Sway-ing in the Wind-chester

Winchester Castle v Andover New Street

Sway Reserves v Upham Reserves

Back in the weekend chateau with plans for some south west rugby league and then my first football of the new season.  However, Network Rail Western seemed to be in an even bigger mess than usual, and there was some sort of signalling outage at Bristol, with nothing moving.

My plan B was a couple of games around Hampshire, and a Bristol service that had been turned around at Chippenham heading eastbound I took the opportunity of getting to somewhere that trains were actually running.  

The bonus was that it was the power car reliveried into the classic intercity Swallow livery.  I've given full details of this on a yet to be published report of Bicester Youth v Farringdon Youth and Oxfordshire v Berkshire in minor Counties cricket, so watch out for that enthralling update.

A +2 connection at Reading was made, but not with any photos, so just imagine an HST on platform 10, and a Voyager off platform 7b.

I'd chosen these games as the team names were all transitive verbs.

• Winchester Castle - to become the owner of a fortification in an anglo-Welsh border city 
• Andover New Street - to transfer ownership of a recently constructed road
• Sway - to pretend to dance but to be too lazy to actually do so
• Upham - to make a person increase an offer

So first off, out at Winchester.

The only thing was that I had three hours before kick off, and still off the drink (vital statistics; 300 days, 13.5 stone, about 6k) it was finding something to do.  Fortunately, this found me.  However, it appeared to be just another name for a food festival.  These are a great opportunity to play wank word bingo, specifically

• Gourmet
• Organic
• Craft 
• Street food
• Locally sourced
• Wood fired

Tick.

Tick.

However, I then got distracted by a stall that just sold pork scratchings.  Food festivals are a mainstay for wide-boys taking any old hip offering, buying the lowest quality they can find in bulk, and then adding some flavourings to it and knocking it out as some sort of bespoke offering.  Which fool would fall for such a cheap trick?

That would be me then.

Having now armed myself with enough calories to recreate Rick Waller, I decided to divert from the food trail with the bingo card relatively untouched.  So I headed to perhaps Winchester's most famous offering, the Cathedral.  Now I've no interest in 11th century religious architecture, but I am a big fan of scaffolding and where there's a cathedral, there's scaffolding.

Damn it.

Ah, that's better. A bit of 60mm steel tubular mason's double scaffold.

The festival was getting a bit busier now, mainly with pensioners in mobility scooters chain eating ice creams.  So I headed off.  The ground itself is less in Winchester, and more on a hillside in the remote parts of the xxx downs, so It was off to the ensuing hike.

First was a climb out of town.  This footbridge might now give an attractive view of the approach road to a multi story car park...

...but back in the day this was the site for the Great Western Railway station in the city.  It was situated on their route down from Didcot, Newbury and onto Southampton.  Nowadays this is a major route for container traffic from the ports up to the midlands and the north, and has to be routed up the heavily congested routes through Basingstoke and Reading, this line having been long since closed and the A34 built on it.

It was then onwards through what appeared to be Winchester's only council estate.

Now the fun starts.  You know you're up against it when the way to the ground is classified a national long distance trail.

It crosses over the M3 at the controversial Twyford Down site, where it was a big environmental controversy when it was built, as it cut right through an area of outstanding natural beauty.  In the end, the road builders won, as the motorway was desperately needed as the previous bypass was permanently blocked with juggernauts and caravans, and this would solve the problem once and for all.

Oh well.

Next it was into the Downs themselves, with swaying cornfields, free of marauding vicars daughters, preparing for a fifty year hence masterful election campaign.

Now I've used the word 'unassuming' previously to describe modest entrances to grounds, but this one makes Tuffley look like the Doric arch at Euston.

Through a brambles archway.

But eventually out into this.

The good news was that the nets were up and someone confirmed that there was a game on, the bad news was that it didn't kick off until 1400.

So what to do for two hours in the absolute middle of no where?  I thought about going and getting a picture of the main entrance, then saw how far away it was and considered whether it was worth the walk, then remembered I had two hours to waste.

Turns out I could have had two decades to waste and it still wouldn't have been worth the walk.

I went and had a look at an adjacent pig farm.

Got shouted at by gypsies.

Tried to work out why the players and officials sign was at an angle.  God I was bored.

So I decided to reacquaint myself with the current non-league structure in Hampshire.  After previously having one of the strongest and steadiest county leagues, recent times have seen the Hampshire non-league structure turn into a right shambles.  The Hampshire County league existed for over xxx years, with up to four divisions spurning such sides as xxx.  However, facilities at the clubs were always a bit mixed, and therefore the step up to Southern League level was always a bit of a gulf.  The leading clubs wanted to try and breach the gap, but the Hampshire league resisted putting in place a higher standard premier division, so instead in the 1980s, the clubs formed the Wessex league, which also encompassed teams from the fringes of Dorset, Somerset, Berkshire and Sussex.  Come the 2000s, the Wessex league were hacked off with the standard of clubs and grounds coming up from the feeder leagues, so sought to put in a second tier.  Wary of being diminished again, the county league through in the towel and announced a merger with the Wessex.  However, understandably, the Wessex clearly did not want a lot of the the lower status teams, and therefore strict timescales were given for clubs to improve to stay in the newly formed Wessex second and third divisions.  There were also a number of clubs denied entry to the Wessex, who didn't want to return to town leagues, so they formed the Hampshire League (2004), much to the bemusement of the county FA.  Three years down the road, and a number of the new Wessex league sides had not upgraded their facilities, so were kicked out of the league as it scaled down to two divisions.  These clubs did not want to join the 2004 league as it contained the sides who had previously been two or three divisions below them.  So those clubs formed the Hampshire Premier League, which also gained feeder status to the Wessex league.  And so we get to 2013 when the Hampshire Premier and 2004 leagues were forced to merge, the latter just assuming the role as a nominal division one, but you really get the impression that the two divisions hate each other and promotion and relegation is done by application/voting/witch craft, rather than being an automatic process.  Now I was bored and tired.

So made my way to the pitch.  90 minutes early.  For a pre-season friendly.  At step 7.  

Eventually some players arrived, and then a bloke with a wheel barrow.  I've never really wondered how they make the holes for corner flags at the start of the season.  I can now exclusively reveal that a bloke smacks a two foot bit of lead piping with a sledgehammer.  This knowledge was gained through intricate observation of the procedure.  Six times.

Eventually the participants made their way over to join me.

Winchester Castle 1 v Andover New Street 0, Pre-season friendly.

Winchester Castle were formed in the 1960s.  After originally playing in the Winchester league, by the 1970s they had risen to County standard, bobbing about at various levels.  However, Winchester City's meteoric early 2000s rise, funded by one man's fortune made from dental implants, saw them engulf Castle, taking them to their own Abbotts Barton ground as their reserve and youth side.  This saw a brief stint in the Wessex league, before joining the newly formed Hampshire Premier.  However, the new league did not permit reserve teams, so the club de-merged from City, regained their Castle suffix, and moved back to their previous home.

Andover New Street were formed in 1895 as the church team of St Mary's.  An early change to New Street then saw a century of gentle progress through the Andover district, North Hants and then Hampshire leagues.  The 1990s saw them having to leave the walled meadow ground they shared with the senior club, Andover Town.  Getting their own ground was the impetus to rise up to the Wessex league, which was even more significant when Town went out of business and New Street took over the mantle of the Andover's biggest team.  However, the reformed Town club have now regained that status and New Street have settled down to life in the Hampshire Premier.

Apart from their sojourn at Abbotts Barton, Castle have been playing at this ground for most of their existence, certainly all the time I've known them.  It is apparently the Sports ground for Hampshire County Council, but there isn't much sign of their ownership.  In fact, the remoteness of the location makes me wonder if it isn't in fact in Sussex.

I've watched games here on a few occasions, and at various times it has had dugouts and no cover, then a cover and no dugouts, but it is currently sporting both, and what a collection they are.

Starting with the cover, which seems to have adopted the architectural style 'Calais Jungle', being a corrugated iron clad scaffold framework.

The transverse graffiti suggests that the cladding has been reused from elsewhere.

Inside and the leagues tough crowd segregation requirements are met through the use of a piece of plywood.

There are actually benches inside.  However, they are lower than the front wall.

This prohibits the view of any play between the penalty areas, where the ball is less than thirty feet from the ground.  Having grown up watching Reading in the Ian Branfoot era, I can confirm you would still have seen all the action from any team he ran.

The groundsman had various utensils wedged in the roof beams.

And then there were these.  Well, what can I say?

Well, it is safe to say that my 'dugouts of the season' accolade has already been awarded.

Round the back gets better with a selection of pit props holding them up.

A bit of climbing ivy to give them a homely feel.

And some bespoke signage just to round them off.

And after the usual pre-match pleasantries.

The season was underway way.

The visitors had all the early play.

However, they didn't take any of there chances.

If the start of the season couldn't have been any more enticing, the away keeper appeared with not one @keepers_towel but two.  He proceeded to roll them up together like an eight year old on his way back from swimming lessons.

But was then unceremoniously told he was sub so towel and keeper watched proceedings from a more relaxed vantage point.

More chances for Andover.  More misses from Andover.

The first @nonleague_dog of the season.  

And needless to say, the first stoppage of the season caused by a dog on the pitch.

Surprisingly, there were a few travelling fans.

An even more surprising attendee was the bloke who used to be on TVS but now that Saturday afternoon game show on Sky Sports News where ex footballers have to try and stifle natural human emotions of cursing or physical violence, whilst listening to Paul Merson trying to describe the very basics of game he played for twenty years, then for bonus points, guess which championship journeyman will suddenly appear as a reporter at Rotherham.  The latter is still a rollover as no one could have ever guessed at Kevin Watson, Matt Murray or Neil Mellors.  As for Stuart Lovell, well, I watched him play for a decade and still wouldn't have remembered him.

Anyway, here is Jeff Stelling, for it was he, enthusiastically being grilled by a Leeds fan about the real reason Gary Monk left.

Somehow Winchester scored.  This was quite a feat as until then they hadn't got into the Andover half.

Midway through the first half and the first of the season's blatantly-not-injured player getting treatment.

And the first Lazarus like recovery of the season.

Andover continued not to score.

But Winchester started to see a bit more of the game.

Somehow there were no more goals, and it ended 1-0.

However, I needed to head off before the end in order to get the train to my next game, and spied a convenient escape route.

My exit actually coincided with the final whistle of a very enjoyable season opener, in an absolutely lovely surrounding.

Back across the downs. 

And back through the estate, with their own form of street food on hiatus.  All the best to Rob.

Back to the station and onto a Weymouth bound South West Trains service, which was taken through to Brockenhurst.

The Waterloo - Weymouth service are the companies flagship express services with limited stops, so I was off onto a more sedate stopping service to Poole.  Brockenhurst retains the feel of a country junction station, with my express having departed and passengers connecting into the all shacks stopping service on the left and the branch service on the right, on a short hop to Lymington pier where the ferry departs to the Isle of Wight.

It was a four minute, one stop hop to my next game.  Sway is a small New Forest village, growing up as part a workers village for the local manor, and part around a mill owned by the local monastery. 

A short walk took me here. 

The game was the second half of a double header after the same first teams played each other, and was meant to have kicked off at five, which meant I would have missed the first 20 minutes.  However, a lack of action, with one player cycling around pulling wheelies, did not bode well.

With the game still awaiting a start, the adjacent cricket club was spied through the trees.

Now living in Yorkshire, I am spoiled by cricket grounds in spectacular locations and with opulent facilities.  This one was still good, but its no Luddenfoot.

There was time to take in a couple of overs. 

Sway Reserves 1 v Upham Reserves 2, Pre-season friendly.

Sway were founded by the appropriately named Captain Ball in 1908, replacing the previous team in the village who went under the excellent name of "Bert Cardy’s team".   They played in the Western New Forest League until getting chucked out in 1923 due to the supporters stoning the away teams bus.  They returned and had a long spell in the Bournemouth league, but a league and cup double saw a rise to the Hampshire league, but finishing in the bottom three for eight out of nine seasons saw a return to local leagues in 1990.  There they remained until two seasons ago when a title win saw promotion to the Hampshire Premier division one, and a runners up position last season means this season they are at their highest ever level, the Hampshire Premier league Premier division.  Needless to say, they had to threaten litigation to get promotion, I told you the two divisions hated each other.  The Reserves have taken over as the clubs representatives in the Bournemouth Hayward league. 

Upham is located seven miles south west of Winchester, similar to Winchester Castle's ground then.  The football club was formed in 1974 and since then they have shown indifference between staying in either the Winchester and District or the Hampshire league, as they seem to switch between them quite regularly.  Last year they were in the Hampshire Premier One, and were vying with their hosts for promotion, but finished in third, and obviously didn't have the resolve for the ensuing court proceedings.  

Sway used to play at Pitmore Lane, and the junior sides still do. However, the first team moved to the Jubilee Field Sports Ground in 2005.  I'd seen games at Pitmore previously, but this was a winning ground for me.

The public nature of the ground means that any structure has to be Friday night thunderbird fuelled Youth proof.  Whilst in some areas, this means stands look like they have been carved out of Portland Cement, the more gentile locality means a quite attractive stand has resulted, bearing only a single mark of attempted arson.  It is named after a local club stalwart.

The dugouts are similarly solid but pleasant.

Most importantly, they bore one of my favourite non-league sites; signage made out of car number plates.

And doubled up as sun shade for discarded new borns.

Eventually the game got underway.

In non-league circles, Sway are perhaps most well known for their vintage collection box.  Because the pitch is a public recreation ground, it cannot be enclosed, So Gate money is taken via donations around the ground.  A dedicated container was made in 1925 and is still in se, though didn't make an appearance today.  

It was Upham who had most of the early play.

Though the home side did have a few chances.

My mate was sub but remained on his bike.

The opposition sub was also running the line, spending most of his time haranguing the young female ref about her not knowing the rules.  He then managed to break his flag, and the ordeal of putting it back together, both parts of it, silenced him for a bit.

Upham continued to have the best chances.

Eventually they took the lead.

Sway equalised.

But Upham scored a second and the game finished 1-2.

With the game over, it was back to the station.

Onto a Waterloo bound service.

I'd intended to head back via Bath on a Pompey-Cardiff GWR service, but the disruption at Bristol was still having affects and it was cancelled, so it was instead onto Basingstoke.

A Cross Country service took me onward to Reading.

However, it was all on stop there as a marauding trespasser had been hit at Hayes.  After 30 minutes or so, a Swansea bound service wandered in, and I joined the 800 or so people on it, heading back west.

So a rather chaotic end to a different than planned, but very pleasant start to the season.