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Funky Weekend
Mar. 21st, 2022 08:33 pmTo London on Saturday for Walthamstow v Clapton. (Clapton FC, not my pals at Clapton CFC.) Adam, the match secretary of both Walthamstow and the London Seaward women's side, was on the turnstile. I stopped for a quick chat, he said he'd been to see Pompey at Plymouth during the week then he'd stayed with his relatives in Portsmouth, so he'd made the same journey as me that morning! He added that Seaward had a quickly arranged friendly at Bowers & Pitsea Ladies next day. With me unable to get to Seaward's only other game for several weeks, and it being a ground I'd yet to visit, I knew straight away I'd be going.
I asked around for Andrzej, who runs the club's online shop, had him pointed out to me and went over to ask about the hat, scarf and mug I'd ordered. Andrzej was a great guy, he said he thought he had them in his car and popped out of the gate. Sure enough, he returned with my items in a package ready for posting. I told him how I travel from Gosport, he welcomed me to the club. I said I'd booked my hotel for the game at Woodford on Friday, he praised my dedication and said "Bring your binoculars" - it turns out there's a running track round the pitch.
There was a pizza van in the ground, staffed by two friendly guys. I ordered a garlic pizza, very tasty. I next visited the 'Always Believe Inn' (named from the fans' Spandau Ballet-derived anthem), a little hut in the corner that serves as tea bar and club shop. The nice lady there turned out to be taking her first turn at staffing the shop. She was a natural! To my delight, they sold Walthamstow scarves. Bought one that went straight round my neck.
An elderly fan on a Zimmer frame was wearing an array of football scarves. One, thankfully, was a Walthamstow one; he also sported scarves of Crystal Palace, Leyton Orient and West Ham. I asked him about them and he said he was a collector of football memorabilia, and that he was a Palace fan. He pointed to the Palace shirt he was wearing under all the scarves and said it was a match worn Wilfried Zaha shirt.
I had a bit of a cold so opted for a seat in the stand away from the main gathering of fans. During the run-up to kick-off the PA played banging 80s tunes like The Waterboys' The Whole Of The Moon and the Bangles' Manic Monday. What a splendid club.
Clapton rattled the woodwork in the opening minutes. From then on, though, it was all Walthamstow, with a couple of shots going close and a goalmouth scramble with a resolute Clapton defence foiling three close range shots.
Stow went in front on the half hour when a Tommy Spillane cross was floated across goal by Connor Scully, and Callum Ibe headed home from five yards.
The Rabble behind the goal were in fine voice again. The 'Stow!' song based on Gold got plenty of airings and there were a couple of lusty renderings of Sweet Caroline and a song about Adalberto Pinto to the tune of D.I.S.C.O..
After the break Charlie Cole had two headers go wide. Callum Ibe doubled Stow's lead on 70 minutes, pouncing on a deflection from a Scully shot. Soon after, Tendai Quamina was brought down in the penalty area and Ibe completed his hat-trick from the spot. The terrace behind the goal rang to the Rabble's chants of 'We're going to win the league' and 'The Stow are going up'.
As the game drew to a close I noticed a couple of fans in Clapton CFC's distinctive International Brigade away shirt at pitchside; they must have wandered over to see the end of our game after theirs finished. Walthamstow's keeper Jack Moore saved the visitors' one late chance.
I met another Clapton CFC fan in the Gents after the match; he was ecstatic, they had won their game 2-0 and he was full of praise for Walthamstow for beating their arch rivals.
Walk back to Walthamstow tube to start the long journey back; thank goodness this time there was time for a coffee at Pret at Waterloo. Was in a first class carriage with a couple called Ross and Jackie who had a wicked sense of humour. After I joined their conversation about British sitcoms that carried on past their best - I contributed "Fawlty Towers got it right, stopped at two series" - they shared their cold chicken pieces with me and we talked all the way back to Portsmouth. Home and feet up in front of the telly, early night ahead of yesterday's trip to darkest Essex.
On the tube from Waterloo yesterday, arrived at West Ham station just as the train to Pitsea was leaving. With half an hour before the next train, I went for a wander round the streets around the station, but there wasn't much there. Even the nearby sports grounds had no facilities to speak of.
In Pitsea, I found myself crossing a main road on the way from the station towards the ground; it was only on the other side that I spotted there was an underpass. Went past a lively market with lots of clothes, games and other stalls, Jamaican street food and a couple of burger bars. Made a little detour along the main road, thinking of heading for a pub a little way further down, but along the way I found a lovely van called Brick Lane E1 selling bagels and assorted sides. Feasted on a Southern Fried chicken bagel and Halloumi fries and turned back to the long walk to the ground.
There was a men's match in progress when I arrived and Groundhopper Dave was in the stand watching. He stopped me for a quick chat. Dan and James the Seaward coaches also noticed me and said hello, then I made for the clubhouse for a much needed drink. There was a drama on the telly that was set in the world of Oliver Twist. I stayed there drinking in the warm until 10 minutes before the Seaward game was due to start.
As I took a seat in the stand, Rea and Jo came over to the touchline and said hello to me before the girls headed down the tunnel. Dave joined me 10 minutes into the game; he'd started out sitting on the other side and said "I thought you'd have gone on the sunny side".
Katherine Long scored two carbon copy goals during the first half, making a run down the middle, rounding the last defender and neatly shooting past the keeper each time. Rea made it three with a lovely volley and Bowers pulled one back just before half time. One of our trialists added a fourth after the break.
Groundhopper Dave walked back to the station with me, regaling me with tales of his football travels. The queue in Pret at Waterloo was horrendous so had to settle for a sausage roll from The Pasty Shop (who had no decaf coffee either :( ) Home to crash out.
I asked around for Andrzej, who runs the club's online shop, had him pointed out to me and went over to ask about the hat, scarf and mug I'd ordered. Andrzej was a great guy, he said he thought he had them in his car and popped out of the gate. Sure enough, he returned with my items in a package ready for posting. I told him how I travel from Gosport, he welcomed me to the club. I said I'd booked my hotel for the game at Woodford on Friday, he praised my dedication and said "Bring your binoculars" - it turns out there's a running track round the pitch.
There was a pizza van in the ground, staffed by two friendly guys. I ordered a garlic pizza, very tasty. I next visited the 'Always Believe Inn' (named from the fans' Spandau Ballet-derived anthem), a little hut in the corner that serves as tea bar and club shop. The nice lady there turned out to be taking her first turn at staffing the shop. She was a natural! To my delight, they sold Walthamstow scarves. Bought one that went straight round my neck.
An elderly fan on a Zimmer frame was wearing an array of football scarves. One, thankfully, was a Walthamstow one; he also sported scarves of Crystal Palace, Leyton Orient and West Ham. I asked him about them and he said he was a collector of football memorabilia, and that he was a Palace fan. He pointed to the Palace shirt he was wearing under all the scarves and said it was a match worn Wilfried Zaha shirt.
I had a bit of a cold so opted for a seat in the stand away from the main gathering of fans. During the run-up to kick-off the PA played banging 80s tunes like The Waterboys' The Whole Of The Moon and the Bangles' Manic Monday. What a splendid club.
Clapton rattled the woodwork in the opening minutes. From then on, though, it was all Walthamstow, with a couple of shots going close and a goalmouth scramble with a resolute Clapton defence foiling three close range shots.
Stow went in front on the half hour when a Tommy Spillane cross was floated across goal by Connor Scully, and Callum Ibe headed home from five yards.
The Rabble behind the goal were in fine voice again. The 'Stow!' song based on Gold got plenty of airings and there were a couple of lusty renderings of Sweet Caroline and a song about Adalberto Pinto to the tune of D.I.S.C.O..
After the break Charlie Cole had two headers go wide. Callum Ibe doubled Stow's lead on 70 minutes, pouncing on a deflection from a Scully shot. Soon after, Tendai Quamina was brought down in the penalty area and Ibe completed his hat-trick from the spot. The terrace behind the goal rang to the Rabble's chants of 'We're going to win the league' and 'The Stow are going up'.
As the game drew to a close I noticed a couple of fans in Clapton CFC's distinctive International Brigade away shirt at pitchside; they must have wandered over to see the end of our game after theirs finished. Walthamstow's keeper Jack Moore saved the visitors' one late chance.
I met another Clapton CFC fan in the Gents after the match; he was ecstatic, they had won their game 2-0 and he was full of praise for Walthamstow for beating their arch rivals.
Walk back to Walthamstow tube to start the long journey back; thank goodness this time there was time for a coffee at Pret at Waterloo. Was in a first class carriage with a couple called Ross and Jackie who had a wicked sense of humour. After I joined their conversation about British sitcoms that carried on past their best - I contributed "Fawlty Towers got it right, stopped at two series" - they shared their cold chicken pieces with me and we talked all the way back to Portsmouth. Home and feet up in front of the telly, early night ahead of yesterday's trip to darkest Essex.
On the tube from Waterloo yesterday, arrived at West Ham station just as the train to Pitsea was leaving. With half an hour before the next train, I went for a wander round the streets around the station, but there wasn't much there. Even the nearby sports grounds had no facilities to speak of.
In Pitsea, I found myself crossing a main road on the way from the station towards the ground; it was only on the other side that I spotted there was an underpass. Went past a lively market with lots of clothes, games and other stalls, Jamaican street food and a couple of burger bars. Made a little detour along the main road, thinking of heading for a pub a little way further down, but along the way I found a lovely van called Brick Lane E1 selling bagels and assorted sides. Feasted on a Southern Fried chicken bagel and Halloumi fries and turned back to the long walk to the ground.
There was a men's match in progress when I arrived and Groundhopper Dave was in the stand watching. He stopped me for a quick chat. Dan and James the Seaward coaches also noticed me and said hello, then I made for the clubhouse for a much needed drink. There was a drama on the telly that was set in the world of Oliver Twist. I stayed there drinking in the warm until 10 minutes before the Seaward game was due to start.
As I took a seat in the stand, Rea and Jo came over to the touchline and said hello to me before the girls headed down the tunnel. Dave joined me 10 minutes into the game; he'd started out sitting on the other side and said "I thought you'd have gone on the sunny side".
Katherine Long scored two carbon copy goals during the first half, making a run down the middle, rounding the last defender and neatly shooting past the keeper each time. Rea made it three with a lovely volley and Bowers pulled one back just before half time. One of our trialists added a fourth after the break.
Groundhopper Dave walked back to the station with me, regaling me with tales of his football travels. The queue in Pret at Waterloo was horrendous so had to settle for a sausage roll from The Pasty Shop (who had no decaf coffee either :( ) Home to crash out.
