The Scottish Hop’s move from the Lothians to the Kingdom of Fife was nothing if not spectacular. First the Kelpies, the steel horses wild but frozen but their energy an inspiration to motorists on the M9. With the Hop coach’s 61 seats more than sold out, I was driving in effect an overspill car, but the there was a silver lining as we could stop close to the three Forth Bridges to take some fairly spectacular photos!

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The Inland Mariners

24 Wednesday Apr 2019

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Saturday 30th March 2019 ko 11.00

East of Scotland League Conference C

CAMELON JUNIORS 5 (McKenzie 8 43 46 Sneddon 10 25)

EDINBURGH UNITED 1 (Auriemma 40p)

Att 356

Entry £6

Programme £2

The biggest mistake you can make round these parts is to describe Camelon as being part of Falkirk. As any local will tell you the two places are separate even if you do pass the Falkirk Wheel as you arrive, and one town does rather run into the other! But as we approached Carmuirs Park I felt more anticipation than perhaps any other ground on this year’s Scottish Hop. Oddly that was in part because I’d been here before…. Continue reading →

Everything & Nothing

16 Tuesday Apr 2019

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Friday 29th March 2019 ko 20.00

East of Scotland League – Conference B

DUNIPACE 0

BONNYRIGG ROSE 4 (Murrell 6 Currie 60 83p Lough 88)

Att 380

Entry £6

Programme £1

Just like last year Robyn and I were sat having breakfast at the Wetherspoon’s at Beaconsfield Services. Our duties were exactly the same as for previous years’ Scottish Hops; meet Doug and the coach at Hillingdon Underground Station, then with Robyn couriering the coach I’d follow behind in my car to Birmingham International Rail Station to meet Chris Berezai. From there Dave Collins and Craig Dabbs would join us, and we’d aim to reach the first ground on the hop 90 minutes before the coach (not difficult with Doug’s mandatory stops) and use the time to make up the programme and ticket packs. Continue reading →