Life At The Grassroots

14 Friday Feb 2020

Tags

Abingdon, Dalton Barracks, Football, grassroots, groundhopping, Kingston Colts, Long Wittenham, Long Wittenham Athletic, Non League, North Berkshire League

Saturday 30th November 2019 ko 13.30

North Berkshire League Division 2

KINGSTON COLTS 0

LONG WITTENHAM ATHLETIC RESERVES 6 (Crowley 4 27 Bishop 9 24 Hunt 13 Barton 28)

Att 4 at Dalton Barracks, Shippon, near Abingdon

Free Entry

The North Berkshire Hops may be over for now, and despite me being from Oxford I’ll always be a North Berkshire man. It’s a league that put their trust in me to organise a hop when many wouldn’t, and those who really know me knew that back in 2011 I was at a pretty low ebb. I remain on the league’s management committee and will probably do so while they feel I can be of some use to them. Being right at grass roots does give you an insight as to what life really is like at the bottom of the pile. Continue reading →

The Miniature Railway

28 Sunday Oct 2018

Posted by laurencereade in N

≈ 1 Comment

Tags

Cutteslowe Park, groundhopping, Long Wittenham, miniature railway, Non League, North Berkshire League, North Oxford, Top Pavilion

Saturday 15th September 2018 ko 14.00

North Berkshire League Division One

NORTH OXFORD 2 (T Mawema 22 T Mungai 65)

LONG WITTENHAM 4 (Bowler 12 36 Houseman 17 47)

Att 5 at Top Pavilion, Cutteslowe Park, Oxford

As a small boy growing up in Oxford I was fortunate to have a public park at the back of our house. You could say that park, and regular trips to the Manor Ground are the reason you’re reading this. But to the 5-year-old self the real treat was when Mum and I sat on a bus for the entire length of the “Number 2” bus route and spent the day at Cuttleslowe Park. Continue reading →

Belfast

15 Sunday Oct 2017

Posted by laurencereade in H

≈ 3 Comments

Tags

AEA Ground, Football, groundhopping, GroundhopUK, Harwell, International, Long Wittenham, Long Wittenham Athletic, North Berks Hop, Village

Saturday 16th September 2017 ko 13.15

North Berkshire League Division One

HARWELL VILLAGE 1 (Churchouse 75) Tyler sent off 69 (2nd booking) P Powell missed penalty 89

LONG WITTENHAM ATHLETIC 1 (Cheong 50)

Att 117 at AEA Sports Ground, Chilton, near Harwell

Entry by Programme £4

I’m not sure we even changed postcode during our trip from the R.A.L. Ground, round the Science Park to the Atomic Energy Association Sports Ground, one or two even walked it! Once we’d got the first game organised in Chilton, it was an obvious choice to head here although I’m fairly sure one or two people misunderstood Harwell’s reason for playing here. Continue reading →

Doing it Right

23 Monday Sep 2013

Posted by laurencereade in L

≈ 6 Comments

Tags

Athletic, Bodkins Field, Callum Bowler, CROWMARSH GIFFORD, Joe Murphy, Long Wittenham, Matt Saunders, North Berkshire League, North Berkshire League Groundhop, Tim Barton

Saturday 21st September 2013 ko 17.00

North Berkshire League Division One

LONG WITTENHAM ATHLETIC 4 (Murphy 27 Saunders 35 Bowler 55 Barton 64)

CROWMARSH GIFFORD 0

Att 193

Entry & Programme £4

Badge £3

Didcot Power Station Beer £3 a bottle

I like Bodkins Field, as its looks like the kind of place that ought to host village football. There’s a clubhouse, a pitch and a tarmacked road, and not much else. And you know what, what more do you need? Its beautiful, its historic, and the hoppers loved the place as much as I do. In fact its views of the Wittenham clumps and the peaceful village setting convinced me to ask local author Kate Shrewsday to write a piece for the programme. It was typically thought provoking, and here’s her site. Continue reading →

Seeds

25 Monday Mar 2013

Posted by laurencereade in C

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

Bomber, Bowler, CROWMARSH GIFFORD, Gesner, Jethro Tull, Lee, Long Wittenham, North Berkshire League, Saunders, Sheppard, soccer

Saturday 23rd March 2013 ko 14.30

North Berkshire League Division One

CROWMARSH GIFFORD 1 (Lee 80)

LONG WITTENHAM ATHLETIC 3 (Saunders 33 Bowler 51 Sheppard 58)

Att 23 (h/c)

Entry FREE

No Programme

With Mum still in Wallingford Hospital, I decided to stay local as I wanted to make sure I spent as much time with her as I could. That immediately placed me four-square in the territory of my favourite league, the North Berkshire. What I didn’t realise early in the morning that this game was going to be my only option, the snow meant that everything else in the league was postponed, and I got the chance to sound out a potential future groundhop host club. Continue reading →

On the Sunnyside of the Street

17 Tuesday Apr 2012

Posted by laurencereade in B

≈ 1 Comment

Tags

Andy Sutherland, Andy Taylor, Benson, Chris Bowler, Long Wittenham, North Berkshire League, PArish Hall, Pete Ashman, raf benson, Sunnyside

Tuesday 17th April 2012 ko 6.30pm

North Berkshire League Division One

BENSON AFC 1 (Ashman 73p)

LONG WITTENHAM 3 (Andy Taylor 10 Bowler 28 Sutherland 55)

Att 16 (h/c)

Entry FREE

Nothing for sale

The small village of Benson lies roughly 1.5 miles from Wallingford, and since it’s on the north bank of the Thames, it’s always been in Oxfordshire, unlike many of its southerly neighbours, who only switched from Berkshire in 1974. The area is dominated by RAF Benson which is adjacent to here, and its there that the meteorological station is based. Maybe for some, an extreme temperature is the only reason that Benson is known! The airforce base did provide me with some Merlin helicopters to photograph, as it does with just about every ground near here!

The ground is right in the centre of the village neatly tucked away behind the impressive Parish Hall. Its flanked by roads on all 4 sides, but the most obvious is Sunnyside whose bend gives the pitch a border on 2 sides. Yes, it’s very open, but the trees do break up the sight lines well, and it was good to see a girls team training on a smaller pitch behind the adults one. It was also fun to catch up with the Benson AFC committee, I hadn’t seen them since a NBFL clubs meeting over 18 months ago at Sutton Courtenay FC.

Of course you always get a cheery welcome from Long Wittenham. My one regret from my visit there last week was that I drove and so couldn’t try the real ale there! There will be other occasions I’m sure!

Now I did mention extreme temperatures earlier, and it was bleeding cold this evening! In the middle of April it did seem odd to see a substitute in a wooly hat, but it really was necessary! It didn’t detract from a good evening’s entertainment, which the visitors were to win because they were far more ruthless in front of goal. Andy Taylor’s fine volley in the 10th minute set them on their way, before a scramble saw Long Wittenham double their lead off Chris Bowler’s studs.

It wasn’t that Benson were outclassed, far from it, it was just that nothing they did seemed to result in anything concrete. When Andy Sutherland made it 3-0 before being almost immediately withdrawn, it looked harsh on the hosts, but Pete Ashman’s penalty gave a far fairer reflection on the game. Benson had a shout for another penalty late on. I’ve seen them given, but it would have made no difference in the scheme of things. My next game in this league is the War Memorial Cup Final at Wantage Town. Come and say hello, I’m easy to spot, I’m the fat bloke with the clipboard!

One Clump or Two?

11 Wednesday Apr 2012

Posted by laurencereade in L

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

Bodkins Field, Crowmarch Gifford, Long Wittenham, North Berkshire League, wittenham clumps

Tuesday 10th April 2012 ko 6.30pm

North Berkshire League Division One

LONG WITTENHAM 3 (Osbourne 8 Cooper 56 Saunders 70)

CROWMARSH GIFFORD 0

Att 24 (h/c)

Entry FREE

No programme

Coffee-in-a-mug 50p

Mars Bar 50p

I wanted to visit the Bodkins Field for quite a while, I’m not completely sure why, but its probably due to the area’s topological feature, the Wittenham Clumps two hills clearly visible when you’re travelling from Didcot to Wallingford. It’s a delightful rural setting in my favourite local league, one that’s set up for its participants. That’s why I was so pleased that they did such a wonderful job in staging their first groundhop last September, and plans are afoot for this September’s spectacular!

Another reason to go was referee Les Addison. Les is former chairman of the league and was instrumental in getting the hop and running. He believed we could achieve something, and I hope we repaid his belief. He’s now retired from committee duties but remains a referee and a darned good one at that, so I knew the fixture was in good hands.

So what’s at Bodkins Field? The short answer for many hoppers is 2 brands of White Horse brewery bitter at £2 a pint. Remind me folks, when we take the NBFL hop to here, to schedule an early evening fixture! The club are up for it too,and we talked about how a farmer’s field next door could be utilised for parking. In terms of facitilies there’s a clubhouse, and that’s just about it. Mind you what do you expect of what is a rural participatory league?

I spotted a brass plaque in the clubhouse, stating that following a fire,the rebuilt clubhouse was opened by Oxford United’s Jeremy Charles in 1986. I asked about it, and smiled at the response. Apparently he arrived without any idea of why he was there, but perked up quite
considerably when he saw the girls…..

The game looked like an away banker with Crowmarsh top, and rivals Faringdon looking for an opening to push for elevation at the end of the season. I can’t accuse Crowmarsh of not wanting it enough, as I feel that Wittenham made them play the game their way.

Osbourne opened the scoring with a devastating header, direct from a corner, and always looked to have the upper hand as Crowmarsh looked devoid of ideas on a bumpy pitch. With a fair amount of dissent on display it needed a strong referee, and Les was equal to the task, only reaching for the cards when absolutely necessary.

For the second half Crowmarsh started far more brightly but were undone again when a glorious through ball put Cooper clean through and he made no mistake to double the lead. Saunders’ thumping volley, again direct from a corner made it 3-0 and was clearly the highlight of the match. Crowmarsh’s misery was complete when Studwick collected his second yellow for a studs-up challenge, and considering the first was for dissent he and his management will regard the inevitable suspension as entirely avoidable.

But that’s the beauty of this friendly,well organised league. No result can be completely guaranteed. Hopefully you’re all looking forward to visiting this peach of a league in September.