Tag Archives: GroundhopUK

Whether

22 Thursday Mar 2018

Posted by in M

≈ 1 Comment

Tags

, , , , , , ,

Friday 16th March 2018 ko 19.00

South of Scotland League

MID-ANNANDALE 6 (Gibson 9 D Smith 11 36 Neill 34 53 Thom 47)

LOCHMABEN 3 (Milligan 33 G Smith 38p Howat 89)

Att 235

Entry £5

Programme £2

Over 4 years the Scottish Hop has developed a method all of its own. That’s a coach running from Hillingdon via Birmingham up the M6 via the first game to our base, usually in East Kilbride. I normally run the coach from Hillingdon to Birmingham when Chris Berezai takes over and I take a fast car to the first ground to make up the programme packs using the time taken for the coach driver’s mandatory 45 minute break half way up. However this time round it didn’t quite work out as we’d planned. Continue reading →

Sea Salt

09 Friday Mar 2018

Posted by in P

≈ 1 Comment

Tags

, , , , , , ,

Sunday 25th February 2018 ko 14.30

Welsh Premier League

PRESTATYN TOWN 0

NEWTOWN 1 (Goodwin 4)

Att 201

Entry £7

Programme £2

We’d had a bit of an adventure after returning back to our hotel after the Bala game. We were walking in the main entrance when an ambulance on blues and twos screamed into the car park. There’d been a wedding at the hotel and a guest had thought it would be a jolly jape to drop a Viagra pill into someone’s champagne… In the end no harm was done, I hope the victim wasn’t the groom (he spent the night in hospital) and it did serve to empty the bar for the hop party!

Continue reading →

Life On The Periphery

05 Monday Mar 2018

Posted by in C

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

, , , , , , ,

Saturday 24th February 2018 ko 14.00

Welsh Premier League

CONNAH’S QUAY NOMADS 0

THE NEW SAINTS 1 (Routledge 45) Harrison sent off (offensive/insulting language and/or gestures)

Att 222

Entry £7

Programme £2

Teamsheet FREE

You’d think the Flintshire Suspension Bridge marks the border between Wales and England; it doesn’t but it comes pretty close! It’s Britain’s only assymetrical suspension bridge, but suffers by being nicknamed, “The bridge to nowhere,” that’s rather disparaging to the good people of Connah’s Quay and Shotton but the feeling of being on the periphery persisted. Continue reading →

Rock Climbing

28 Wednesday Feb 2018

Posted by in C

≈ 3 Comments

Tags

, , , , , , , , , ,

Friday 23rd February 2018 ko 19.45

Welsh Premier League

CEFN DRUIDS 0

BANGOR CITY 2 (Hewitt 44 45p)

Att 426

Entry £7

Programme  & Teamsheet £2

There’s no question that it was highly flattering for GroundhopUK to to be approached to run a Welsh Premier League Hop. But when Chris Berezai mentioned it to me I found myself questioning whether the idea could be made to work? I looked back to the set of compromises that is a successful hop and wondered how we could adapt them for the needs of the Wales’ top domestic league? Continue reading →

Qualities

08 Wednesday Nov 2017

Posted by in B

≈ 1 Comment

Tags

, , , , , , , , ,

Sunday 8th October 2017 ko 14.15

Western League Division One

BISHOPS LYDEARD 2 (James Quick 39 Hebditch 45) James Quick missed pen 51

CHEDDAR AFC 4 (Coomes 9 Jones 67 Bennett 75)

Att 264

Entry & Programme £6

The Western hop’s final destination for 2017 was easily the most anticipated of the weekend. There was nothing too involved about the reason why, it was because Bishops Lydeard are new to the league joining last season, and that Cothelstone Road has seen massive improvements to allow the club that  promotion. That meant that a large strand of the groundhopping hobby would suddenly have the club on their radar for a visit and that was reflected with the second-highest attendance of the event, and easily the highest number of hoppers. The question was how would Lydeard cope with the large crowd?

Continue reading →

Order, In All Things

07 Tuesday Nov 2017

Posted by in S

≈ 1 Comment

Tags

, , , , , , ,

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

Posted by in H

≈ 5 Comments

Tags

, , , , , , , ,

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 →

Reciprocity

02 Thursday Nov 2017

Posted by in O

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

, , , , , , ,

Saturday 7th October 2017 ko 16.30

Western League Premier Division

ODD DOWN (BATH) AFC 2 (Simpson 32 White 87p) Gould sent off 34 (Dangerous Play)

BITTON 2 (Knighton 68 McClennan 78) Tooze sent off 57 (2nd Booking)

Att 211

Entry £6

Programme £1

About 3 years ago I was watching a game at VfR Mannheim, in the German 5th division. I called in at the club offices to pick up a teamsheet, they spotted the foreigner in their midst (was my German that appalling? (yes)) and I was whisked away to the boardroom and welcomed to their club. I left wondering if a non-league club in my country would show the same kindness if the situation arose? Continue reading →

Waffley Good

01 Wednesday Nov 2017

Posted by in W

≈ 2 Comments

Tags

, , , , , , ,

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

Posted by in A

≈ 2 Comments

Tags

, , , , , , , ,

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 →