Brockenhurst v Bemerton Heath Harlequins
Time owed due to working over Christmas meant a Friday off so a weekend back down south, with a few games planned in. Every journey starts with a single step, so it was the 0757 off Sowerby.
Into Leeds, but no sign of the inward East Coast service.
Eventually it rolled in four minutes before departure time, for a heroic four minute turn round.
An uneventful run down to the Cross.
I'd done the 186 miles from Leeds to London in 130 minutes with four stops. I was therefore a bit pissed off that the 2.6 miles from Kings Cross to Paddington on the underground took 70 minutes. Of note that the underground has an instruction to drivers that if the train has been stood in a tunnel for more than 30 seconds, they need to make an announcement. Therefore, when there is congestion, instead of driving up to the next red signal, they just drive along at 0.1 mph which avoids them having to make an announcement, but means trains aren't as far along as they could be, so occupying more of the railway and adding to the congestion.
My next move was to Arborfield, just outside Reading, where there was an under 23s game versus Southampton. However, my planned bus move had been missed because of the tube delays.
My dad was also going so instead I arranged to meet him mid-route at Mortimer, with a turbo deputising for the perennially failed class 150/0 that are meant to work the Basingstoke branch.
Into Mortimer, with its unique Brunel designed Italianate station buildings, dating from 1848. I bet they have witnessed a few non-issues in their time.
The match was being played at the Reading FC training ground at Hogswood. In comparison to other teams facilities, Hogswood is a collection of very expensive cars parked on pot-holed mud, amidst a scattering of portacabins, giving more the impression of an unlicensed waste management site than a training ground of a club with Premier League ambitions. They are in the process of building a new training centre at nearby Bearswood, probably because the current site has suddenly become very desirable for housing, and the club owners, who only have the best interests of the club and are of course lifelong football fans, are hiving off anything they can to separate companies, that they own, at giveaway prices.
After a quick catch up back at the parents, it was back to Mortimer, this time with a Sprinter making an appearance.
Into the Great Western bay at Basingstoke.
And onto a Bournemouth bound Cross Country service.
I was off at Brockenhurst.
The New Forest survived deforestation by being used by royalty for hunting, in this case it was William the Conqueror who adopted it as a convenient deer hunting park from his home at Winchester. Brockenhurst was one of the manors within the forest, and the village grew to service the woodland and also as a stop off point on the trading route to the nearby coastal port of Lymington. When the railways arrived, it was the junction station for a branch to the port, which by then had a ferry link to the Isle of Wight.
It is a twee village, with thatched micro-hotels...
...and a mock Tudor and picture postcard pub laden centre. Although the pubs are inflicted with being Ringwood ties.
The ground lies very close to the village centre.
The forest is famous for its ponies. These are a stumpy little species who over their long existence have earned the right to wander around freely but aimlessly. A bit like Wayne Rooney. However, this does mean that there are cattle grids every where, including on the entrance to the ground.
Confirmation of tonight's proceedings. The football that is, though Bob's dart tournament does sound tempting.
Brockenhurst 0 v Bemerton Heath Harlequins 2, Sydenham Wessex League - Premier Division.
Brockenhurst were formed in 1898 and played in the New Forest League. After a few false starts, they established themselves in the Hampshire League, staying there until the formation of the Wessex in 1986, in which they have played since.
Bemerton was once a village just outside Salisbury, but they are now joined by a rough-as-arseholes estate. The football club was formed in 1989 by the merger of Bemerton Athletic, Moon, and Bemerton Boys. Wiltshire league status saw the new club successfully apply for the Wessex League, where they have played ever since.
Brockenhurst have played at the Griggs Lane ground since the 1950s.
It is dominated by this stand, which houses the dressing rooms underneath and is incredibly close to the touch line.
There is another small section of cover behind the near goal.
For a modest ground, it boasts two entrances, this being the ornate clubhouse side turnstyle. A good start to the 2017 bespoke club ironwork collection.
I headed to the clubhouse but it was Ringwood again. They used to be just about ok, but since being taken over by Marstons, they have really fucked about with their beer, and not in a good way. Anyway, a club branded darts board and oche...
.. and a message of support from darting greatness (and weirdness).
The club are nicknamed the badgers, I take it due to the Brock part of their name. Watching the game by the dugouts was a 14 foot plywood version of the mascot.
Here he acts as fourth official.
That's one way to get rid of them.
I'd been here many times in the nineties with AFC Newbury. My abiding memories were trees overhanging the pitch to a severity that St Albans could only dream of, and a very elaborate pitch railing. The main tree is still in situ, though considerably pruned.
The one on the far side seems to have long since gone, just an ivy clad stump and piles of logs beyond.
Most pitch side railings in non-league can have forty foot gaps and just a couple of cones to discourage unauthorised entrance. However, someone at brockenhurst at some point was obviously a keen welder with access to a plethora of scaffold connections, as there are all sorts of strange connections along the perimeter.
The teams took the field below the very lofty perch of the main stand. Another set of officials it would be impossible to confuse with each other.
Disappointingly, Bemerton have moved on from their previous unique Harlequin patterned shirts and socks.
You don't get this in the premier league part 1346. After kicking off, the game had to be stopped for one of the players to go and shut the changing room doors 'as otherwise it will be fucking freezing at half time'.
Despite the conditions, it was actually a decent games, with both teams passing well.
Bemerton took the lead mid way through the half with a tap in after a shot had been well saved.
Double towels on display. Firstly the huge Bemerton effort.
Then a well used Home towel, with the tree in the background.
There was a brilliant collection of football ground clutter. Random scaffolding and seats...
...a wheelbarrow that had been pimped with adverising hoards to increase capacity...
..a very serious looking roller...
...a quite prodigious stack of parking restriction cones and two antique turn styles.
One of the floodlights has been taken over by a mobile phone mast, yet I couldn't even get a bar of signal. Can I just advise anyone that O2 are the shittest phone provider around, with coverage in about four square miles of the UK. They survive by giving extremely cheap corporate deals to public companies, which are happy with this as the appalling reception means the staff use their own phones, so the company saves more money. Steer well clear of these inept fuckers if you actually want a phone that works.
Half time and a read of a very comprehensive programme. In the takeover of the Js, there were three Jakes and a Josh.
Although the programme was a bit confused with who was playing, giving a detailed analysis of Moneyfields (Previously Portsmouth Tax Office FC, they changed their name as they got kicked so much).
Bemerton added another in the second half.
A decent game ending 0-2.
Back to the station with the barriers down, a Weymouth bound service dividing the village.
In rolled my Waterloo service.
Back to Basingstoke...
...and my unit sat in the bay with the road pulled off ten minutes ahead of departure time.
Back into Reading.
And my HST for Swindon, passing a Paddington bound service, with the leading power car being in a commemorative livery for Harry Patch, a WW1 soldier.
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