Category Archives: Sport

Jul 21 2024
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Daily Post, Portrait, Sport, Stranger

The dugout

Saturday 20th July 2024, 3.10pm (day 4,713)

Stafford Rangers dugout, 20/7/24

The substitutes of Stafford Rangers FC ponder the fact that, about ten minutes into their game with a team from a lower division, they are already 1-0 down and are going to go on to lose 4-0. OK, it might have been a pre-season friendly but it’s not a great omen for the season to come. And none of these people were even in the starting XI.

I do wonder what the guy on the left of the shot has seen to distract him: assuming all the others are watching the current action on the pitch, he’s certainly not.

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May 28 2024
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Daily Post, Sport

The Final

Tuesday 28th May 2024, 6.30pm (day 4,660)

Gray Trophy final, 28/5/24

Despite having missed out on all of the last seven weeks, I am not giving up on the football season just yet. Nor were the blue-clad players of Newport AFC, who triumped 7-1 in tonight’s final of the Gray Trophy (aided considerably by the indiscipline of their opponents who obligingly reduced themselves to 9 men with quite a bit of the game still to go). Out they trot for the start of the game, not yet knowing how straightforward this will prove to be in the end.

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May 27 2024
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Daily Post, Family Member, Portrait, Sport

Clare’s marathon debut – 20 miles in

Sunday 26th May 2024, 2.40pm (day 4,658)

Clare, marathon woman, 26/5/24

No apologies for putting up the cheesy-grin family shot today as the day was all about Clare, who ran her first ever marathon in a time of 6 hours and 1 minute. The Edinburgh marathon started in the city, headed out along the coast, turned around and came back as far as Musselburgh. This is Longniddry, where Joe and I caught up with her at about the 20 mile mark. She looked, as you can see, fresh as a daisy, and from this point on I had absolutely no doubt that she would finish. I know what this has taken in terms of training — an immense effort! And I am very sure it won’t be her last. (Will I be taking up the challenge? No chance.)

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Apr 08 2024
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Daily Post, Landscape, Sport

The Anchor Ground and Jubilee Tower

Sunday 7th April 2024, 2.45pm (day 4,609)

Darwen landscape, 7/4/24

Both these facilities are to be found in Darwen, Lancashire, where concluded my last weekend in the UK until late May. By the time I get back it might have stopped raining — this shot was grabbed in one of the afternoon’s few dry spells. At least, if it does rain on my travels to come, it’ll be warmer rain.

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Mar 30 2024
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Daily Post, Sport

Turnstiles 12 and 13

Friday 29th March 2024, 2.55pm (day 4,600)

Turnstiles, Accrington, 29/3/24

Good Friday, hence a day off work, and plenty of football around so it seemed the logical thing to do, particularly as Clare was paying — the destination being Accrington Stanley v Morecambe in League Two. Which, insofar as anything does in Accrington, attracted quite a crowd.

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Mar 12 2024
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Daily Post, Landscape, Sport

Inishowen’s Match of the Day

Sunday 10th March 2024, 11.25am (day 4,581)

Sea Rovers FC, 10/3/24

“Top o’ the morning to you and welcome to Ireland’s Northernmost Football Ground for today’s big match in the Inishowen League; unbeaten visitors Glenceely Colts arrive unbeaten all season, with second in the table Sea Rovers needing to win to have any chance of catching them…. but they’ll fancy their chances I think, don’t you Conor….?”

And right they were to do so. Sea Rovers (in red) 4, Glenceely Colts 2. This actually is Ireland’s northernmost football ground, located a short distance from Malin Head, the country’s northernmost point.

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Mar 03 2024
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Daily Post, Friend, Portrait, Sport

Leaving the match happy

Saturday 2nd March 2024, 5.05pm (day 4,573)

Leaving Gresty Road, 2/3/24

If they don’t necessarily look happy I can assure you that they were, as these fans of Morecambe FC have just seen their team come back from 2-0 down to win 3-2 at Crewe Alexandra: and at 2-0, no one in the whole ground saw that result coming, believe me. As the set of humanity that counts itself as Morecambe fans includes the wife (and I have to say, increasingly, myself), this was a good turnout of events.

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Feb 19 2024
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Daily Post, Portrait, Sport, Stranger

In the crowd

Sunday 18th February 2024, 3.40pm (day 4,560)

Sunday Cup crowd, 18/2/24

The FA Sunday Cup might not seem like much to the rest of the world but about 600 people turned up today at Lower Breck FC’s stadium, in Liverpool, to see one of the quarter-finals. The tension seems to be getting to this guy: he’s about to see the home team (Pineapple) go out 0-2 to the visiting Trooper team from the West Midlands, anyway.

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Feb 01 2024
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Daily Post, Sport, Urban scene

Ice track, College Park

Wednesday 31st January 2024, 2.55pm (day 4,542)

Ice track, 31/1/24

It’s not that cold here, in fact local contacts are talking about it being ‘very nice’: which is their interpretation of rather grey, still weather and a temperature of about 2-3ºC. Fair enough I suppose — a fornight ago it was apparently below -20º with wind-chill. This ice track is artificially maintained; it just goes round and round in a circle, it would seem more fun to me if they ran it through the city streets like an alternative bus lane.

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Jan 29 2024
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Daily Post, Sport, Urban scene

Sunday morning on the Marshes

Sunday 28th January 2024, 10.05am (day 4,539)

Hackney Marshes, 28/1/24

I wouldn’t want to come here in the wind and rain but on a glorious, sunny Sunday morning — which today was — I could not think of much better to do in London than revisit Hackney Marshes. It’s an evocative sight as you come over the bridge at the north end and see this view. The place is so big it’s still about 20 minutes’ walking from here to the other end.

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