In the bleak midwinter
In the bleak midwinter, frosty wind made moan,
Earth stood hard as iron, water like a stone;
Snow had fallen, snow on snow, snow on snow,
In the bleak midwinter, long ago.
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Our God, Heaven cannot hold Him, nor earth sustain;
Heaven and earth shall flee away when He comes to reign.
In the bleak midwinter a stable place sufficed
The Lord God Almighty, Jesus Christ.
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Enough for Him, whom cherubim, worship night and day,
Breastful of milk, and a mangerful of hay;
Enough for Him, whom angels fall before,
The ox and ass and camel which adore.
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Angels and archangels may have gathered there,
Cherubim and seraphim thronged the air;
But His mother only, in her maiden bliss,
Worshipped the beloved with a kiss.
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What can I give Him, poor as I am?
If I were a shepherd, I would bring a lamb;
If I were a Wise Man, I would do my part;
Yet what I can I give Him: give my heart.
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by Christina Rossetti (1830-1894)
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Saturday 3rd December 2022
The Isuzu FA Vase 3rd Round
Shaftesbury 1
Bailey Rowe 80,
Brixham 1
Charlie Johansen 74,
Referee:- Carl Peters. Official Attendance: 115
Admission: OMGDS £4.00 (£7). Programme: £1.00
Cold and dry in the small town of Shaftesbury (pop.: c9,000), the ground has a 3G pitch, a 220 seater stand down one side and a covered terrace opposite but a club house in the car park outside the arena. Today, the hosts faced opposition one step below them, from The SWPL, but in truth the two sides were evenly matched and largely cancelled each other out. A goal to each side in the last fifteen minutes and one penalty miss by the hosts, gave the match and a tie in Round 4 to the visitors. With John Main and good to see Avril Lancaster.
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Programme produced by Avril Lancaster – a maiden effort at programme production!
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Tuesday 6th December 2022
United Counties League Premier Division North
Quorn 2
Karl Demidh 41, Paddy Webb 48,
Deeping Rangers 0
Referee:- Tom Bingley. Attendance:- 81
Admission: OMGDS £5.00 (£7). Programme:- £2.00
On a bitterly cold evening, with World Cup football on the tv, it was hardly surprising that this encounter was sparsely attended. Those who came to Farley Way were treated to a regulation home victory with goals either side of the interval to the hosts and the dismissal of a visiting defender on the hour mark. With John Main.
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Saturday 10th December 2022
Sky Bet EFL League One
Lincoln City 0
Wycombe Wanderers 0
Referee: Thomas Kirk. Attendance: 7,513
Admission: OMGDS £18.00 (£24). Programme: £3.00
It was very cold, today, great swathes of the countryside carpeted in white hoar frost and the roads were slippery – as were the footpaths. We all met up at Peterborough Station for the train journey to Lincoln Central and then, eventually, we found a Toby Carvery for a meal before the match. It was great to have all the boys together – sons and grand sons – but the match was woeful. There was never so much as a sniff of a goal on a cold, sharp afternoon and 44 years since my first visit to Sincil Bank! We returned the way we came and on the way back from Peterborough, the World Cup quarter-final between France and England was on the radio. But, I got home before England were knocked out!
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Lincoln Cathedral from the football ground
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Before the match on the way out of the railway station, I caught this snap of the party, left to right: Liam, Mike, Freddie, Kingsley, Jim and Sonny. The shadow is mine!
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Tuesday 13th December 2022
Vanarama National League
Notts County 2
Ed Francis 42, Ruben Rodrigues 61,
Gateshead 0
Referee: Aaron Bannister. Attendance: 5,549
Admission: OMGDS £16.00 (£20). Programme: £3.00
It was a chit billy!!!! Feet like blocks of ice and chilled to the bone, but a surprisingly good attendance in such freezing conditions and in the festive season, and with a World Cup semifinal on TV! Underimpressive top of the table, County, made hard work of relegation threatened Gateshead, but the result was never in doubt and a goal in each half brought home the victory and the points! With John Main.
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Thursday 15th December 2022
The sun shone fiercely, but the temperature was sub-zero on the playing field with a thick coating of ice all around, and, also,on Fullen Lane (“The Dusty”), all the way down to Kirby Hall, silent in majestic splendour. The deer gate to the Weldon footpath was locked and the now largely redundant Rockingham Motor Speedway stand, shone bare with ice in the sunlight. The information plates were still in place along the path, but also frost coated, as was the track up to the farm. Back on Corby Road, the putative site of the new crematorium had made no progress and, atop Westhills escarpment, the villages of Great Easton, Lyddington and Barrowden, (in that order) were easily visible across The Welland Valley. Down below, Corby Tunnel opened its jaws across the track, whilst back on the path, a footbridge crossed the babbling Brook. The pond in the pocket park had survived the attack on its thick coating of ice, the new estate,adjacent the village hall, nears completion and then a return across the frosty playing field. Eight stiles and 8.85 miles.
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The humped ridge for cyclists on the Gretton Plating Area
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Fullen Lane – “The Dusty”
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Kirby Hall
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Kirby Hall
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Kirby Hall
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The Deer Gate – locked!!!!!
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Rockingham Motor Speedway
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One of a set of information tablets along the path to Gretton Brook Road from Kirby Hall
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A new Crematorium?
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Atop Westhills
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Great Easton
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Lyddington
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Barrowden
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Pocket Park Pond
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Saturday 17th December 2022
Wessex League Premier Division
AFC Portchester 3
Brett Pitman 19, 86, 89,
Blackfield & Langley 0
Referee: Stephen Jansen. Attendance: 257
Admission: OMGDS £5.00 (£7). Programme: on line
On a chilly, but sunny afternoon, this game was in doubt until fifteen minutes before kick-off. Ambitious Portchester we’re not at their best, today against relegation threatened Langley. Chairman, Paul Kelly, invited us into the boardroom and discussed his plans and hopes for the further expansion of the club – including a covered terrace behind the far goal – but the ground is already compliant with Southern League requirements. The hosts scored midway through the first period, but it took two goals in the final three minutes to add some reality to the score line.
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Tuesday 20th December 2022
Isuzu FA Trophy 3rd Round
Notts County 2
Sam Austin 32, Scott Leather 45+2 (og)
Chorley 1
Connor Hall 18,
Referee: Paul Marsden. Attendance: 2,040
Admission: Hospitality £30.00. Programme: included (£2.50)
Excellent hospitality! A three course meal and padded seats with armrests right on the half-way line, and all for a very reasonable price. The crowd was less than half of last Tuesday’s League encounter and three sides of the ground were closed, but the match was better! Determined opposition opened the scoring and after an equaliser, all but held on until half-time, but for an unfortunate own goal, and that proved to be the end of the scoring, but not the end of a finely balanced match. With son, Mike and grandson, Freddie.
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Wednesday 21st December 2022
Midland League Division 1
Ingles 2
Ben Tansley 50, Benn Minnshull 85
Chelmsley Town 1
Adam Woods 90+2,
Referee:- Harry Organ. Attendance: 74
Admission: OMGDS £3.00 (£5). Programme:- £1.00
Thringstone in Leicestershire is where Ingles play their home matches after moving from a ground share with Shepshed Dynamo. There is a good clubhouse and the ground is securely fenced with a small fifty seater stand. However, the pitch is a bit of a mess and in need of serious refurbishment, with bare patches and churned up areas. The match was fairly average. 0-0 at the end of a poor first half and then the relegation threatened hosts took a two goal lead, midst some niggling incidents, only to concede deep into added time at the end. With John Main and a goodly posse of hoppers, including Chris Berezai, Laurence Reade, Chris Garner, and Martin from the railways in Kent (now retired), to name but a few!
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Boxing Day Monday 26th December2022
Isthmian League South East Division
Hythe Town 0
Ramsgate 1
Jack Paxman 40,
Referee: Kane Dempster. Attendance: 320
Admission: OMGDS £7.00 (£10). Programme: £2.00
The Reachfields Stadium has cover on three sides and seating half-way down one side. There is a clubhouse reached by a steep metal staircase and a club shop behind the near goal. It is a neat ground, but the playing surface is in need of some considerable improvement. Free teamsheets were available. The match was tense and dour and the only goal came at the end of the first period courtesy of a mistake by the home custodian. This win takes Ramsgate to the top of the table, but coming up next week, is a home match against second placed Chatham!
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Wednesday 28th December 2022
North West Counties League Division 1 North
South Liverpool 5
Alex Griffiths 4, Mason Nevitt 15, 45 (pen), Rio Merrifield 24, Cameron Glennon 42,
Runcorn Town 0
Referee: Jack Austin. Attendance: 157
Admission: OMGDS £3.00 (£5). Programme: £1.50
Hard by The River Mersey with the lights of Birkenhead twinkling on the far side, Otterspool Park is a soulless cage with a plastic pitch and seated cover directly behind the near goal and covered standing down the near side. There was a cosy little tea bar and the welcome was warm, cheerful and helpful. The hosts pummelled the visitors In the first half and scored five times without reply. The second period was frustrating with each side determined to hang onto what they already had. With John Main, Graeme Holmes, Andy English, and several other “hoppers”.
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Other Matches:-
Wednesday 7th December 2022
Spartan South Midlands League Division 1
Rugby Borough 0 Eaton Socon 2 Attendance: 26
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Monday 12th December 2022
Midland Floodlit Youth League Joel Richards Cup Quarter Final
Rugby Borough U18 2 Coventry Sphinx U18 4 Attendance: 33
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Monday 19th December 2022
Premier League U21 International Cup Group A
Leicester City U21 0 FC Porto U21 0 Attendance:309
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