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The Listeners
‘Is there anybody there?’ said the Traveller,
Knocking on the moonlit door;
And his horse in the silence champed the grasses
Of the forest’s ferny floor:
And a bird flew up out of the turret,
Above the Traveller’s head:
And he smote upon the door again a second time;
‘Is there anybody there?’ he said.
But no one descended to the Traveller;
No head from the leaf-fringed sill
Leaned over and looked into his grey eyes,
Where he stood perplexed and still.
But only a host of phantom listeners
That dwelt in the lone house then
Stood listening in the quiet of the moonlight
To that voice from the world of men:
Stood thronging the faint moonbeams on the dark stair,
That goes down to the empty hall,
Hearkening in an air stirred and shaken
By the lonely Traveller’s call.
And he felt in his heart their strangeness,
Their stillness answering his cry,
While his horse moved, cropping the dark turf,
’Neath the starred and leafy sky;
For he suddenly smote on the door, even
Louder, and lifted his head:—
‘Tell them I came, and no one answered,
That I kept my word,’ he said.
Never the least stir made the listeners,
Though every word he spake
Fell echoing through the shadowiness of the still house
From the one man left awake:
Ay, they heard his foot upon the stirrup,
And the sound of iron on stone,
And how the silence surged softly backward,
When the plunging hoofs were gone.
by Walter de la Mare (1873 – 1959)
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Tuesday 1st April 2025
Velocity Wessex League Division 1
Totton & Eling 0
Fawley 3
James Clifton 46, Declan Hartigan 50, Indrit Elezi 90+4
Referee: Ryan Thomas. Attendance: 78
Admission: OAP £3.00 (£6). Programme: NONE
Miller Park is a tiny venue tucked in behind the much more impressive stadium of AFC Totton. There is a hundred seater stand and cover behind one goal with hard standing all round and a small and basic cafe – pies, chocolate and hot drinks. Both of these teams are in serious danger of demotion. The hosts sit one place above the relegation places and the visitors are one off the foot of the table … or they were until this impressive victory. A player from each side dismissed right at the end of the opening period which produced no goals. The visitors then struck twice in the first four minutes of the second half and added a third in added time at the end of the match. With John Main.
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Wednesday 2nd April 2025
Spartan South Midlands League Division 1
Long Buckby 2
D’Lanie James 81, 90+2,
Desborough Town 3
Faruq Usman 3, Iain Blake 44, Josh Drain 47,
Referee: Ariel Ward. Attendance: 51
Admission: OAP £3.00 (£5). Programme: £1.00
This fixture, in my football experience, has always belonged to the UCL Premier division and if At Tarn win this league, they will return to the UCL Premier. They were given a huge fright tonight. Coasting at 3-0 up, early in the second half, they brought on all of their five substitutes and suddenly found themselves hounded by a rejuvenated home side who scored two goals in the final ten minutes but were unable to find an equaliser! With John Lee and John Clarke.
Sadly, since my visit, it has been announced that Long Buckby have resigned from The Spartan South Midlands League.
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Saturday 5th April 2025
Southern Counties East Premier Division
Lydd Town 1
Ryan Smith 48,
VCD Athletic 0
Referee: A Gillespie. Attendance: 118
Admission: OAP £6.00 (£8). Programme: £1.50
Beautiful sunny day at Lindsey Park somewhat spoiled by a sharp blustery wind. The timbered structures of the clubhouse contrasted with the seated and covered terracing down the far side. The hosts are in serious relegation trouble. VCD (Vickers Crayford Dartford), in mid table obscurity, were, by far, the more accomplished outfit, but it was a plucky display by the hosts and a single goal right after the re-start that gained them a precious victory in their relegation battle.
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The Power Station at Dungeness right on the south Kent coast and clearly visible (around three miles away) from the ground.
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Monday 7th April 2025
Premier League 2
Leicester City U21 0
West Bromwich Albion U21 0
Referee: Aaron Jackson. Attendance: 249
Admission: OAP £3.00 (£5). Free Team Sheet
As goalless matches go, this was not a bad game between two skilful sides, both committed and determined. A draw was a fair result!
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Wednesday 9th April 2025
Bedfordshire County League Premier Division
Marston Shelton Rovers 3
Elstow Abbey 0
Referee: Darren Knox. Attendance: 41
Admission: F.O.C. Programme: NONE
Lovely sky – and sunset – at Marston Playing Fields just off the A421 and south of Bedford, but it was a chit billy and even more so as the match wore on. All the action took place in the first half. Second placed Rovers struck three times against their sixth placed rivals. The second half was a yawn! Plenty of hoppers there!
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Italy 2025
It was only a short visit. We flew from Stansted, early in the morning, to Bologna airport and the monorail took us into the main city train station from whence we departed for Reggio Amelia for the first game.
Saturday 12th April 2025
(Italy) Serie B
AC Reggiana 0
Pisa SC 2
Alexander Lind 24, Matteo Tramoni 44,
Referee: Eemanno Feliciani. Attendance: 12,039
Admission: €43.00. Programme: F.O.C.
Lovely weather and a beautiful ground with four separate seated stands. The hosts are struggling, but they were up for this and in a tetchy encounter, class decided the outcome. Second placed Pisa with a huge following were much too good for the hosts and this is the easiest 2-0 I have ever seen! The hosts had seven bookings and two sendings off – but not players on the pitch – an unused substitute and a home coach were both dismissed for inappropriate language. Very entertaining, but the hosts are now in serious relegation trouble!
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Grandson, Freddie and Albi Eathorne at Reggiana.
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Freddie, Albi, Mike and Ed at The Mapei Arens Reggio Amelia
Saturday 12th April 2025
(Italy) Serie B
Modena 1
Simone Santoro 60,
US Sassuolo 3
Domenico Berardi 36, Armand Lauriente 64, Luca Moro 76,
Referee: Alberto Santoro. Attendance: 13,340
Admission: €35.00. Programme: NONE
This time it was the League leaders coming to town, in what might be described as a local Derby. Lovely ground, but the seats were a bit cramped and a bird dropped its load on number two son! Great game! Modena in tenth gave it all they’d got against the league leaders, but were eventually outclassed by a team recently relegated from Serie A. Lovely ground and a great atmosphere!
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Sunday 13th April 2025
(Italy) Serie A
Fiorentina 0
Parma 0
Referee: Gianluca Manganiello. Attendance: 21,355
Admission: €47.00. Programme: F.O.C.
There is substantial development going on at The Stadio Artemio Franchi and there was minimal cover for the monsoon conditions. The precipitation was unremitting and fell like stair rods on our totally uncovered seating, rendering ALL clothing sodden and uncomfortable. The game was a pretty damp squib, too with Parma easily thwarting any attempt at goal scoring by the hosts. Parma also won the yellow card count by 5-0! A thoroughly miserable afternoon.
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The players came up from underground behind this goal where all the modernisation was taking place!
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The author, thoroughly miserable and thoroughly wet through!
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Grandson, Freddie in Florence before the match!
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Eddie, grandson, Freddie and son Mike, outside the Duomo in Florence.
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It was a brilliant weekend despite the monsoon conditions on Saturday and Sunday afternoon. Here are a few memories that will linger long In the time frame:
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Ed and Freddie near Duomo in Florence
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The City Wall of Florence.
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The Ponte Vecchia
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Ed, Mike and Fred.
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On The Ponte Vecchia a stare of: Benvenuto Cellini, Master Goldsmith of Venice.
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Freddie with an ice cream!
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South West Peninsula League ‘Hop’, Easter 2025
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John Main and I hired a small iron-grey Volkswagen Golf (GF72 OHO) and drove down to Newquay on Thursday 17th April for the start of The South West Peninsula ‘Hop’ organised by Phil Hiscox of The SWPL. It was an event free journey and we even had time for a walk down to the front before the match.
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Thursday 17th April 2025
South West Peninsula League West Division k.o.: 7.30pm
Newquay AFC 5
Louis Price 18, 31, 65, Callum McOnie 82, Alex Cole 90+1
Wendron United 0
Referee: Andrew Hobbs. Attendance: 1,854
Admission: OAP £3.00 (£6). Programme: £3.00
First match of the South West ‘Hop’ and “The Peppermints” had a rare opportunity to gain promotion to The Western League for the first time ever if they could avoid defeat in their final game of the season. That, they did with relish and a flourish, knocking five goals past hapless, mid-table Wendron United. The attendance above is correct, however, the announcer added an extra ten to the total!
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Friday 18th April 2025
South West Peninsula Leahue West Division k.o.: 11.30am
St Day 3
Kyle Marks 16, Josh Storey 25 (og), Jacob Cleverly 33,
Penzance 1
Curtis Smith 57,
Referee: Andrew Barnett. Attendance: 416
Admission: OAP £4.00 (£6). Programme: £1.00
Heavy overnight precipitation continued well into the morning, but by kick-off, a thin watery sun endeavoured to break through at Vogue Park, St Day’s quite pretty and modern arena. There was a very friendly welcome and an array of enticing cakes and pasties. The ground is basic with floodlights and hard standing on two sides and a small stand for maybe fifty souls. St Day, struggling in the lower reaches of the division, surprised fourth placed Penzance with a three goal first half salvo. A more steely response from the visitors, but they were only able to pull one goal back after the break. Entertaining tussle and a very enjoyable visit.
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Friday 18th April 2025
National League South k.o.: 3.00pm
Truro City 0
Torquay United 1
Matt Jay 65,
Refere: Daniel Baines. Attendance: 3,306
Admission: OAP £12.00 (£17) Programne: £3.00
Compared to two other new grouds I’ve seen this season (Cambridge City and Guernsey), this arena came a very distant third! Cover was negligible and seats were all taken. Refreshments were a rip off and there was a long queue (in the rain) for a programme.
However, as viewing was difficult with such a large crown and no terracing, there were TWO television screens showing the match – one of them inside the bar. It was a pretty poor game, looking odds on for a 0-0 outcome, until a 65th thunder blaster from the visitors settled the tie deservedly in their favour!
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Saturday 18th April 2025
South West Peninsula League West Division k.o.: 7.00pm
Wadebridge Town 1
Matt Lloyd 82,
Camelford 1
Cam Bidgood 79,
Referee: Adam Leigh. Attendance: 427
Admission: OAP £4.00 (£6). Programme: £2.00
Another wet one! In fact, it took a brave referee to give it the go ahead and in the second half when the precipitation substantially increased and great pools of water decorated the pitch, we weren’t even sure it would finish. Reminded me of Football League games back in the sixties! The first half was desultory, but the intensity increased after the break and, eventually each side produced a strike and the spoils and the points were shared and a great deal of credit goes to both sides AND the referee and his colleagues!
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Saturday 19th April 2025
St Pirans League Division 1 East k.o.: 11.00am
Nanpean Rovers 6
Callum Oldham 6, 38, Scot Brown 36, Leo Best 85, 86, Scott Forster 90,
Roche 0
Referee: Thomas Milburn. Attendance:432
Admission: OAP £2.00 (£3). Programme: £3.00
Victoria Bottoms, Nanpean Rovers ground is a wonderfully quirky, eccentric stadium nestling in a leafy fold with an atmosphere all of its own. Greek columns compete with corrugated iron roofs at opposite ends of the ground, no floodlights and no hard standing but plenty of perilous routes around the playing area. In second place on goal difference, they were playing a side rock bottom of the league with but one win and one draw from their 25 games. They were out played and outclassed by the hosts, who may have (eventually) scored six, but missed a plethora of easy opportunities.
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Saturday 19th April 2025
South West Peninsular League West Division k.o.: 2.30pm
Bodmin Town 0
Dobwalls 3
Oscar Larrieu 1, Dan Tate 42, Adam Kenyon 49,
Referee: Ryan Dennis. Attendance: 316
Admission: oAP £4.00 (£6). Programme: £2.00
A fine seventy year old stand dominates the ground. But there is not a lot else except a wire fence enclosure and hard standing on three sides. The team weren’t up to much, either. They were stung by a goal in the first minute and tamely subsided to a three goal defeat.
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Adam Kenyon (number 19) scores the second goal of the match in the 42nd minute.
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Saturday 19th April 2025
South West Peninsula League West Division k.o.: 6.00pm
Launceston 0
Callington 1
Finley Skews 33,
Referee: Ryan Dennis. Attendance: 603
Admission: OAP £4.00 (£6). Programme: £2.00
There was nothing photogenic about this small ground hidden away in the centre of an industrial estate. A low seated stand down one side and hard standing all round, whilst outside was a fairly substantial club house. Launceston are propping up the league and are certain to claim bottom spot. They huffed and puffed against mid-table Callington who took the win and the points with a single goal midway through the opening period.
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Sunday 20th April 2025
South West Peninsula League East Division k.o.: 12noon
Honiton Town 0
Sidmouth Town 2
Craig Veal 31, Louis Splading 83,
Referee: Graeme Martin. Attendance: 444
Admission: OAP £4.00 (£6). Programme: £2.00
Honiton, at last, managed to stage a ‘hop’ match on their own ground at the third attempt! It is a ground shared with the local cricket club and so has hard standing on only two sides and pitch side furniture down only one side (dug-outs and a seventy odd seater stand as well as a smaller covered terrace). Sidmouth are champions elect and easily disposed of their mid-table opponents, but they were unimpressive and, in large part, the match was a dull, torrid affair with a goal in each half to the visitors, but little else to inspire.
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Monday 21st April 2025
The Royal Albert Bridge which crosses The River Tamar at Saltash was designed and built by Isambard Kingdom Brunel between 1854 and 1859. A hundred and two years later, a road suspension bridge was opened to carry traffic from Devon to Cornwall and back. Both are very impressive structures!
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Monday 21st April 2025
Jewson Western League Premier Division k.o.: 3.00pm
Saltash United 1
Ben Goulty 2,
AFC St Austell 2
Ryan Downing 16, Matt Searle 90+6,
Referee: Dillon Gascoigne. Attendance: 137
Admission: OAP £4.00 (£7). Programme: NONE
Kimberley Stadium, home of Saltash United, is a pleasantly situated arena with most of the pitch side furniture down one side. There is hard standing all round, a seated stand and a covered standing area are complemented by a bar and refreshment facilities and right in the corner is a covered picnic area. The hosts were unlucky today. They scored after two minutes, conceded an equaliser twenty minutes later and the winner was scored in the seventh minute of added time at the end of the match. With John Main.
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