Tag Archives: 48

World’s Oldest Football Club

Saturday 7th April 2018, 3.40pm (day 2,417)

Sheffield FC, 7/4/18

More football, I’ve been packing in the games while being off work. Sheffield FC reign indisputably as the world’s oldest association football club, being founded in October 1857 which, to put it in perspective, was three and a half years before the American Civil War broke out. They have been going steadily along for the last 160 years without ever having made much of an impact in sporting terms, thanks largely to their having steadfastly refused to embrace professionalism back in the 1880s. But they’re still around, a mecca for football tourists the world over (like me let’s face it) if the graffiti in the toilets is anything to go by, and they still have their little community of fans, like this guy, who may well have been in this spot for many decades. Metaphorically at least. Not a great day on the pitch though — they lost 4-0 to Leek Town. Don’t worry — only a month now until the end of the season.

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Lambing season

Friday 6th April 2018, 12.40pm (day 2,416)

Lambs and Skiddaw, 6/4/18

There was a time when I thought I would not get out on a Lake District walk in this Easter break but the weather seems to be relenting after the icebox that was March 2018. Today was dry and bright, but bloody windy. Still, the lambs are enjoying it, anyway. The mountain in the background is Skiddaw, at 3,053 feet the fourth-highest peak in England. If you would like to see more pictures from the day check out my other blog.

I also note that this is the 100th Lake District shot to appear on the blog.

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Docklands Light Railway

Thursday 5th April 2018, 2.00pm (day 2,415)

DLR, 5/4/18

Despite the frequency of my recent visits to London I had only been on the Docklands Light Railway once before, and that had been in the dark. On the first properly warm-with-blue-skies day of the year it was nice to take advantage of the driverless operation of these trains and sit right up front with a view that normally only drivers get. Reminded me of the El in Chicago in the end. Fun, and a reminder there are still many things to discover in London.

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The next generation

Wednesday 4th April 2018, 8.25pm (day 2,414)

Dulwich fans, 4/4/18

Yeah, I know, more football, but I am spreading the love for another few weeks yet. And teams like London’s Dulwich Hamlet, exiled from their own ground thanks to asset-stripping owners seeking to crush them (and thus playing tonight in Carshalton in Surrey), need our support, and the support of the next generation of fans too. In this regard they are doing well enough, it seems. But those who think community assets like sports clubs should be protected from these kinds of depredations could check out the Save Dulwich Hamlet web site.

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Waterfall, from above

Tuesday 3rd April 2018, 3.45pm (day 2,413)

Nutclough waterfall, 3/4/18

Another less-than-exciting day in this rather gloomy and light-free Easter break. Managed a short walk in the woods in the afternoon but that was about it. This is the waterfall that spills out from under the bridge at the top of the woods, taken from above, looking down from the bridge. It has turned out more of an abstract and I’m not sure that it says anything in particular but at least it’s different.

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Anyone for tennis?

Monday 2nd April 2018, 12.55pm (day 2,412)

Tennis court, 2/4/18

Easter. A time to celebrate spring, a time of renewal and growth. A day for another few tons of grey slush to barrel out of the sky and drench and depress us all. This should be a tennis court in the park. Instead it’s a sea of crud that doesn’t even have the decency to be solid, at least then we could build a snowman.

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Alphabetising

Sunday 1st April 2018, 2.00pm (day 2,411)

Movie pile, 1/4/18

I might be off work but there’s still lots of terribly important jobs to do around the house. Like deal with the chaos that the 300 or so DVDs and VHS tapes have descended into down the years. Two hours saw it done, with only one major ‘collapse’ moment. Here, inspect a couple of the Ms…

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End of the match

Saturday 31st March 2018, 4.50pm (day 2,410)

End of match, 31/3/18

More non-league football in the village of Emley, whose football team in 1998 demonstrated the equalising power of the FA Cup by playing West Ham, 8th in the league at the time, and only losing 2-1. Ten per cent of the whole village turned out for today’s game, which (fortunately for my quest) managed to survive the wet weather: a higher proportion of the population than a lot of much bigger places manage (like Leeds, say), and for tenth tier football. I have enjoyed my tour of these localities this season, I was vaguely aware of the strength of these roots beforehand but days like today prove it. All seem happy here, and so they should as Emley won a tight game 1-0.

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Hebden housing

Friday 30th March 2018, 3.00pm (day 2,409)

 

Hebden housing, 30/3/18

The annual Good Friday hike up to Heptonstall took place, to see the Pace Egg play, but I didn’t get any decent photos of that. Looking back down and over the housing of the home town produced better results. Someone a couple of centuries ago decided it would be a good idea to build a town here and had to come up with some solutions to the difficult topography, and here we still are.

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Shoes, Thursday market

Thursday 29th March 2018, 4.10pm (day 2,408)

Shoe stall, 29/3/18

Another very uneventful, badly lit and photographically uninspiring day — but at least it marked my last day of work before a 10-day break. Expect… expect… well, not much out of the ordinary to tell the truth but at least I won’t be working until 9th April.

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