AFC Liverpool 2 West Didsbury 2 North West Counties League (06.11.2013)

So still staying over in Liverpool and the night after photographing Albert Docks I was back on the more familiar ground of Non League football with a trip to watch AFC Liverpool host West Didsbury,AFC were founded not as a protest club like FC United of Manchester but as a home for Liverpool fans who were finding the price of modern football to much,footy for a fiver was how press officer Alan Harrison described it as.
So AFC don't have their own ground but share with their landlords Prescott Cables,the ground is one one of those faded but homely places that is one of the reasons so many of us follow non league

The downside of the night was the weather the incessant rain that lasted until about 10 minutes from the end of the match but to the great credit of the players it didn't stop them putting on a highly entertaining match

 From the start of the game AFC as per their higher league position were the more dominant side but it took a while before their dominance paid off and they took a 1-0 lead,by some miracle your photographer actually got a shot of the goal and the celebrations

I was actually not the only visual media there as AFC sport like my own club AFC Wulfrunians a photographer and videographer,quite a rarity in non league football from my experience,both guys like everybody else at the club extremely friendly.

So  half time arrived with AFC only 1-0 up and I was invited into the board room for refreshments,told you these guys were friendly, and a very nice spread it was as well.

And so to the second half and AFC continued their dominance and doubled their lead with a quite superb strike from some 20 yards,I think at this point most of the crowd thought that was game set and match,it was actually the start of an amazing turnaround as within minutes West Didsbury had pulled a goal  back  with an even better strike from at least 30yards.This inspired the visitors who took almost total control and it was no surprise when they drew level from the penalty spot

After that although Didsbury posed the greater threat both sides could have claimed all three points but with honours even after 90 minutes West Didsbury were obviously the happier side

So despite the weather a very enjoyable evening and another fine example of the friendly family that is non league football

A Stroll Around Liverpool Docks with Graham

Staying up in Liverpool on business I was not far from my colleague Graham Seaman  and the initial plan was just to have a pint,however as it was a nice evening and Graham knows I never go anywhere without my camera so he suggested a night photography session.
The night didn't get off to a good start as the Anglican cathedral usually floodlit was in darkness as there was a film crew inside.so off down to the docks area.

Well I'm not a great night photographer but you really cant go wrong here because there were images demanding to be captured right from the start

Liverpool has a wheel as well as London

You also get attractive young Irish ladies who

forgot their cameras wanting you to take photographs of them,annoyingly so did their Partners.Brothers.fathers and Uncles

  Also by the wheel is a sculpture musically inspired and dedicated to John Lennon and it was crying out to be photographed

Moving around to the Albert docks you get more mundane objects that you would ignore from a photographic point of view in daylight but they take on a completely new identity in the artificial light of the night

Before ending the evening with the pint that was the original plan Graham insisted that photograph the 3 Graces ,that is The Royal Liver Building, The Cunard Building and the Port of Liverpool Building, hopefully I have done credit to these beautiful structures that dominate the Liverpool waterfront

So a pint at the Pump House and the evening was over,well not quite,I still had to prove what every tourist knows only to well.there's always a bloody photographer getting in the way of what you want to photograph