Tag Archives: stadium

Jul 13 2025
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Daily Post, Urban scene

Pleasureland…

Saturday 12th July 2025, 2.40pm (day 5,070)

Arbroath Pleasureland, 11/7/25

Great Britain is the only place which tries to do seaside resorts at around 57ºN, and in a location which, as it proved today, is prone to being covered in sea mist (here they call it haar) when the whole rest of the country bathes in sunshine. But Arbroath perseveres. Get a ticket for Arbroath FC — part of one stand of it is in the background, with visiting St Mirren fans — and you can get £12.50 worth of credit at Pleasureland for just £10. Or so we were told.

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May 15 2025
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Daily Post, Portrait, Sport, Stranger

Pre-match atmosphere

Wednesday 14th May 2025, 7.45pm (day 5,011)

Halifax fans, 14/5/25

Two minutes to go before kick-off and someone, somewhere lets off a flare to add to the atmosphere. The two guys in the centre look pretty tense about it all. And considering their team are about to concede three soft goals in the first 12 minutes of the game that is to come, they were justified — not that they knew that at this point. Final score, Oldham Athletic 4, Halifax Town 0. This lot all go home now and wait for next season.

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Apr 18 2025
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Daily Post, Sport

View obscured by flags

Thursday 17th April 2025, 7.50pm (day 4,984)

Bradford City flags, 17/4/25

When buying tickets for football grounds with which one is not wholly acquainted, it might help if warnings were issued to the casual fan: “You are entering an area occupied entirely by people who want to stand up throughout the game and wave flags.” I mean, I admire their enthusiasm and respect their support — but after a few minutes, I moved, somewhere right up the top.

This is Bradford City’s ground; their game against Notts County attracted over 20,000 people to see a fourth-tier game — so someone, somewhere is doing something right…

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Mar 24 2025
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Daily Post, Sport

Watching the match (1)

Saturday 22nd March 2025, 4.30pm (day 4,958)

Back of Rhyl FC, 22/3/25

A double-bill to fill out the weekend, because I saw a lot of football, and not much else. This one is taken about half an hour before kick-off at the second match of the weekend, at Rhyl FC, where the Wales Under-19 team were playing Portugal in front of quite a big crowd, at least for the size of the ground. (A seagull crashes the shot for the second day in a row.) They were to see defeat, however: Portugal won 1-0.

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Feb 23 2025
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Daily Post, Urban scene

Outside the stadium (with the Burj Khalifa)

Saturday 22nd February 2025, 7.25pm (day 4,930)

Emiratis and Burj Khalifa, 22/2/25

Getting out of the general area of the hotel was desirable so I did what I usually do under these circumstances and went to a football match; this is taken outside the Zabeel Stadium. There were far more Emiratis there than are typically seen around the city, at least in the bits that I have been (only just over 10% of Dubai’s population are Emirati).

And this also offered an opportunity to add to the blog’s list of ‘Superlatives’ (see the bottom of the stats page) — the Burj Khalifa, the tallest building in the world at 2,722 feet/829.8 m, or over half a mile. It really is ridiculously tall. One day I might try to go up it but there’s no time on this trip and apparently the queues are outrageous anyway. I imagine going to the football is a better way of plugging into local culture.

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Jan 09 2025
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Daily Post, Portrait, Sport, Stranger

Cape Town stadium

Wednesday 8th January 2025, 8.45pm (day 4,885)

Cape Town FC, 8/1/25

I try not to put too many football pictures up here but I do like this one, simply because of her face, and the general contrast with the rest of the scene. And it does epitomise the day, with me not having arrived in the city until noon, local time. Either way, the match (Cape Town City v Orlando Pirates) and the general experience were very fine: a great introduction to the country.

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Oct 14 2024
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Daily Post, Sport

Incoming…

Saturday 12th October 2024, 4.25pm (day 4,797)

AFC Fylde shower, 12/10/24

That’s definitely some rain coming in. The players are about to get wet, as, I imagine, are most of the people sat in the main stand to the left, with its rather inadequate roof. At least those of us stood on the ‘East Paddock’ of AFC Fylde’s Mill Farm stadium had more satisfactory cover.

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Sep 06 2024
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Daily Post, Sport

Hurst Cross (Ashton United FC)

Thursday 5th September 2024, 8.20pm (day 4,760)

Hurst Cross, 5/9/24

Followers of this blog will be aware that I go to quite a few football matches — tonight being my 53rd of 2024 so far — but I try not to let the theme dominate these daily posts. However, Hurst Cross is a fine example of the genre and worth depicting. It’s been continuously in use by Ashton United since 1884 and so is one of the oldest extant grounds in the world, and a perfectly decent place to spend a Thursday evening, if you ask me.

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Sep 01 2024
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Daily Post, Sport

Main stand, AFC Bentley

Saturday 31st August 2024, 2.55pm (day 4,755)

AFC Bentley stand, 31/8/24

The younger members of the small crowd at AFC Bentley v AFC Phoenix disport themselves in an aesthetically pleasing manner over the little main stand. It would have been very easy for this one to have been cluttered up by a number of things — signs on the back wall, or dangling wires, maybe — but other than at the bottom right corner, these things are not present (and I did consider cropping further, but then the standing couple would have been too near the edge). I doubt any of them particularly cared that the visiting team won on the day, they were just enjoying the sunshine, as was I.

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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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