Wearside League Wanderings - part six

The sixth part of my wanderings around the Wearside League features two new clubs who were accepted into the league for the 2011-12 season, both coincidently faced north-east Non-League legends Willington.

293. Hill Top Ground

Gateshead Leam Rangers 2v0 Willington
Wearside League
Wednesday 17th August 2011

Leam Rangers formed as a youth football club in 1993, the brainchild of current Club Secretary Rob Houghton. The club secured a lease on council land at the top of the Wealcroft on Leam Lane Estate in the southern end of Gateshead. The Hill Top Ground was transformed from an overgrown grassed wasteland to a canny little ground with good facilities, which is now suitable to host Wearside League football.

The club now run 22 boys and girls teams from ages 6 to 18 as well as two senior sides. The Leam played in the Durham Alliance between 2009 and 2011 until a successful application to step up to the Wearside League last summer. The club still have a youth side in the Durham Alliance which is used as a stepping stone to the senior squad.

The redevelopment of the ground is due to the hard work and dedication of Mr Hughton with the help of willing volunteers. He even took a bricklaying course to build a dressing room, as the kids were using metal storage containers without the use of a washroom or toilet.

The ground now has a pleasant club house in between new changing rooms and refreshment bar after a successful application for funding was made to the Football Foundation. The entrance has the club name adorning the metal gates and the pitch is fully fenced off with new hard standing on the nearside. The far side has a pair of stone dugouts and the grass bank is a popular spot for spectators.

Gateshead Leam Rangers opened their first Wearside League campaign with two away defeats and I was in attendance as the Hill Top Ground hosted its very first game at level 7 of the Non-League pyramid against Willington.

The Leam produced a gritty and determined performance to mark the occasion with a first victory of the season. A goal in each half by David Lucas secured a comfortable win, the opening goal coming after only 7 minutes, the striker nodding home a peach of a cross from Liam Barnett(see pic below), then the duo again combined on the hour mark when Barnett was tripped in the box and Lucas despatched the penalty kick to chalk up the Leam’s first three points.

The Leam have a great set up and the club’s progress means that Rangers are now the closest club from my home at Gallowgate View, so I’ll be able to frequently pop down and check on the team’s progress.

The 100FgC was again in attendance on Non-League Day on the 3rd September, with both Michael (Squad #119) and Andy Hudson(squad#173) watching the game with Peterlee Town.
You can read the lads in depth reports on Leam Rangers at;
The Accidental Groundhopper (Michael)
Ganning Away (Andy)

Matchday stats
GLR 2(Lucas 9, 60pen) WFC 0
att.70approx
Admission £2
Programme 50p

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298. Ford Quarry

Sunderland West End 2v3 Willington
Wearside League
Saturday 8th October 2011

Sunderland West End formed just this year when The Jolly Potters merged with Wearside League outfit Houghton Town. The Jolly Potters were a successful side in the Wearside Combination League, winning a hat-trick of league titles and the Alan Hood memorial trophy twice, since forming in 2006.

The club play at Ford Quarry which is in the South Hylton district of Sunderland The ground is off St Lukes Road, where a road bends down the bank and leads you to the ground entrance. The junction isn’t easy to spot as I drove past it a couple of times until I noticed the pitch at the bottom of the hill.
The Ford Quarry ground was officially opened by Sunderland Council Leader Paul Watson on the 3rd August, when a charity game took place between Sunderland West End and Northern League side Sunderland RCA in aid of The Peter David Lane Trust Fund. The ground has large changing room facilities, a fully fenced off pitch with a pair of metal dugouts.

After I saw Willington lose at Leam Rangers, they suffered a heavy home defeat against Ryhope in the following match. Since then they’ve won eight league fixtures off the belt and stretched it to 9, but only just, after snatching a late winner to deny West End a point.

West End took the lead in the 9th minute when Stubbs capitalised on a defensive mix up to shoot home from a tight angle, but Willington quickly responded, seven minutes later Yorke nodded home from close range, then just before half time Lee beat the offside trap and having plenty of time to pick his spot with a neat finish.
The second half saw West End have plenty of possession with the visitors leaving their two main strikers mooching around the half way line, relying on the long ball tactic to catch the home side on the break.
There was a long stoppage after 75th minute when one of the West End players went for a 50-50 ball and fell over and banged his head against one of the stone posts on the perimeter fence. After a 5 minute delay the player got to his feet and thankfully was ok - “I’m alreet, I just knocked me’sell oot that’s aall” was his insouciant response as the game went on without him.

Just as it was looking as if we had witnessed a goalless second half, the match finished with a dramatic climax. West looked to have grabbed a well earned draw in the 90th minute when a cross shot from Coomber found the top corner off the net, then in the 6 minutes of added on time the game swung back and forth with both teams desperate for a winner.

The winning goal duly arrived in the second minute of stoppage time. The home keeper who played a blinder all afternoon produced two terrific saves from close range, until the ball was unfortunately parried into the path of Lee who was left with an open goal to simply walk the ball over the line to make it nine league wins on the bounce for the men from County Durham.

Sunderland West End are another good addition to the league and matches like this one are a credit to the Wearside League - a cracking game and well worth the two quid admission fee!

Matchday stats

SWE 2(Stubbs 9,Coomber 90) WFC 3(Yorke 16, Lee 42,90+2)
att.47(HC)
Admmission £2
programme:none

My Matchday - 297 Memorial Stadium

Bristol Rovers 1v3 Cheltenham Town
League Two
Saturday 1st October 2011

For the second week running I ventured across to the opposite side of the country, heading from the north-east to south-west for my first ever visit to Bristol Rovers.

Over the years I’ve seen The Pirates in action on numerous occasions, but I’ve never seen them play as hosts. I did intend to visit Eastville in 1980, but at the time the club were sharing at the home of their City rivals after the South Stand was destroyed by a fire.
Newcastle played at Ashton Gate in successive away matches early in the season and we decided we would rather make the 600 mile round trip to Bristol to see the landlords rather than the tenants play at Ashton Gate.

I also missed out on watching Rovers play at Twerton Park in 1992, as I was on a beer, sex and souvlaki holiday on the Greek island of Rhodes. The Magpies made a blistering start to the 1992-93 season, and a 2-1 win gave United their fifth in a sequence of eleven consecutive wins at the start of that season. On that sunny afternoon the Toon were led out by a 5 year old mascot, who at the time was visiting his 13th ground and some 15 years later became Squad#79 in the 100FgC.

The customary early start for your truly, which meant getting up in the middle of the night and walking across to the town via the High Level Bridge to Central Station. I boarded the 0645 Cross Country service to Plymouth, arriving at Bristol Temple Meads station at 1145.
Bristol is the sixth most populated city in England, built around the River Avon with a short coastline on the Severn Estuary, which flows into the Bristol Channel.
Historically the city was an important port, handling trading goods to the likes of Ireland, Iceland and Gascony and became a centre for shipbuilding and manufacturing. Bristol’s chief sea port has a long history in trade, where deals were personally struck in the former trading area around The Exchange in Corn Street over bronze trading tables, known as "The Nails". It’s said that maybe this is where the expression "cash on the nail", meaning immediate payment, may have originated from.

Bristol Rovers FC originally formed in September 1883 as Black Arabs, in association with the Arabs rugby club, initially playing friendly matches on a pitch at Purdown in Stapelton.

The following year the club were renamed Eastville Rovers playing at Ashley Hill, Horsfield Downs and also the Ridgeway in Upper Eastville. In 1897 the club joined the Birmingham & District League and finally found a settled base at the former ground of Bristol Harlequins RC in Eastville.

The renamed Bristol Eastville Rovers became a professional outfit in the 1897-98 season, dropping the middle name in February 1899, before joining the newly formed Southern League where they played until 1920, when they were accepted into the Football League.

Eastville Football & Athletic Ground was purchased for a measly sum of £150 and remained Rovers’ home for the next 89 years until 1986, when financial problems resulted in the club being forced into a temporary ground share at Twerton Park in Bath.

Bristol Rovers were tenants at Bath City for 10 years until taking up another tenancy with Bristol Rugby Club in 1996 at the Memorial Ground in the Horsley area of Bristol.The stadium was opened in September 1921 on an area of land named Buffalo Bill's Field that was previously occupied by allotments. The ground is named in honour of the Rugby Union players from the city that died during World War One.
Bristol RFC redeveloped the ground, replacing the old Shed with the Centenary Stand to mark the club's 100th anniversary in 1988 and the West Stand, which had stood since the ground was built, was demolished and replaced in 1995. The Memorial Ground was also renamed with the Stadium suffix around this time.
The rugby club suffered major financial difficulties after relegation from the Premiership in 1998, resulting in Bristol Rovers taking over the ground ownership. The roles reversed with the rugby club becoming tenants in their original home.

On one side is the striking looking West Stand, which has a unique look to it, split into three sections with 10 hospitality boxes at the top, terracing at the bottom and 710 white seats in between. There’s also a TV gantry at the top with an electric scoreboard on the gantry’s facade. Next to the stand on the other side of the players’ tunnel is the South West Stand which is a small covered terrace, which is used as the family enclosure with space for 720 spectators.

At the opposite side is the Uplands Stand which has covered seating to its rear and terracing at the front. The stand is quite high in height with a good view over Bristol, one of my colleagues in the press box mentioned it’s the coldest stand in the country, my reply being that he mustn’t have been to Gateshead Stadium! The stand is prominently blue with staircase access to the seats at the sides and the front. There is open terracing at each side and the dug outs are located in front, which means that team staff have to trail across the pitch to the changing rooms in the West Stand.

The South Stand was originally erected as a temporary stand, having just over 1,000 green seats with a gazebo type covering, decked out in blue and white patched squares. The stand runs for just over half the width of the pitch and is shared with the away supporters.

Behind the opposite goal is the Blackthorn North Terrace, which is a covered terrace for home supporters with a capacity of 3,710, which brings the overall stadium capacity for football purposes to 11,750.

The Carrot Crunchers Derby or better still; The Cider Swiggers Derby was won by the club from 40 odd miles up the road, who produced a solid and confident away performance, giving the Gashead fans a frustrating afternoon.

In the opening half Cheltenham looked dangerous when pushing forward while Rovers struggled to string two passes together, the only threat coming from Zebroski, who created a couple of half chances for himself but failed to hit the target.

Town took the lead on 34 minutes. Kaid Mohamed ran half the length of the pitch before poking the ball home, then within ten minutes the lead was doubled when Luke Summerfield thumped the ball home from the edge of the box from a corner kick.

The three points were guaranteed just after the restart. The Cheltenham players must have worked hard in training on corner kick routines this week, this time the corner was

played to the near post where James Spencer flicked the ball home for another clever goal.

Rovers pulled a goal back on 64 minutes. The ball was cleared from a corner kick, which fell nicely for Lee Brown, his first time shot from 25 yards taking a slight deflection, giving the keeper no chance.

The home side rallied to get back into the game but it never looked likely as Cheltenham had chances themselves to catch the Rovers defence on the break. Overall a good game after a slow start, maybe the injury to Danny Woodards, stretchered off in the opening minutes knocked the stuffing out of Rovers, but take nothing away from The Robins, a good performance so the cider will be flowing on the edge of the Cotswolds after this “derby” win tonight.

To be honest I wasn’t really looking forward to this trip. I’ve got nowt against Bristol, but a five hour each way journey didn’t give me a tingle in the loins or have me rubbing my hands with glee. I had problems booking decent trains with the only sensible journey home being the 1740 from Bristol Parkway, changing at Derby, so the time span from match to train station was tight.

On arriving I had time for a couple of pints in the city centre, ticking off a couple of ‘Spo

ons at The Knights Templar and Commercial Rooms, as well as the GBG listed Old Fishmarket.

I wanted to get to the ground early so I decided to head to Parkway station, then get a

taxi so I could book my return in advance, arranging to get picked up at the bus stop on the end of Filton Avenue at 5pm.

After the game the taxi arrived spot on time so I was safely back at the station for 5.15pm. Then as I waited for my train, I received a string of text messages from an irate taxi driver informing me he couldn't wait any longer and wondering why I hadn’t shown up, so his fare had been “bumped” by a rival taxi firm.

On the long journey back home I had half an hour to spare between connections in Derby, so I had time to visit the excellent Brunswick Inn on Railway Terrace. The pub has a huge choice with 16 handpulls with a selection from its own Brunswick Brewery, unfortunately I only had time for a quickie before catching the train back to Newcastle.

I’m delighted to get this ground ticked off and to finally see Bristol Rovers play a home game, I enjoyed my brief visit to Bristol and I’ll hopefully return one day for a much longer stay. I finally arrived back home at 11pm, my train crossing the Tyne via the High Level some 16 and a half hours since I walked over the same bridge in the early hours of the morning when this daytrip kicked-off.

Matchday stats

BRFC 1(Brown 65) CTFC 3(Mohamed 36,Summerfield 43, Spencer 48)

att.6,108

Admission:Press(between £16-£24)

Programme £3

Ground no.297 Memorial stadium - Matchday Web album (22 pictures)

My Matchday - 296 Kassam Stadium

Oxford United 1v1 Accrington Stanley
League Two
Saturday 24th September 2011


My main objective for this season is to finish off the current 92 before the arrival of our brutal winter which looks set to force an unwanted mid-season break. So for my latest solo train journey, I boarded the 0622 Cross Country train service to Reading, alighting in the picturesque city of Oxford.
The city is renowned for its famous university, the oldest in the English speaking world. There are two rivers flowing through the city, the Cherwell and the Thames which meets at the south, this stretch of the Thames is known as the Isis. The Oxford skyline demonstrates every English architectural period since the arrival of the Saxons, with its churches and university buildings as well as the mid-18th century Radcliffe Camera.
Oxford is known as the "city of dreaming spires", which is credited to poet Matthew Arnold, however the term I would use is “city of bloody good bands” with three of my favourite groups over the last 20 years, namely Radiohead, Ride and Supergrass, formed out of Oxford

A vicar and a doctor met in a pub (no this isn’t the beginning of a joke) in 1893 and formed Headington FC, using players from the Headington Cricket Club. The club added the United bit to their name the following year and later joined the Spartan League.
In 1960 they were renamed Oxford United and within two years were in the Football League after winning the Southern League title for a third time.
The golden era for the U’s was during the 1980’s, winning consecutive league titles and promotion to win a place in the top tier of English football in 1985, then lifting the ’86 League Cup with a 3-0 win over QPR in the final at Wembley.
The club were relegated to Division Two in 1988, which started an 18 year downward spiral that ended with relegation from the Football League in 2006. This was the first time in the history of English football that a team which had won a major trophy were relegated to the Conference.
After a four years gap the club regained their League spot through the play-offs, overcoming York City 3-1 in the final at New Wembley.

Headington United started life at the Quarry Recreation Ground, before moving to Wootten’s Field in 1898. During the early part of the 20th century the club led a nomadic existence, playing on various pitches in and around Manor Park including a return to the Quarry, before securing land on Matlock's Field in 1925 which became known as the Manor Ground.

The Club announce in 1995 that by the end of the decade they were moving to a purpose built stadium at Minchery Farm in the Blackbird Leys area of the city, leaving behind Manor Ground their home for the previous 76 years.
I visited the Manor Ground twice during the 1980’s with Newcastle United. Both matches played midweek under lights in the same competition; the League (Milk)Cup, both resulted in disappointing and inept displays from the Magpies, by and large two unforgettable nights of misery.
The first tie took place in 1983, goals from Neal Whatmore and Andy Thomas gave Oxford a two goal lead at half-time with a late consolation goal from Keegan not enough to give the U’s a 3-2 aggregate win.
I was back again two years later and yet another pretty shitty night. The only highlight being we had time for a couple of pints before kick-off, which lightened our moody slightly before a 3-1 hammering as Oxford were on route to Wembley. Trevor Hebberd scored and another two from Thomas, which must have prompted Newcastle to fork out £100,000 for his services the following summer.

The new stadium meant the club left behind their spiritual home in Headington for the first time. Building work began in the summer of 1996 by Taylor Woodrow, but due to financial constraints construction ceased in December 1997.
Following the arrival of Firoz Kassam as chairman in 1999 work on the stadium recommenced in February 2000 by Birse Construction. The new owner ironed out the on-going legal problems, cleared a large percentage of the debt and squared up financially with Taylor Woodrow.
The ground is owned by the Firoka Group Company and was designed by ACP Architects with the overall construction costing £15m. The first game took place on the 4th August 2001 with a friendly against Crystal Palace, with the first competitive match the following week against Rochdale in the Third Division. United lost the game 2-1 in front of a crowd of 7,842 with Jamie Brooks scoring the Oxford goal.

The stadium has three separate all-seated cantilever stands filled with blue seats with an open end on the west side onto the car park and Vue complex.

The main stand is the South Stand, which has a capacity of 4495 over the two tiers, which are split with 28 executive boxes in between. The central façade wall is decorated with significant dates in the clubs history, similar to what they’ve done at the Emirates, but done in a more discreet way and not an arrogant in your face way like the Gunners.

Opposite is the North Stand which is similar in size and design, with just a single tier of 5026 seats, which are shared with away supporters. The stand also has floodlights mounted on the roof.
Behind the east goal is the Oxford Mail Stand which is also has a parallel appearance, but with less capacity with room for 2879. There’s also a basic electric scoreboard behind the west goal.
I do have one gripe about the stadium, which is the appearance of the walls around the turnstile areas which looks an eyesore, covered with graffiti and desperately in need of a tidy up and a good lick of paint.

The current capacity is 12,500 with the biggest attendance being just short of a full house when 12,177 witnessed the 3-2 defeat against Leyton Orient in May 2006, which sealed the clubs fate and sent them crashing into the Conference.


The spoils were shared between Oxford United and Accrington Stanley in this League Two clash, a fair result with maybe the visitors just shading it. The despondent chorus of boos from the U’s supporters on full time tells the story of a frustrating 90 minutes.
Accrington could have been three goals up before McClaren gave Oxford the lead on 35 minutes; a free kick from 20 yards took a wicked deflection to totally wrong foot the ‘keeper to give the hosts a fluke lead.
Before then, Murphy had a goal chalked off for offside after netting the rebound from a Winnard header, which came back off the post. United keeper Ryan Clarke pulled off two great saves, tipping over an effort from Fletcher, and then denying Murphy with a point blank save.
The equaliser came just after the hour mark when the ball fell into the path of Peter Murphy on the edge of the box, hitting a first time shot which nestled in the bottom left corner of the goal.
Both sides huffed and puffed for a winner but it didn’t look likely as the match fizzled out into a draw, which pushes Oxford out of the play-off positions.

Needless to say my brief previous visits to Oxford weren’t enjoyable, so I made sure I made up for it this time, by arriving early so I could have a good toby around and a good pub crawl.
I arrived just after 1030 and headed straight to Wetherspoons for breakfast. This JDW pub is inspired by the famous Two Ronnies sketch, hence the name - Four Candles. I also frequented the Swan & Castle, Royal Blenheim, Bear Inn and Far From the Madding Crowd before catching the bus to the ground at around 2pm.
The bus fare was £2.90 return and the regular service meant I was back in the town centre in good time to catch the 1807 back to Newcastle.
As soccer Saturday’s go this one was just about perfect, not only did I have an enjoyable day in Oxford, but good news from elsewhere as both my teams in black and white had good wins courtesy of hat-trick heroes.
My target to finally finish off the 92 is getting closer with just three more to go, hopefully if my plans come together then the set can be achieved before winter calls, when my footy travels grind to a temporary and impetuous halt.

Matchday stats

OUFC 1(McClaren 35) ASFC 1(Murphy 62) att.6472

Admission £20.50 Programme £3


Ground no.296 Kassam Stadium - Matchday Web album (19 pictures)

My Matchday - 295 Eppleton Colliery Welfare Ground

Sunderland Reserves 1v0 Gateshead Reserves

Tote Cup (Group C)

Wednesday 21st September 2011

Eppleton Colliery Welfare is the only major north-east football venue still in existence that I was still to visit. The ground hosts the annual Durham Challenge Cup final and as the game usually takes place on Good Friday, I always miss it because I’m usually away during the Easter holidays.
Eppleton Colliery Welfare Ground is in the former mining village of Hetton-le-Hole, situated between Durham and Sunderland. The ground also hosts chief residents Sunderland Reserves, Sunderland Ladies and local Sunday league side Hetton Lyons, FA Sunday Cup winners three times in the last five years.

The ground was of course home to former Northern League club Eppleton CW, who formed back in 1929. The club entered the North Eastern League in 1947 before joining the Wearside League in 1951. After a spell in the Houghton & District League they returned to the WL after a ten year absence in 1974. Successive league titles at the turn of the ‘90’s saw a step up to the Northern League Second Division in 1992-93, winning promotion in their debut season.

The club lasted three seasons in the top flight but after relegation they became annual strugglers, eventually dropping into the Northern Alliance in 2003 and unfortunately within two years the club were no more.

The Welfare Ground was originally shared with cricket, having a pavilion and a stand behind the goal. The pitch lay east of its current position until the 1970’s, when the cricket field moved northwards, with the cricket outfield adjoining the top end of the football pitch.
Ground improvements were made to coincide with the club’s promotion to the Northern League. Cover was added to the central section of the banked terrace, including a section of wooden benches and a new four pylons floodlight system.

In 1993 Sunderland Council embarked on a £3m revamp of the ground, which saw the old stand replaced with a smart looking two tier cantilever stand, the bottom tier has 250 blue seats split into four sections, with standing room at the top for a further 350 spectators.
The other three sides is open with hard standing and grass banking with large Perspex dugouts opposite the stand.

The ground is overshadowed by the Hetton Centre building which houses the community organisation ‘The Hetton Town Trust’ which rose from the former Eppleton Colliery Welfare. The centre includes the Bob Paisley Bar, named after the legendary former Liverpool manager who was born in Hetton-le-Hole.

Missing out on the Durham Cup final every year, the only way I could visit Eppleton Colliery Welfare Ground was by having to suffer watching the mackem reserves on the odd occasion they use the ground instead of either the Stadium or Academy of Light. But thankfully this ground was picked as the location for the Tote Cup fixture against my beloved Gateshead, the Heed reserves returning to the venue of their triumphant DCC victory last season.

The first round of the Tote Cup is regionalised into a group stage. Gateshead and Sunderland grouped together with Hartlepool United, Hull City and Scunthorpe United.
Current Tote Cup holders Sunderland got off to a winning start in defence of their trophy as Roarie Deacon’s second half strike settled the tie. The mackems had good chances in the opening half, all falling to Oumare Tounkara who hit the post, headed over from close range and blasted two efforts into the Hetton Centre car park.

Gateshead battled well but never seriously tested the home ‘keeper, while between the other posts, Heed’s Jack Alnwick, on-loan from Newcastle United looked unbeatable. That was until the 74th minute, the Tynesiders defence finally breached as Deacon latching on to a right wing cross, having time and space to pick his spot to give the Wearsiders a rare win over a Tyneside club.

Eppleton Colliery Welfare is a tidy little ground and despite the slight slope, the pitch it’s probably one of the best playing surfaces in the region. It’s a shame that Eppleton CWFC went to the wall just as the ground was developed as it would be a welcome addition amongst north-east Non-League football grounds in either the Northern or Wearside League.

Matchday stats

SAFCres 1(Deacon 74)GFCres 0 att.330

Admission with team sheet £3

Ground no.295 Eppleton CW - Matchday Web album (15 pictures)

My Matchday - 294 Highbury Stadium

Fleetwood Town 3v1 Gateshead
Blue Sq.Bet Premier
Saturday 10th September 2011

Fleetwood Town’s Highbury is a ground I’ve put off visiting until now. Don’t get me wrong, it’s not as if I’m anaphylactic to fish or anything, it’s just I’ve waited until the redevelopment of the stadium was completed, so I can capture the ground in all its glory.

The 5,663 capacity stadium has been totally revamped since 2007, with the finishing touch being the smart looking £4.5m Parkside Stand which was opened to spectators in April. The stand has a 2,000 all- seated single tier with a shelf-like executive area at the back, having two rows of seats in front of seven hospitality boxes. The stand is completed by a semi-circular wrap around roof with large glassed walls at each side.

Opposite is The Highbury Stand which opened in 2008, with 550 red seats divided into six rows and runs half the length of the pitch, the other half has the building that was used as dressing rooms with a video screen scoreboard and there’s also a TV gantry box on top of the roof.

There is covered terracing behind each goal, the Percy Ronson Stand was the first stand built in the revamped ground in 2007 and is usually set aside for away supporters with room for over 600 fans.

The Memorial Stand replaced the old Scratching Shed at the Park end, named in honour to those who lost their lives in service and in memory of the trawlermen lost at sea from the port of Fleetwood. The stand holds 1473 and opened in August 2008 and unlike the Percy Ronson stand the roof covers the whole end.

A rare treat of a bit of a lie in for this trip, as it’s usually an early start and a canny hike when travelling away with the Heed. Our coach left Gateshead at 10.15pm and after being millimetres away from dunshing a car on the A685, we arrived safely at 1.30pm

Fleetwood is a town on the Lancashire coast in the Wyre district in North West Fylde, an eight mile tram ride north of the bright lights of Blackpool.

The town is built on a Peninsula and was once a productive deep sea fishing port until fishing restrictions were made after the Icelandic Cod wars in the 1970's. The port is now a tourist attraction with a retail shopping park and the picturesque seaside resort is a quieter alternative to the noisy neighbourhood down the road.

We drove past the old fishing docks and the local McDonalds, with Squad #26 Alan Price suggesting we should stop off for a Fleetwood Big Mac! Thankfully we didn’t, the coach driver dropped us off at the JDW pub - The Thomas Drummond instead.

Drinking in Fleetwood is a very cheap day out. I had 2 pints in the ‘Spoons; Northern ‘Casino’(3.8%) cost £1 and Franklin EXP(4.2%)£1.99. On route to the ground I went to seek out the Strawberry Garden which is owned by the local Fuzzy Duck Brewery, where I had a pint of ‘Feathers’(4.0%) priced at £2.30 with 50p off a pint for CAMRA members. So overall I had three pre-match pints for under a fiver.(That’s 1994 prices…Eddy)

Similar to the visitors for today’s Blue Sq.Bet Premier game - Gateshead F.C., Fleetwood too has a history of disbanded and reincarnated clubs.

The first of many were Fleetwood Rangers back in 1887 playing at the Corpse Ground for 10 years before Fleetwood Amateurs formed. The club dropped their surname in 1908 joining the professional ranks, playing at Warrenhurst Park before a moving to a pitch on land at the rear of the North Euston hotel in September 1909, joining the Lancashire Combination League.

The North Euston ground was limited with little room for expansion so after one year the club relocated one mile out of town to a piece of land opposite the Queens Hotel. After the club folded in 1927 Fleetwood later returned to North Euston until the local Council purchased four acres of land on Highbury Avenue adjacent to the Memorial Park in 1936.

The first match at Highbury Stadium took place on 26th August 1938, but due to the outbreak of World War 2 another ball wasn’t kicked until 31st August 1946, equipped with a freshly built covered terrace opposite the Main Stand.

The majority of the club’s history was spent in the Lancashire Combination, winning the title once in 1923-24, until becoming founder members of the Northern Premier League in 1968. In 1971 they lifted the League Cup but struggled in the division and after consecutive years at the foot of the table they folded in 1976.

The club reformed the following year in the Cheshire League and progressed to the North West Counties League in 1982. There was also a trip to Wembley in the FA Vase in 1985(lost 3-1 to Halesowen Town) but again the club folded in 1996.

The present and most successful rebirth formed in 1997 as Fleetwood Wanderers in the North West Counties 2nd Division. Due to a sponsorship deal the club were immediately renamed Fleetwood Freeport until the current and traditional Town suffix came in 2002.

Town rapid progress has seen promotion through both North West Counties and Northern Premier leagues, reaching the Conference North in 2008. In the 2009-10 after finishing runners-up to Southport, the Cod Army celebrated reaching the Conference beating Alfreton Town 2-1 in the play-off final at Highbury Stadium.

A Record Attendance of 4,112 was set last season against AFC Wimbledon as The Fishermen reached the play-offs, finishing the regular season in 5th spot but lost the two-legged semi-finals to the eventual promotion winners.

The Tynesiders unbeaten since the start to the season faced the biggest test so far, with Fleetwood producing their best display with a 3-2 win at Kettering last Saturday

The first half was a tight affair, the best opportunity falling to Jamie Vardy just after the half hour mark, his close ranger effort produced a great save from Farman.

The second half was more entertaining. The deadlock broken on 51 minutes with a magnificent strike from Andrew Mangan, who unleashed an unstoppable drive from over 30 yards which crashed in off the underside of the bar.

Viera went close to doubling the lead with a close range header before man of the match Robert Atkinson saw his headed effort cleared off the line.

James Curtis had a shot blocked as Gateshead put on the pressure in search of an equaliser, but were undone on the break. Substitute Brodie played a good ball into the path of Vardy, who ran on to round the defender and finish well.

In the final minute Gateshead halved the deficit with a 25 yard Beckham-eque free-kick from Odubade, but again the home side caught the visitors on the breakaway, Brodie again combined with Vardy, the striker grabbing a brace with another neat finish which had the Captain Pugwash tune blasting over the PA for a third time.

So Gateshead’s unbeaten start comes to an end, while Fleetwood will be buoyant after back-to-back wins and six goals after a stuttering start to the season in front of goal.

The Blue Sq.Bet Premier league looks pretty open this season which should see plenty of highs and a only a few lows for the Heed this campaign.

There doesn’t seem to be a stand out team that’s going to run away with the title this season, which makes for a competitive league and a thrilling eight months ahead.

Matchday stats
FTFC 3(Mangan 51 Vardy 80 90+4)GFC 1(Odubade 90)

att.1388
Admission: Press (£18)
Programme £2.50



Ground no.294 Highbury Stadium - Matchday Web album(23 pictures)

Snapperfest: The World is Watching

 Today, Saturday, August 20, at Campshore Campground in Ohio County, Indiana (812-438-2135), the 15th Annual "Snapperfest" will take place. Here's Timothy Sizemore, the proprietor of Campshore Campground, holding the unfortunate focal point of the "festival." The highlight of the event is when contestants reach into a horse trough of murky water, pull out a snapping turtle by its tail, slam it on a mat, pound on its shell to further terrify it, then brutally yank its head out without losing a finger. But they're not done yet. A successful contestant wraps the turtle's neck around his wrist and holds it up over his head, asserting his dominance over the terrified and by now perhaps mortally injured turtle. The crowd, composed of families with lots of children, sends up a roar of approval for a successful contestant. What message does that send to the children? Fifteen years of this...how many rural Indiana, Ohio and Kentucky kids have grown up thinking that's an awesome thing to do?

If you can stand to watch, here's the video. http://www.ebaumsworld.com/video/watch/81767472/

Ohio County, Indiana, whose only incorporated town is Rising Sun, is right over the line from Cincinnati. You'd think that this kind of thing would have already gone the way of cockfighting, bull-baiting and Vick-style pitbull fights. But no. Who loves a snapping turtle? Who empathizes with a vicious, dangerous, cold-blooded monster of the deep that eats the fish we like to haul out on our lines? I'm figuring you do. I sure do. People like us move them off the road when they're in peril.

When we first moved to Marietta, Ohio, I went to the Washington county fair. And there was an event called a Turtle Race. Wild-caught box turtles were placed in the middle of a circle drawn in the dirt, and the owner of the first turtle to leave the circle "won." When I saw more than a dozen of these animals, abducted from their woodland habitat and plunked down in the blazing sun for a frivolous competition, Bill had to physically restrain me and carry me from ringside. I couldn't stop it that year, but I damn sure stopped it the next year. I wrote letters, I made calls; I was shouted at, hung up on and accused of spoiling harmless children's fun; of harassing members of the Fair Board. Tough. I kept my eye on the prize, because I knew I had truth and compassion on my side. The box turtle a native wildlife species that is rapidly declining and threatened by habitat loss and human exploitation. It isn't a toy. And the Fair Board had no good rejoinder to that.

 A few years later, when Washington County Fair carnival concessions were offering hatchling red-eared slider turtles and (horror of horrors) baby green iguanas as prizes, I went back into action. This time, my first call was to the Washington County Health Department, which quickly responded to my assertion that both water turtles and iguanas are known salmonella vectors, and hardly suitable as children's prizes at a fair. Shut them down that time, too. A few well-placed, polite calls shored up with factual information go a long way.

Indiana law states that a person who knowingly, intentionally beats a vertebrate animal commits a Class A misdemeanor. 

I note that Campshore Campground's proprietor Timothy Sizemore's favorite saying on his public Facebook profile is "What goes around comes around, do unto others......"  He also describes himself as "honest, straightforward, compassionate, emotional, sincere."

A snapping turtle is not a toy. It is a sentient vertebrate being, capable of feeling fear and pain. This "festival" needs to go the way of bull-baiting, cockfighting and pitbull fighting. We've apparently learned nothing from Michael Vick's example.  

Call the Ohio County Sheriff at 812-438-3636. 

Call the Campshore Campground at 812-438-2135.

Even if you get an answering machine or a busy signal, keep calling. Make it more trouble for them than it's worth to hold this brutal event. Tell them the world is watching.

Here's my letter: 

Dear (insert public official here) 

I am a writer, naturalist, and wildlife rehabilitator who works with turtles in southeast Ohio. I have just become aware of "Snapperfest," and I've viewed video of live snapping turtles being very roughly handled by people in a contest. As one who spends years and quite a bit of my own funds healing turtles that have been hit by cars and mowers, or kept in captivity by people, the notion of using living animals in a contest to subdue them literally sickens me. This is a barbaric thing, which must go the way of bull baiting, cockfighting and pit bull fights. Have we learned nothing from Michael Vick's example? Turtles are not toys, and the regrettable fact that most people hate snapping turtles doesn't make this any less cruel and barbaric. Snapping turtles are native wildlife, and must be treated with respect. This event reflects very badly on Indiana, on Ohio County, and on officials who turn a blind eye to an illegal and extremely inhumane activity.

Looking into Indiana law, we find:

Information Maintained by the Office of Code Revision Indiana Legislative Services Agency
IC 35-46-3
Chapter 3. Offenses Relating to Animals…
IC 35-46-3-8
…Purchase or possession of animals for contests
Sec. 8. A person who knowingly or intentionally purchases or possesses an animal for the purpose of using the animal in an animal contest commits a Class D felony.
As added by P.L.193-1987, SEC.11. Amended by P.L.171-2007,
IC 35-46-3-0.5
Definitions
(2) "Beat" means to unnecessarily or cruelly strike an animal, or to throw the animal against an object causing the animal to suffer severe pain or injury. The term does not include reasonable training or disciplinary techniques.
(3) "Mutilate" means to wound, injure, maim, or disfigure an animal by irreparably damaging the animal's body parts or to render any part of the animal's body useless.

I would be surprised if any of the snapping turtles used in violation of Indiana law in this contest are viable or releasable after such severe abuse. Please stop this event, or be prepared to receive the outrage of many thousands of people who respect native wildlife and will not suffer its torture for fun or profit.

Sincerely,

Julie Zickefoose 

 Compose your own letter and fire it off to:

The Honorable Connie J. Brown
Ohio County Commissioner
yvonnewalton@hotmail.com

The Honorable Todd Walton
Ohio County Commissioner
twalton@cinergy.com

The Honorable Connie Smith
Ohio County Auditor
ohioctyauditor1@earthlink.net

Campshore Campground
812-438-2135 (office)
812-290-5939 (cell)
info@campshorecampground.com

Councilman Pro-Tem Mike Padgett
mpadgett@orvcomm.com
(812) 438-3340

Councilman Steve Slack
sslack@orvcomm.com
(812) 438-3340

Councilman Lynn Graves
lgraves@orvcomm.com
(812) 438-3340

Councilman Bud Radcliff
bradcliff@orvcomm.com
(812) 438-3340

Councilman Roy Powell
rpowell@orvcomm.com
(812) 438-3340


AND: Sign the petition, "Stop Snapperfest" at change.org.

Thank you. Together, we can change the world for the better, one cruelty at a time.

 

  

Charlie's Secret

 

He was born in an Arizona incubator, came rolling out of an egg that had been taken from his parents. Which, right off the bat, doesn’t seem right. He was bred of captive parents for captivity, but he was never domesticated, and his kind never can be.

He was shipped at a tender age to a bird broker in Connecticut who put an ad in the paper, which was spotted by a 31-year-old woman who had recently lost Edie, her best-ever white budgie.

Who wanted a new baby bird who would live a long, long time. Who probably should have been planning for a human baby about then, but that’s moot now, beside the point.

She got what she wanted, and a whole lot more. She put Charlie in a big cage that took up almost her whole tiny living room in a cabin in the woods in Connecticut. Charlie learned to call her boyfriend’s name: “ROB?!” and he called Rob for the next two decades, even after the young woman left and 

 moved to Maryland, and then to Ohio.

  

Charlie bit Julie's new boyfriend Bill until the bird figured out that he wouldn’t get any more beer if he kept doing that.

 

Bill and Julie got married and built Charlie his own room with glass doors and a sunny window and a big countertop to play on. Charlie could keep Julie company in the studio, and he did, very well indeed.

Along came a little girl, Phoebe, in 1996, and Charlie was fascinated and fell in love with the little girl. 

They played for hours all around the house, in closets and halls, hiding and chuckling and sharing secrets together. 

 

Phoebe could do anything with Charlie. She could wrap him in her blue blankie and carry him like a baby.

 When Liam was born in 1999, Charlie fell in love all over again, and suggested to Phoebe that she should probably learn to fly off and find her own territory. That never happened, so they all learned to get along.

 Liam loved Charlie, too, and that made Julie very happy. She felt lucky to have a bird that everyone in the family could handle and enjoy.

Charlie was 17 when a little black and white puppy came to live on Indigo Hill. He bit the pup once on the nose and was the Boss forever after. Chet and Charlie played lots of games, but Charlie wasn’t much for sharing toys or seats or beds. He just took them and bossed Chet around.

 All along, Charlie kept his best friend Julie company as she worked on her writing and painting. He loved to watch a bird take shape under her hand. He liked to check to see if their shiny eyes might come off the paper.

 

For her part, Julie loved his warm doeskin-soft cheeks, his kisses, his crazy sense of humor, and the sweet familiar weight of Charlie on her shoulder as she worked and thought.

 

She did not love the endless messes he made, but she took the good with the bad. She often said that there is no dirtier animal than a macaw, and she sounded like she meant it. “A hundred times more work than a dog! A hundred times!”

 

Phone bill? What phone bill?

Sometimes papers went missing. Bills, things like that. Books were notched, stationery was confettified, and cabinets were emptied, especially when Julie was otherwise occupied. 

 

Really, the safest place for Charlie was on Julie's shoulder, supervising the bird painting.

There were warm summer evenings and lawn games;

there were chases and screams and Sungold tomatoes.

 

 There was mashed sweet potato from a spoon. And cheesy eggy grits. Everything good.

 Julie loved to draw Charlie when he was snoozy.

And then in late summer 2011 Charlie started to act strangely. He fell silent and began looking for a corner where he could build a nest. He wanted to tear up the wall of his own special room, but Julie gave him newspapers and thick art catalogues instead. He could reduce them to confetti in a single day. He chewed and chewed. 

July 15, 2011

Charlie began pulling his tail forward and making odd roaring squawks. He rushed at anyone who entered his room. He hardly paused to eat. And then there was a rattle in Charlie’s breath, and Julie became very alarmed. She called his best veterinarian, Bob from Connecticut. Bob listened to Julie’s story, and the first question he asked was, “Are you sure Charlie is a male?”

 

 

The bird dealer had assured Julie that Charlie had been surgically sexed and was a male. Charlie had been mating with Julie’s sock foot for years (whether she liked it or not). Julie thought Charlie was a boy…but maybe someone had lied, someone who was trying to sell a macaw quickly. If only the dealer could have known what that lie would do. It would have been good to know Charlie's sex for certain. It would have explained a lot.

Summer 1990. Photo by Michael Stern

On a Monday night in August, Charlie’s biggest secret became clear. She was trying to lay an egg, an enormous egg, and it would not come out. The egg was so big it had collapsed Charlie's air sacs, causing the rattle in her breath. Julie held her little hen macaw in her arms past midnight, then got up at 4 AM to rush her to Columbus on Tuesday morning. All the way, Julie cradled Charlie’s cheek in her hand, stroking her sweet sea-blue head. But the egg wouldn’t come, and no amount of work by a bird veterinarian could remove it all. Charlie was terribly sick and fading fast. When the doctor let Julie in to see her, Charlie was in an incubator once again. Which didn’t seem right at all.

And when Charlie heard Julie’s voice, her eyes flew open and she struggled to the front of the plastic cube to be closer to her best-ever friend.

Winter 1989. Photo by Michael Stern.

And that was the last they ever saw of each other. Which still doesn’t seem right. 

But there’s nothing to be done about it but to go on, in a studio that is now much too quiet.

Charlie

August 19, 1988

August 9, 2011