• About this humble little website

Football: Wherever it may be

~ Laurence's football travels

Football: Wherever it may be

Tag Archives: North Berkshire League Groundhop

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 →

51.640774 -1.207528

Cooperation

23 Monday Sep 2013

Posted by laurencereade in B

≈ 6 Comments

Tags

Benson Lions, Jon Radcliffe, Josh Bourton, Neil McMahon, North Berkshire League Groundhop, raf benson, Westminster, Westminster College

Saturday 21st September 2013 ko 11am

North Berkshire League Division Three

BENSON LIONS 1 (Keightly 83)

WESTMINSTER 4 (McMahon 17 59 Bourton 30 69)

Att 153

Entry & Programme £4

Badge £3

Bottle of Real Ale £2.50

Full English RAF breakfast including tea £5

The North Berkshire League Groundhop is very much my baby, so much so it’s the only time that at GroundhopUK Chris Berezai and I swap places, with me leading, and him acting as deputy. It makes sense, when I live a mere 10 miles from Steventon, the village that provides the centre-point of the league. Continue reading →

51.616112 -1.095833

Ceueslaue

12 Sunday May 2013

Posted by laurencereade in C

≈ 4 Comments

Tags

Benson Lions, berkshire league, Challow Fc, East Challow, future hop, hedge hill, North Berkshire League, North Berkshire League Groundhop, Referee, Thomas Kelly

Saturday 11th May 2013 ko 15.00

North Berkshire League Division 5

CHALLOW FC 1 (McGowan 74)

BENSON LIONS RESERVES 2 (Swales 21 46)

Att 8

With an invite received from Long Wittenham FC to attend their end-of-season barbecue and watch the FA Cup final I needed to be somewhere nearby. I then realised there’s a club in the NBFL I’ve mentioned a few times, but knew nothing about, and that’s Challow.

There are only 3 first XI’s in the NBFL’s bottom division, so when on the last NBFL groundhop we featured Uffington United, I had a choice of either Challow or Appleton as the opposition. I plumped for Appleton, as I know them well, and have a soft spot for the gallant battlers that lose almost every week. The trouble is they were losing really heavily at the time, and there was concerns that the team wouldn’t be up for a beating in front of a large crowd. So Challow were on standby just in case, but as it transpired Appleton were happy to play, and made a lot of friends despite losing 12-0 on the night, as they didn’t ever give up. They will feature on a future hop, as will Challow, if for no other reason than just look at these pictures!

East Challow is a small village a mile or so west of Wantage. It’s cricket ground dominates, to the extent that its used for some Oxfordshire Minor Counties fixtures. There’s also the parish church of St. Nicolas to visit. It  was a Norman building of the 12th century, but the font and some masonry of the nave are now the only features surviving from this time. In the 13th century the chancel was rebuilt and the bell-cot and three-bay north aisle added. The Decorated Gothic south chapel was added early in the 14th century.

East Challow Rec’ is tucked away down a track off Hedge Hill Road, behind the local school. I parked up, started to walk down and stopped. I simply had to fire up the camera and record the simply stunning view. I reflected that I’d been a bit worried about the fixture actually taking place; Benson Lions are the team from the RAF base so if too many players are called away, the first team takes precedence so reserve games do have a tendency to get called off. You can’t really argue with a postponement due to the team being in Afghanistan!

I did have a bit of a steer on this one! With Benson Lions hosting the first game on this years NBFL hop I’d had a chat with club chairman Jon Radcliffe the previous evening. We talked about the arrangements for getting 150-200 hoppers through security at the base, it will definitely pay to have pre-booked ticket and be on the coach for this one, and he also confirmed that there would be enough players available for the reserves to fulfil their last game of the season.

That fact pleased Challow no end, as the two sides they’ve enjoyed the company of most this season has been Berinsfield Reserves, and the Lions. They’d decided to lay on some hospitality for the Lions at the manager’s pub, as “For all those lads do for our country its the least we can do…” A classy touch by a classy club.

Challow FC or Challow United, go back a long way, over a hundred years in fact. They folded a couple of years ago, over unpaid league fines and general apathy, but returned this season with a new team. There isn’t much to the ground, just a small changing room block and a fallen tree shaped so as to provide a seat. But what a view there is, with the Vale of the White Horse stretching out towards Faringdon and beyond. The club have tried to improve their lot. Some houses are being built on the edge of the village so the club lobbied for a new clubhouse as part of the planning gain. That gambit failed but there will be a new kit for the team for next season!

Challow started the season brightly and were top in September. Since then, results have rather tailed off, and going into this one they were seventh from twelve. And in all honesty they never looked like winning this one. The Lions were just that little bit stronger and smarter from the moment they scored their first, direct from a free kick from an acute angle. In fact it soon transpired that Challow’s best chance lay with the visitors lack of numbers, they had just the one substitute, he was used at half time, and throughout the second half players went down and were forced to carry on but as passengers.

It was fortunate that the Lions scored the second half early on in the second half, a penalty following one of those challenges that gives managers sleepless nights. It proved to be sufficient for the win, despite Challow’s Eammon McGowan wriggling through to reduce the deficit.

The standard wasn’t high, but what do you expect at this level? NBFL chairman Leroy Paddock popped over to see young referee Thomas Kelly who he mentors. Young Thomas had a fine game, Leroy’s obviously taught him well, and it was good to catch up with Leroy, who’s a thoroughly decent chap.

It summed a convivial afternoon’s entertainment, and it wasn’t long before I was at Bodkins field, for Long Wittenham’s barbecue. What better to watch the FA Cup final than at a grass roots clubhouse with a grilled burger, a £2 pint of real ale, and the North Berks Cup. Well done lads, and to everyone else, you’ll love the place come September!



Lions’ first
The Main Stand

Eammon McGowan
Lions’ second

 

Dancing With The Stars

23 Sunday Sep 2012

Posted by laurencereade in U

≈ 1 Comment

Tags

Appleton Stars, Ben Cousins, Jamie Glock, Keiran Watson, North Berkshire League, North Berkshire League Groundhop, Paul Nuckley, Uffington United

Saturday 22nd September 2012 ko 7.30pm

North Berkshire League Division 5

UFFINGTON UNITED 12 (Watson 2 20 33 43 59 70 82 87 Cousins 11 14 56 Glock 62)

APPLETON STARS 0

Att 188

Entry & Programme £4

Badge £3

Food: Meat and Veggie Chilli

Beer: White Horse Brewery

The final game of this year’s hop saw a trip to the pretty village of Uffington, best known for the 374 feet prehistoric “White Horse” carved into the chalk of the Berkshire Downs behind the village. It’s just about visible from the ground, but there’s more to the village than just that. Poet John Betjeman lived here during the 1930’s and Thomas Hughes, author of “Tom Brown’s Schooldays,” was born in the village.

Now if you thought a NBFL Division 3 game was trying something new, I’m not sure what the great hopping populace thought I was thinking planning this! I do what the Uffington committee thought, as they admitted to me at half-time; they thought I was absolutely stark raving mad when I presented my proposals at a club meeting at Tucker Park 2 years earlier!

The logic is simple, the ground at Fawler Road, has floodlights, and Uffington don’t seem to have played under them in living memory, With floodlit grounds at a premium in the NBFL this was an obvious closing game for the hop. That immediately raised another issue, that division 5 is primarily for reserve and “A” sides. Since hoppers by and large will not watch games involving reserve teams, my choice of opposition for Uffington was restricted to two, Challow and Appleton. Challow are new to the league this season, and so I knew nothing about them, but the Stars I know well.

The Stars re-entered the NBFL 3 seasons ago, and were placed in Division 4. They had a terrible season, and were relegated without registering a point. The next season they still finished bottom but at least registered 3 wins, but last season suffered from the league creating Divisions 4 East and West, and once again failed to register a point. With Uffington having finished next-to-bottom last season, I plumped to the Stars on the basis it might be competitive, and give the crowd some goals to view. I was correct on one count!

What surprised the visiting hoppers was just how well-appointed Fawler Road is. Apart from the fully railed off pitch, with dugouts and floodlights, there’s a second pitch (now there’s an idea!) and a clubhouse with ballroom. The latter proved to be handy as goalscorer Jamie Glock’s chilli sold like hot, well chilli. Common consensus was that it was delicious! NBFL media man Phil Annets went back for seconds, and he was not the only one!

I was worried about Appleton, and so were the NBFL committee. They’ve taken some real hidings over the last 3 seasons, and after a 15-0 drubbing at the hands of Benson Lions Reserves last Saturday we did have Challow on stand-by in case manageress Briony MacKellar decided this was a bridge too far for her team. I was wrong, and I should have known better, as I’ve seen Appleton a few times and they are a team in the purest sense of the word. They pull together, and even though they’ve taken some real beatings, including a 24-0 reverse, they play for each other and for fun. I had a brief chat with one of the players before the game, he admitted to me that the team was nervous so I found some hoppers and made sure they gave them a cheer.

I needn’t have bothered, as although Appleton shipped their first goal with less than 2 minutes on the watch, the crowd took to them as they gave the game a real go as they always do. And that’s where for me they avoided utter humiliation. Yes, Uffington are clearly a massive improvement on last season, but Appleton were not without attacking effort, forcing 3 corners and hitting the bar once. But you cannot be humiliated if you give it your best, and pull together. And that is what make me have a gigantic soft spot for the Stars.

Watching from the bench was Paul Nuckley. A veteran of Appleton’s previous stint in the NBFL, he was goalkeeper for most of the last 3 years, before opting to play for Stanford-in-the-Vale as he prefers to play left-wing. Nevertheless he decided to come along and support his former team-mates.

The difficulty he had as did everyone else there, was the floodlights were somewhat murky, perhaps I should have known as secretary Helen Wilkins did put in the excellent programme that the lights are, “Unique!” It ended up being a case of watch Uffington roll in yet another goal, and ask the bench who got it. The answer was ” Kieran, ” (Watson) a quite unbelievable 8 times! It made Ben Cousins’ hat-trick look positively tame! It broke all kinds of groundhop records, and after completing the crowd count, and saying thanks to the Uffington committee, I allowed myself the luxury of spending the second half on the Appleton bench, partly to check they were all right, and partly to indulge the part of me that is a fan.

And that concluded this year’s event. We produced an average attendance slightly up on last year, and tightened up on the little things that make a hop special. Two areas really pleased me; the clubs did excellent, varied catering, and I thought the 4 programmes were exceptional.

To finish I’d like to thank the NBFL committee, and especially Media Guru Phil Annets. Phil grasped the concept straightaway and his help makes my job so much easier. I’d also like to wish NBFL Chairman Leroy Paddock all the best as I know he’s going into hospital this coming week. I’d like to thank the clubs for their hard work, and at times indulging that bloke who kept sending them emails! The away clubs too, your time will come, as long as you want us there. Thanks also to everyone who attended any of the games, but especially to “Fast” Eddie McGeown who drove the other minibus. Lastly to Chris Berezai, normally I’m his deputy but for this one we swap places. We both know what sometimes you need a shoulder….

See you all next year, Benson Lions, Berinsfield, Long Wittenham and Didcot Casuals, you have a lot to live up to!


Paul Nuckley on the left, and the Appleton committee


;

Respect To Me Choppers

23 Sunday Sep 2012

Posted by laurencereade in S

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

Blewbury, Harry Moore, Jamie Gregory, Joe Lee Mitchell, North Berkshire League, North Berkshire League Groundhop, pam ayres, Sam Weeks, Stanford in the Vale, Taff Blackshaw, Tyrun Mayall

Saturday 22nd September 2012 ko 16.30

North Berkshire League Division 3

STANFORD-IN-THE-VALE 1 (Gregory 85) Mayall sent off 81 (foul and abusive language)

BLEWBURY 1 (Mitchell 23)

Att 178

Entry & Programme £4

Badge £3

Food: Cream Teas/ barbeque

Beer: White Horse Brewery

So let’s go back to the drawing board. Start at Coleshill, and finish at Uffington, so Stanford really was an obvious choice based on the geography if nothing else! The trouble was I knew absolutely nothing about the place other than that the poet Pam Ayres (“I wish I’d looked after me teeth”) hails from here. So in April I decided to go and have a look, and I liked what I saw.

https://laurencereade.wordpress.com/2012/04/22/a-preview/

Generally when I meet a club and explain how a groundhop works and what’s involved I get one of two reactions. Either I get a look that says, “You are completely mad,” which isn’t necessarily incorrect, or the club representative’s eyes get progressively bigger as the blind panic sets in! When I met Stanford’s Simon “Taff” Blackshaw I definitely got the latter! Whatever he thought at the time he did two things that made my life easy, he asked loads of questions, and came up with good ideas too.

The club used a farmer’s field opposite Cottage Road for parking, and produced the greatest whiteboard for the line-ups that I’ve seen on a hop, it was huge! The cream teas went down well, but I do wonder what the players ate after the game as the barbeque earmarked for them looked to be doing a good trade amongst the travellers! There was also a fascinating display of some wonderful old club memorabilia, as well as the beer from the White Horse Brewery, based in the village. The club had done their advertising too, a hopper reported that the village had a poster up everywhere you looked!

So good were the club’s efforts I completely forgot this was a first, Chris and I had never attempted to organise a hop game at a club this far down football’s pecking order. That said, I’d been made aware that Blewbury had had difficulties in the previous few days, so I was more than pleased to see them arrive! I was pleased to see them for another reason, they are the first ground in the NBFL I’d visited around 10 years ago.

There was some confusion as to which team was which. Stanford decided to christen their natty new yellow and blue nets, but NBFL rules state that if there’s kit clash the HOME team changes, so it was Blewbury to got to wear the yellow and blue kit.

Stanford’s main man is forward Tyrun Mayall, and it was his turn and shot that provided the first chance after 8 minutes.  Stanford had the majority of the play early on, so it was a surprise when Blewbury took the lead, Liam Saunders cross being rifled into the net by Joe Lee Mitchell. And despite more or less continuous pressure Stanford couldn’t find a way through. The frustration told most obviously on Mayall himself as he swore at linesman Harry Moore, himself taking a break from Hellenic duties, and followed it up with a rigid digit in Moore’s direction leaving referee Charlie Bullock with no option but to dismiss him.

From there I thought that would be the end of Stanford’s challenge, but as usual I got that one completely wrong. The equaliser, when it came was beautiful in its simplicity, Sam Weeks played a slide-rule pass through the righ hand channel for Jamie Gregory to glide the ball home. Deserved, and Stanford could easily have won the game if Weeks’ finish after a mazey run had have shown a little more finesse.

The game finished soon afterwards, but by that stage the talk was already about the final game. That game of course, had its own benefits and pitfalls.


That’s Taff in the baseball cap



No Folly

23 Sunday Sep 2012

Posted by laurencereade in F

≈ 4 Comments

Tags

berkshire league, Dan Hoskin, Faringdon Folly, Faringdon Town, Luke Ingram, Matty Pill, Mayor, North Berkshire League, North Berkshire League Groundhop, Sam Paterson, Wootton and Dry Sandford

Saurday 22nd September 2012 ko 1.30pm

North Berkshire League Division One

FARINGDON TOWN 1 (Pill 50)

WOOTTON & DRY SANDFORD 0

Att 181

Entry & Programme £4

Badge £3

Food: Ham or Cheese Ploughmans

Beer: Arkells

With the first game at Coleshill there really was only one choice for the second, a trip to Faringdon’s Tucker Park. But have you ever thought about how the ground got its name?

Prior to World War I there was a Thursday Faringdon team, reflecting early closing on that day of the week. After the war the players returned to discover that 6 of of them had lost their lives, and that half day closing was a thing of the past. The £30 left in the club’s kitty was enough to buy and re-badge a racing trophy, as the Faringdon Memorial Thursday Cup, and the Faringdon Town ground was named after one of the fallen 6 players, Michael Tucker. The clubhouse you see today is the result of the fundraising done by the Thursday cup competition, and the cup is still played for today.

In fact, the Memorial Cup was a reason to be nervous as organiser as a combination of a final where there’s always a programme, and the unusual day of the week that its played, meant that many of the more senior hoppers would have done the ground, and therefore would look elsewhere. I knew Faringdon are an ambitious club, with their aim being promotion back to the Hellenic, and are improving the ground accordingly. Fence posts have appeared since my last visit, and the club hope to get permission for floodlights in the future. They’re also at pains to explain they’re going about it the correct way; local players only, and not spending money they haven’t got.

It was a lovely touch that the town mayor Mike Wise was there to welcome each and every person to his town’s game, and I was pleased to see him tucking into a Ploughman’s lunch later on! Those lunches went down a treat, especially with the small, but significant vegetarian contingent. As one of them correctly pointed out, ” A meat eater doesn’t have to eat meat at every meal.” As I chose the cheese version, I’m a good example. The tombola was a good money spinner too, with some bemused hoppers (me included) leaving with teddy bears!

This day was in marked contrast to the famous town Folly clearly visible above the far goal. The visitors were proudly carrying a 100% record coming into this game, and it was clear that what the game lacked in goalmouth action it made up for in tension and quality. It was hard to see this as Step 7 action.

It was Matty Pill who broke the deadlock firing home from 10 yards after good work from Dan Hoskin. Ultimately Wootton were to have to answer to this stike despite a lot of pressure late on. Luke Ingram should have done far better when clean through, and how Sam Paterson’s header hit the crossbar I’ll never know.

The celebrations at the final whistle were a reflection on what the win meant for Faringdon, and their ambitions for progress. I also felt it was a cheer for hard work earning a fair reward, both on and off the field.




One Man (and what a man!)

23 Sunday Sep 2012

Posted by laurencereade in C

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

Adam Little, Ardington and Lockinge, Bottom of the Hill, Coleshill United, Ian Stonham, Jamie Clark, Jonathan Eudell, North Berkshiore League, North Berkshire League Groundhop, oxfordshire village, Richard Evans, transportation

Saturday 22md September 2012 ko 10.30am

North Berkshire League Division 2

COLESHILL UNITED 2 (Evans 30 47) Evans missed penalty 17 Rees sent off 55 (dangerous play)

ARDINGTON & LOCKINGE 5 (Little 23 25 J Clark 29 72 Eudell 76)

Att 171

Entry & Programme £4

Badge £3

Food: Bacon Rolls, and Sausages

Beer: Old Forge Brewery

It doesn’t seem like a month since we were running round Mid-Wales, but the NBFL hop is very much my baby, and it does have its own challenges. This was a first if only for being the first time the organiser has also driven a minibus. All in day’s hopping I suppose!

I’d approached the 4 clubs some time ago, and soon realised I wanted Coleshill to open the event. I do wonder whether any hoppers turned up erroneously in Warwickshire, as this Coleshill is just about in Oxfordshire! During World War II Coleshill House, on the estate, was the headquarters of the secret Auxiliary Units, who were to resist the expected occupation of the United Kingdom by Nazi Germany. Continue reading →

Confluence

30 Monday Jul 2012

Posted by laurencereade in F

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

Clanfield 85, Faringdon Town, North Berkshire League, North Berkshire League Groundhop, Tucker Park

Friday 27th July 2012 ko 19.00

Pre-Season Friendly

FARINGDON TOWN 1 (Benson 10)

CLANFIELD 85 3 (Oswin 36 Williams 45 Oxendale 88)

Att 35 (h/c)

My appearance here for once had absolutely nothing to do withn the game on offer! I was there for a North Berkshire hop planning meeting, and League Press Officer Phil Annets thought along the same lines as me, why not watch the friendly first? Moreover he even bought his dinner from the same Chinese takeaway I did!

We did as others did and grabbed a table and chairs from the bar, and watched an enjoyable game in the warm eveing sun. It proved, if proof were needed that there isn’t much difference in quality between Faringdon, who will see themselves as North Berkshire League title contenders, and Clanfield, who will probably finish mid-table in Division One West of the Hellenic.

That, last season was a mere one promotion, but things aren’t as clear-cut this time, The FA have removed the NBFL’s step 7 status; based on facilties that’s probably fair enough. However to then find out that the neighbouring Oxfordshire Senior League has retained its status despite similar facilities and vastly inferior administration is to be polite, baffling.

Faringdon opened the scoring with a fine 15 yard strike from Chris Benson, and if Faringdon’s goalkeeping had have been less eccentric, they may well have got something from this fixture. Ollie Oswin fired home from a corner, and a goalkeeping howler gave Ben Williams an easy chance to give Clanfield the lead on the stroke of half-time. It stayed that way until the 88th minute when Royston Oxendale chased down a through ball. He did enough to beat the on-rushing keeper, and steer the ball in the the net, but collided with the glovesman in so doing. The referee took one look at the stricken keeper, and decided to blow full time. There was no lasting damage, and so Phil, I and the representative of the 4 hosting clubs trooped into the bar for our planning meeting.

It proved to be most productive, we’re good to go on the 22nd of September, and the line up will be as follows.

10.30am Coleshill United
1.30pm Faringdon Town
4.30pm Stanford-in-the-Vale
7.30pm Uffington United

There will be programmes for each game produced by the participating clubs, together with the usual metal badges. There also looks to be a decent range of real ales to be bought, and the clubs are liasing to provide a different type of catering for each game.

There will be the facility to buy a pre-bought ticket, guaranteeing a programme on either a match-by-match or whole event basis as well as the usual pay-on-the-day. Obviously there’s a lot of work for both Phil, I and the clubs to do before the League’s big day, but after this meeting I’m confident that the day will be a success.

If you’d like more information, just email groundhopuk@yahoo.com. See you there!



Enter your email address to follow this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email.

Join 6,212 other followers

Look for stuff here folks!

Blogroll

  • Damage In The Box Chris Powell’s travels across the UK and Europe. The artist must frequently seen in the pub 0
  • FA Cup Factfile Phil Annets on all things to do with the World’s greatest cup competition 10
  • Football Club History Database Want to know where a club finished in what league and in what year? Richard Rundle’s site is a veritable goldmine! 0
  • Football Hopper “Fast” Eddie McGeown’s erudite perambulations around the nation’s football grounds 0
  • Gibbo's 92 As Atherton Colleries’ programme editor puts it, ” The best trips are random, unplanned and spontaneous.” 0
  • Groundhopping.se Per-Gunnar Nilsson’s trips around his native Sweden, and into Europe 0
  • Grounds for concern The late Mishi Morath’s picture blog. Obviously no longer updated but still a wonderful archive. 0
  • Kate Shrewsday. A thousand thousand stories Not about football, but beautiful writing, Kate can make words dance. 0
  • Modus Hopper Random Graham Yapp’s travels 0
  • The 100 Grounds Club Shaun Smith’s groundhopping football blog. The original internet ground logging website. 0
  • The Football Traveller The bible for every groundhopper. Non-League fixtures magazine delivered weekly. Published and edited by Chris Bedford 0
  • The Intinerant Football Watcher Peter finds the grounds other hoppers cannot reach. Top bloke too! 0
  • The66POW Rob Waite’s travels 0

Your very own calendar!

June 2022
M T W T F S S
 12345
6789101112
13141516171819
20212223242526
27282930  
« May    

Meta

  • Register
  • Log in
  • Entries feed
  • Comments feed
  • WordPress.com

Blog at WordPress.com.

  • Follow Following
    • Football: Wherever it may be
    • Join 6,212 other followers
    • Already have a WordPress.com account? Log in now.
    • Football: Wherever it may be
    • Customize
    • Follow Following
    • Sign up
    • Log in
    • Report this content
    • View site in Reader
    • Manage subscriptions
    • Collapse this bar
 

Loading Comments...