Chronicles of the Berkshire Pig: Renaissance Men

Worcester Park v Dorking

Renaissance Club Schaerbeek v H.O. Veltem

A night back on home turf in Swindon, and despite being away, things don't change as the next morning back at the station, and a complete red out of the signalling. Our appropriately named power car looks on forlornly.

Eventually we were on our way, with me alighting at Reading and heading off to the town hall.

The reason for this was this exhibition in the museum. At the turn of the century, I was the Station Manager for Reading, and this was a photo history of the station through time.

Unfortunately photography was not permitted in the museum, but I did get a covert shot of this poster that was produced to promote the staff being on hand during the rebuilding works. The punchline being, unless that Tory happens to be Chris Grayling.

Back to the station and onto a Waterloo line service. Not having kids means I can risk this line, as it is so slow, there is a chance that you could miss them grow up in the time it takes to get to London. I was off at Clapham Junction onto a Dorking bound service.

Off at Worcester Park.

I hadn't checked if the game was definitely on. There are few stations in Britain where the answer can be ascertained immediately you step off the train.

A short walk from the station and the ground is perculiarly accessed over a stream.

Worcester Park 4 v Dorking 2, Cherry Red Records Combined Counties League - Division 1

Worcester Park were founded in 1900 but it was in the 1950 when they started to become established when they joined the Surrey Senior League where they stayed until demotion in the 1960s. They rejoined the senior ranks in 1982 with the establishment of the Surrey County Premier League, which had replaced the Surrey County Senior League which had become the Combined Counties league, the Premier League then renamed itself back as the Surrey County Senior League in 2000, before merging with the Combined Counties League in 2003, and yet another Surrey Senior League being formed. My head hurts.

Dorking were founded in 1880 and stepped up to senior ranks in 1922 when the Surrey County Senior League was formed. They moved into the Corinthian league and then the Athenian League. In the 1970s, they merged with the dying rump of Guildford City but this only succeeded in bringing Dorking into the mire, and the hybrid club went bust. A new club, Dorking Town was formed in 1977, who joined the Surrey Senior League, and then up to the Isthmian League. In the mid 2000s, they switched across to the Combined Counties.

Worcester Park moved to the Skinners Field in 1922 when the athletics club took over what was previously Church grounds.

The main spectator feature is this shelter/dugout combination, which has seen a variety of colour schemes over the years.

Behind the near goal is a very smart clubhouse, which also offers some shelter.

As well as one of the more obscure flood defence schemes.

Sign writing by Andy Townsend.

The ground forms part of a much larger sports complex, with cricket, tennis and bowls also in evidence. The football pitch overlaps with the cricket pitch, which means there is only spectator access to two sides.

I popped into the clubhouse to watch a few moments of Reading trying to lose with a bit of dignity at Salford 1sts. They had the greatest selection of crisps I think I've ever seen at a club house and it pas a packet of Marmite walkers and a pint of Diet Coke for under two quid. As ever, the sign of a well run club, the hand written team list on the wall.

The teams enter from the bowls club.

Handshakes in front of a @nonleague_train

There was also a @keepers_towel in place.

And joy upon joy, a combination of the two.

The home team had most of the opening play, the tactics seem to be to get it to the right winger and see what happens.

Horror upon horrors, one spectator was watching from outside the cricket pitch, which was a distance from the pitch and about ten foot down the goal line. No one was caring less about it apart from the linesman, who proved to be an officious twat as first he complained to a home club official who to their utmost credit, roundly ignored him. He then complained to the ref who ignored his first few complaints, then made a token wave to the spectator. The linesman then went back to the club official in the tone of a petulant five year old, who eventually went and asked the person to move, in an understandably apologetic manner. Meanwhile the linesman got a string of fairly simple offside decisions wrong, but I'm sure still went home feeling great about himself having needlessly imposed pseudo-authority.

Worcester Park scored mid way through the half.

At this point I checked my phone to see if there were any delayed kick offs that meant I could get another game in. However, what caught my attention was a potential double header that evening. The only snag was that it was in Antwerp. The home team added another.

A quick phone call to Eurostar confirmed that there was staff availability on the late afternoon train to Belgium, so just as Dorking pulled one back...

...I headed off, with the home side adding another as I was leaving the ground.

Back to the station...

...where the busiest part of the platform was where grudgingly shopping men were taking the opportunity to get a bit Saturday afternoon football in.

Another SWT 455 took me Waterloo bound.

I was off at Vauxhall...

...and onto the Victoria line to Kings Cross.

Which got me onto the Eurostar terminal...

...and onto the train with a couple of minutes to spare.

Into Brussels, and another tight connection made, onto an Antwerp service.

However, passing through Brussels, what I hadn't noticed on the way in was the snow. So a quick check of my intended games of KSC City Pirates v Nijlen and KFC Brasschaat v Lyra revealed that both were off. A quick plan B was found, which was a revisit to an old ground, but one that had been considerably rebuilt since my visit in the mid 1990s. So it was off at Bruxelles Nord.

Onto a tram heading to the South Eastern part of the city.

Except I got on the wrong tram, and had to change at the least convenient interchange imaginable, the platforms being in different time zones, though the one I was heading for did have a statue of a Mexican riding a donkey, backwards.

Now I was on the right tram, I took it up to Waelhem.

The snow was even thicker here, but I was hopeful of the game being on as it was a 3G pitch.

Sure enough, approaching the ground and the floodlights were on. The stadium is located on the wonderfully named Avenue du Suffrage Universel.

There were people milling around inside the glass backed stand.

The end stand has a fantastic exterior, showing the huge concrete beam framework.

It also has some of the biggest club ironwork I've seen, the lead clubs name being picked out in sheet metal.

However, looking into the ground, the turnstiles were all shut and there was no one on the pitch, despite it being a minute to kick off.

I went to the only signs of life, which was a bar, and sure enough entrance was through it. Three euro got me in and a team sheet.

Renaissance Club Schaerbeek 1 v H.O. Veltem 2, Belgium Provincial - Brabant.

Renaissance Club Schaerbeek's history is based on Racing Club Schaerbeek, who were formed in 1968, playing in the Brabant leagues until rising up the Provincial leagues, eventually reaching the First Provincial in the late 2000s. However, they soon started dropping down again, so merged with SK Terjoden-Welle, which is half way to Ghent, effectively just taking their league position off them as the carried on playing in Brussels.

Veltem is just outside Leuven. The club started in the 1930s but were shut during the war. They were then restarted by British Soldiers, outstationed in the area after the war ended.

The Crossing Stadium is one of Belgiums legendary grounds. It was opened in 1914 with wooden stands. However, in the 1960s, two wonderful Augustin Rogiers concrete stands were added. It was originally home to RCS de Schaerbeek, who in 1969 merged with Royal Crossing Club Molenbeek to form Royal Crossing Club de Schaerbeek. However, the late seventies and early eighties saw the decline of the club, and they merged with Elewijt who's ground they moved to. A number of amateur clubs played there, but the stands fell into disrepair. In 2009 it was completely rebuilt by the Brussels development agency.

It previously had facilities on all sides. A main stand with a curved roof where the current seated area is.

Opposite another covered area. It has been replaced with just a few steps of terracing, which you can't see anything from anyway, as the fence and advertising hoardings.

Behind the goals were massive terraces. The open one has been flattened and is now the training ground pitch.

The covered terrace (although it may have had benches added) has been stripped back to its carcas, and a smaller terrace has been replaced in the lower part, the upper part occupied by two social clubs for the two teams.

The delay was apparently due to the ladies game that preceded it over running, and sure enough the teams entered the fray, from separate sunken tunnels.

On a white pitch, they played with a white ball, and the home keeper was dressed in white.

Off in the distance was a ladies game. I'm claiming this as having seen a game in another ground.

Their game soon finished and they traipsed back across the pitch to the changing rooms.

Attendance was about 40 including über groundhopper Leo Hoenig, who was very pleasant company for the game, having appeared to have driven across most of Northern Europe to find a game, after his intended French cup game at Prix-les-Meziers was postponed.

Entrance to the main stand was bizarrely across a catwalk...

..and through a concrete corner labyrinth...

..finally emerging at the rear.

The away side were third in the league and had more of the play, without really having any clear cut chances.

In the second half, they did eventually take the lead.

Then added a second.

It was noticeable that there was no diving or feigning injury. A couple of players tried it, but five seconds later they came to the conclusion that running it off was the better option than being led on the frozen ground, and adding to injury time.