A Different Sport All Because Of Facebook

I have in the past done a little bit of Motocross on probably 3 occasions but being so used to Pitchside access in the football it was strange getting used to being the other side of the fence and the shots probably suffered because of that.
However thanks to the joys of Facebook I had a made a "Friend" through the Severn valley Railway site who posted about the Wilden Lane Motocross track,20 minutes from my front door but I had never heard of it,Kevin was kind enough to invite me along and joy of joys this is a place where Health and safety is goverened by common sense and a respect for what the organisers and marshals tell you to do so Trackside in the obligatory Hi Vis vest I went

The age range is from youngsters through to adults and all showed tremendous skill and commitment,the big plus was of course being able to get safely close to the action and get different angles of the riders and come away with a set of shots that I was really pleased with,in addition having met Kevin for the first time I also met other photographers and the marshals all of whom were incredibly friendly and helpful.
I do have to say that my enthusiasm got ahead of me at one point as I tried some slow speed panning shots that sadly failed miserably,lots more practice required there

Will I be back,you bet I will and even if photography isn't yourbag then I can highly recommend just going along to watch a very exciting and interesting sport in a lovely part of the Worcestershire countryside,the Bacon Baps looked very moreish as well but I managed to resist the temptation


https://www.facebook.com/pages/Wilden-Lane-Motocross-Track/135983933132083

I'll Find A Match If It Kills Me

Saturday 16th January 2016 was all nicely planned out,I was visiting a former work colleague in Bamber Bridge having a good reminisce over a pub lunch and then go onto watch Bamber Bridge v Osset Town in the NPL Division 1 North.

Well phase 1 worked perfectly a clear run up nice lunch and great conversation,however Mother Nature decided to put her finger in the spokes with a bit of a cold snap,so over drinks I saw that the BB match was off,after the main course my fall back of Chorley had also bitten the dust so it was scratting around to see if there was anything within half an hours drive South,the joys of the internet.

So that's what brought me to Warrington still in the NPL Division 1 North. but a top of the table clash with Northwich Victoria,never been to Warrington before but had of course seen the ground on the box when they famously beat Exeter in the cup

So I made a call to the club and a very pleasant lady said pitchside photography would be fine,on arrival I was directed by really nice stewards to the chairman who confirmed that was fine,as an aside at no time did they ask for any freebies as a condition unlike their opponents who I had covered in the FA Cup v Bromley,you can guess who I was silently supporting then.

I was not alone as a photographer called Simon was shooting the game for the Non League Paper on behalf of Media Images,another nice guy,this was turning into a really great afternoon,anyhow Warrington are one of those clubs who have a full blown mascot,not sure of his name but he was very photogenic

So to the match and as has become a regular occurrence recently as kick off approached down came the rain,and a bit of sleet but hey ho that's life,anyhow a very entertaining match with Warrington absorbing early pressure before a decisive moment in the game when unable to stop Warrington's Chris Gaghan breaking clear fairly Mo Ali was red carded for a deliberate foul.This like 4 of the 6 goals happened at the opposite end of the pitch to where I (and Simon were) so all I got was a forlorn Mr Ali leaving the pitch,one of the joys of football photography is actually being at the right end occasionally

Obviously Warrington  were now in the ascendancy and 2 goals later in the first half saw them comfortably on top at half time ,obviously being at the wrong end all I got was an arty celebration shot

Come the second half Northwich were still making a fight of it but it all appeared to be over when Warrington scored again with 20 minutes to go seemingly putting the match to bed,there was however to be a twist in the tale

Within the next 10 minutes Northwich had made 3-0 3-2 ,the second an absolute screamer from Bennett and Warrington were rattled,other half chances fell the way of Northwich but they were finally undone in the 90th minute when Warrington got their fourth,this time I was a the right end and wonder of wonders the scorer Deegan ran towards the camera to give some nice celebration shots,if you have a copy of the Non League paper you will see Simon's version 

So a really nice day a set of shots I was pleased with and a stress free journey home,I will make a point of visiting Warrington again

My Non League Day 2015

It was 10 years ago that I rediscovered Non League again after many years and one of the joys since it's inception in 2010 has been Non League day that I wrote about last week.

So this year it was down to Sporting Khalsa and the added bonus of it being an FA Cup 3rd qualifying round between Step 5 Midland League Khalsa and Step 4 NPL Northern League Spalding United, having beaten a step 4 side in the previous round Khalsa had every reason to feel confident.

This was my 4th visit to the Asprey Arena this season and I have to say it is one of the friendliest places to visit and you are always assured of a warm welcome,in addition to the Khalsa guys it was also good to meet up with fellow Non League aficionados Garry,Martin and Roger,in addition it was good to meet for the second time Paul Smithson and his fellow Windsor FC fans who are travelling all over the country following the FA Cup from round to round, true Non League fans

And so to the match and an immediate shock for Khalsa as Joe Moreman cut in from the left and fired home although the usually highly impressive Khalsa keeper James Pemberton may feel he could have got more on it

The rest of the game was finely balanced with neither side creating any clear cut chances but as the second half wore on Khalsa began to dominate and just when it looked like time had run out Marvin Nisbett   was brought down as he attempted to round the Spalding keeper and Khalsa had a penalty,should keeper Michael Duggan have been sent off rather than cautioned is open to debate However I personally wont criticise the ref for this because he had a superb game hardly getting a thing wrong and handling the couple of flashpoints really well

With leading scorer Craig Bannister having been substituted it fell to Dave Meese to secure the replay they so richly deserved and he was unerring from 12 yards

So both sides will be in the hat for Monday's draw as the big boys of the National League Premier enter the competition and I wouldn't like to call the result of the replay although Spalding with home advantage should start as favourites.

I'll finish on a real positive,Khalsa have never been the best supported club in the area but yesterday a record crowd for the Asprey Arena of over 400 watched the match,yes some of those will have been fans of Wolves,Blues the Baggies etc there because of the Non League Day publicity and hopefully they will return on days their own teams are playing away but i think there were others there who have no other affiliation,hopefully they will return and become regulars

Go On Give Non League Day A Chance

This Saturday October 10^th is Non League day a day celebrated each year to bring the Non League game to the attention of all football fans but especially those who support Football League and Premier League sides.

Why especially those you may ask, well let me take you back to a simpler time when to quote my daughters we had to fight off the Dinosaurs off on the way to the match,anyhow back in the 60’s and 70’s my dad and I were regulars at Molineux,never missed a match.

But on the other weeks when Wolves were away and we were unable to travel we went to follow our local Non League team,in our case Dudley Town and we met many who we also saw at Molineux doing exactly the same.

Sadly in the 21^st century this doesn’t seem to be the case and we all know the answer, SKY Sports, match after match on at all hours drawing people away from actually going to a match, but why? I mean I was a Wolves fan and if they were the live game back in the day and Sky were around then yes I would probably have been in the pub watching it,but Norwich v Crystal Palace why would I want to watch that live when  can see the highlights on numerous platforms later in the day

You will see many T shirts saying Keep Music Live but fewer saying Football Is Not A TV Programme yet the sentiment is the same,at the end of the day it’s not the same if you’re not actually there,now I won’t say that you will see the same quality as at The Emirates   but you will see some decent football and plenty of excitement,you will also in my experience meet some really nice people who have a great enthusiasm and love for the game.

So if your team aren’t playing this weekend (League 1 and 2 fans are exempt if you are going to your teams game) don’t go down the pub or let the Wife/Girlfriend /Husband/Civil Partner etc take you shopping (do that on Sunday) go to a Non League match, give it a chance and even if you come away saying load of rubbish never going back you will have made an informed decision,it’s also FA Cup 3^rd Qualifying round so you might see a minnow who actually gets to be on the TV in a few weeks time .

The United Kingdom Honours List

As anybody who knows me will testify twice a year when the honours are announced I get into Mr Angry mode and start having a rant on Social Media, well as my rantings will never change anything I thought lets just get it on a blog that I can recycle every January and June,so here they are for perpetuity .

1. Big Gongs and Little Gongs

Irrespective initially of who gets the gongs how about we look at the ranking system, Knighthoods,Damehoods and Peerages go to the "Great and the good",MP's,Civil Servants,famous people in the arts and sport,head teachers etc etc.When was the last time you heard of a Mrs Miggins of Balaclava Terrace Penge who had raised millions for charity through tireless efforts over 50 years get a K,no if lucky maybe a CBE but more than likely an MBE because she's a pleb who should know her place.

2. Gongs For Doing Your Job

Services To Industry,Services To Music, Services to Politics etc etc we hear it every time and what it means is getting an honour for the state for doing your job.Well sorry you're paid to do your job and do it to the best of your ability so it doesn't matter if you are a Captain Of Industry earning tens of millions of pounds a year or a lollipop lady why happens to have been doing the job for a while its your job you get paid for it so no gong.

3. Gongs As Retirement Presents

Mp's who have managed to lose their seats , Civil Servants retiring on a whopping pension that we pay for its all the same,no you are not supposed to become Sir Or Lady something or other just because you know longer have a job,Fred Smith who worked on the buses for 30 years wont get one and neither should you

4. So Who Should Get Them

To my mind its fairly simple you get honoured by the nation for going the extra mile,for the people who give of "THEIR OWN TIME" to help others,who raise the millions for various charities out the goodness of their hearts. This of course excludes the famous who are just the name up front getting a bit of publicity, its good of you guy's and girls to lend your names to a good cause but unless you get your hands dirty don't expect to get anything but a thank you

People in Sport , no not the Davids's and Johnny's of this world the unsung who spend night after night helping kids and adults fulfill their potential or even just ensure they have a team to play for at the weekend.

Those who help in crisis ridden parts of the world,no sorry not you Lenny or David or Gary it's great that you draw people's attention to these things and thank you for that but sorry it's not worth a gong,I mean those who to go to Africa and Nepal and all other places that are hit by famine and natural disaster and actually work in the field tirelessly and for free,some as in the Ebola crisis risk their lives to help others

So no doubt I have missed out many deserving people this is just a few fleeting thoughts and I know it will have no effect because whilst Sir Lenny Henry makes a good headline Sir Lenny Smith who actually physically raised millions for good causes doesnt. Thats not to say the great and the good couldn't still get gongs,Ian Botham a prime example because he didn't just support John O Groats to Lands End or In The Footsteps Of Hanibal he actually did it.

Anyhow that's it off my chest and feel free to comment

My Supposed Dislike Of All Things Modern

It was intimated to me the other day on social media than in addition to my default grumpiness that I had a dislike of all things modern, well I suppose I must hold my hands up to modern football,modern football commentators (Especially Robbie Savage and Stan Collymore) ,modern football managers all at the highest level.

I'm certainly not enamoured with modern politicians so many of whom appear to be in it for what they can make rather than being there because they  feel they have a duty to serve (All aficionados of the West Wing will note the Ainsley Hayes reference)

And talking of the West Wing modern television, don't get me going on an endless round of "Reality" television with a load of Z list celebrities instead of the plethora of quality drama comedy and documentaries that used to abound in my youth.

So there we are Cliffy reinforcing the fact that he is a grumpy old sod wishing the world had stopped at the end of the 70's

Well hold on a sec the above may be true but there are do many things about but he modern world that is as good as or better than it was in my youth, firstly the way you are reading this,t'internet, a vast repository of information way better than Ceefax and so much more convenient than the library.

And then there's photography as so many know my great love, yes I still drool over the look of cameras of the past but as far as useable instruments go today's DSLR's wipe the floor with what I use to use and I can process the shots without being locked in a dark room and show them to the world shortly after taking them,although some may say that's a negative

And so many more things,the proliferation of real ale, food from around the world and especially cars that don't break down every time you even thing of going on a long journey

Yes there is plenty I miss from the past but I don't live in it

Didn't We Have A Lovely Time The Day We Went To Wembley

Earlier this month I was fortunate enough to win 2 tickets to the FA Trophy final at Wembley in a competition run by Non League day,for those of you  unaware of the mysteries of Non League Football the Trophy is for clubs at the top 4 levels of the Non League pyramid and this years final was between Conference side (Step1) Wrexham who many will have heard of and North Ferriby Utd (Step 2) some of the players mothers have never heard of them, I certainly had to get Google Maps out to find out they are a few miles from Hull.

So at 9.15 my mate Dave and I hopped on board a Virgin Voyager at Sandwell and Dudley Station for the trip south, 15 minutes later the days only mishap occurred when we took the "Long" walk from New Street to Moor street and took 10 minutes instead of five,at our age that can be a bugger.
Anyhow safely ensconced on one of Chiltern railways very nice Class 168 unit's we set off,I do have a bit of a think for Chiltern,the empty seats by us were soon taken by a couple of guys of similar age,Wrexham fans, the 100 minute journey flew by as we regaled each other with  tales of football of years gone by from the very top to parks football,it was sad that their journey home would be on the back of defeat.

Getting off the station I got my first proper view of the new Wembley having last been there in 1974 to see the mighty Wolves give Man City a good spanking,a win for the underdogs that was very prescient considering how the day was to unfold

As we made our way onto the concourse there were plenty of fans milling around even though kick off was  still a good 90 plus minutes away drinking in the atmosphere and taking photos.talking of photo's I should point out that the tickets I won were in a small photographic competition and mine and those of the other winners were in the programme and on the big screens inside.

The reason for saying this was that Dave had decided to be my agent for the day and was regaling anyone who would listen with tales of my magnificence (Sad Bugger),this included 2 young ladies fans of North Ferriby and I guess there dad who Dave ,realising they might want a photo of the 3 of them together dived in and persuaded them to let an award winning photographer take the shot,one of the young ladies was less impressed as she had to show me how to take a photo on her iPhone (Well if it's not got canon or Fuji on the front I haven't got a clue

And so midday chimed the gates opened and in we went and immediately I was confronted by officialdom,as I had a small rucksack  it needed to be searched and so I queued cynically awaiting the attentions of the usual humerlous jobsworth,well no the Security Guard was polite jovial and efficient and that was an attitude we were to experience from all the staff we encountered,Wembley should be very proud of them

Inside is light and airy with plenty of food outlets,expensive but not quite as extortionate as I expected so we had a coffee before going to look at the stadium itself

Over coffee we got chance to chat to some North Ferriby fans,we were in their end,a and find out a bit more of the club we had never heard of before

And so up the steps into the stadium itself and I have to say it us a hell of a place,perfect sight lines from I think all angles wide aisles and well marked  seats although why in our case one side of the aisle was 90 and the other 120 baffles me.

Anyhow Dave and I found our seats and started taking in the atmosphere,oh yes this is Dave a mate from school of nearly 50 years standing

As the ground started filling my shot and those of the other winners started coming up on the big screen,it doesn't half give the ego a boost 

As the ground began to fill friends from the Non League Fraternity started to arrive both in the stands and pitchside,I am a member of a Facebook group of photographers some of whom were photographing the match,so as I says friends I had met before some who were Social Media friends and it was great to meet them in the flesh for the first time

And so to the match and for about 70 minutes it was a decent game with Wrexham largely on top and as their second goal went in I was not alone in saying "Game Over", and had it ended that way it would have been a thoroughly pleasant day out but football as all of us who love the game know can in the immortal Mr Greaves's words be "A Funny old game" and so it turned out.

With 15 minutes to go Ferriby put together a neat passing move got a player free in the box and as he went around the keeper was brought down,penalty,should it have been a sending possibly but I will give ref Michael Oliver the benefit of the doubt as he added to his reputation with another quality display

So Penalty expertly dispatched and 2-1 with 15 minutes to go,now I'm not sure if Wrexham's confidence was fragile but they were now very much in the decendancy,if there is such a word, as Feribly launched a wave off attacks and with just 4 minutes of normal time left grabbed a deserved equaliser and their fans who had given good support even at 0-2 went wild,so extra time it was.

At this point thye massed brains of our neutral group analysed what had happened and how extra time would pan out and came to the conclusion that  the fitness of full time Wrexham would be the telling factor over part time Ferriby.

And so extra time started and once again it was realised why most of us spend our times photographing Reffing writing or just spectating because Ferriby tore into Wrexham with wave after wave of attacks and the third goal was not long in coming.

Finally Wrexham woke from their malaise and began to exert some influence with the pressure finally telling 4 minutes from the end as an unstoppable strike made it 3-3 and gave us the drama of penalties.

By this time we had given up predicting and just watched the drama unfold,Wrexhan missed,the giant Feriby centre foirward had a chance to win it and blue it with a powder puff attempt,more goals and then the pressure finally told on the Full Time Professionals as the Ferriby keeper became the hero oif the hour with I think his third save.

The green and white around us went barmy and the underdog had triumphed in a pulsating afternoons entertainment

And so back homes crowds of Wrexham fans quietly leaving,4 by us on the train hardly saying a word but Dave and I were buzzing,it had a fabulous day out from start to finish and reinforced our love of Non League football and all that it can give us

As a footnote it was fate that I was there in the first place,up until December I had been a club photographer and as a result of a very ill judged social media rant against the mangers tactics I ended up leaving,without that I wouldn't have been at Stourbridge to take the photo that won me the tickets that meant I had that incredible day

Thats's Life