How the Devil Are Ya ? - 2
How the Devil Are Ya ? – 2
It was good to get this to start us off , from Peter( of Peter &
Cindy) our banner bearers
in the IoM….
in the IoM….
Here at Chez Quirk on the sunny Isle of Man, I have been working from
home, trying to stay disciplined ( see photo), by following a normal daily
routine and reminiscing with my son Jonny who is in SK4 about the Isle of
Man Football Festival held annually.
This attracts mainly teams from
Leagues 1 and 2, and we arranged a night
with the players, RW, Bish and Andy Kilner at the Mannin Hotel off the
promenade in Douglas on one occasion. Around 30 or so County fans who had
braved the storms of the Irish Sea turned up to sup with our heroes of the day-
Dinning, Woodthorpe, Flynny, Angell etc. It was a really good night with Q and
A's to boot followed by a hotpot supper.
I cannot recall if this was the
year that we won the tournament, by beating Wrexham, but it was certainly the
one I recall the most.
I have been enjoying the You tube
screenings of our epic campaign in the CC Cup- I had forgotten what a great
team that was.
I have made some online purchases
from the club shop for my two young grandchildren in SK4, to try and ensure,
before they get much older that, they know the value of 'Your Town Your Team'
and do not get swayed by others in red and light blue!
I hope you are all keeping safe
and well on the 'adjacent Isle' as Manxies refer to it, and we will all meet up
again soon around the hallowed green baize!
Cheers to all ......
Peter
Our second offering today comes from a County Supporter whose energy and dedication to others, through the magnificent
charity `For Ever Friends of Uganda`is widely admired
Keith Mills offers us this.............
Lockdown
The highs
Isolated at home - can’t go to the shops. The 2nd
part = enjoyable bonus
Learned who real friends are - those who do all the
tasks now banned to us. A real high.
Using local firms for home deliveries (not
supermarkets): bread, meat, cheese, fish, and of course alcohol. Keep business
local. Yes!
NHS clapping on Thursdays. Distance chatting with
people on our street we hadn’t met before. The tops
Daily exercise hour. Making us make the effort …..
and finding lots more of our part of Stockport than ever before. No.1
The lows
Lack of face-to-face meaningful social interaction.
I’d give anything to host a home dinner party for family and friends (not all
together, it’s only a small house)
Oh for cinema, theatre, restaurants AND football at
Edgeley Park
Does wearing a face mask make you immune from
disease? Aren’t the wearers the most likely to avoid distancing? Seems like it.
Weren’t able to celebrate a milestone life event a
month ago.
Keith Mills
And the next item comes in from
ex fireman, Help the Hatters regular, Supporters Cooperative member, and ace
maintainer of the essential greenery at Edgeley Park….Mike O`Brien:-
Programmes …..Programmes
They have been hiding away in my loft for years.
I finally now have the time to sort them out….. my
collection of Stockport County programmes.
These include probably MY most important one from my first game at Edgeley
Park on Friday the 11th September 1972 v Gillingham.
I became hooked not only on County but programme collecting -
ninety percent of my collection being County ones.
As I browse through my collection the memories come flooding back,
each programme tells its own particular story of that game, some great
highlights and some very very lows.
The collection is mainly from 1970 until 2000 with a few exceptions,
and mostly from games I have attended.
I`m glad programme fairs are returning like the recent ones held by
Help the Hatters. They are a good source to top up your collection. Another
programme that brings back good memories is the County v HSV Hamburg
1965-66. I visited Hamburg`s football museum with my son a few years ago and
donated this programme to them. My collection is never complete!
PS… does anybody have a spare copy from County v Latvia ?
Thanks , keep safe every one see you soon .
Mike
Now, a soberingly powerful plea from a County supporter at the sharp end
of our current difficulties……..
It came from Dan Hughes……
It's day whatever of consecutive
15+ hour shifts.
Me and the wife run a care agency, we look after 20+ seniors, 80+ 90+
100+year olds.
We are significantly overworked.
We have 13 staff, they are being paid well, however PPE is a problem,
prices have gone ridiculous, stock is hard to get. We all put ourselves at
risk, even though we have young ones at home and our own elderly relatives we
cannot even see.
We've lost two service users, one was 101year old man, very sad, the
hospital turned him away so to not risk him getting covid-19, so did the church
for his burial. In the end he had only 5 attend a short service.
Most of our services users have no one, they are alone and without us I
don't know if they would cope, we are all they talk to, we make sure they are
safe, collect medication and spend countless hours in queues shopping for them,
bits we do out of love as we don't get paid any extra, social services won't
pay it.
We are coping, however we are out working and see so many in parks and
gardens and not following any advice. We wonder, will you be next- a statistic,
a number with no one at your funeral?
What I would do for a day off, to have a pint on Edgeley and see the
mighty County take to the field.
Dan Hughes
Next,
something from Chair of the Supporters Cooperative and premier collector and performer of County songs,
Pete Towey……
My
thoughts during lockdown.
The season
would be over by now, unless we were in the play-offs, but we would be
excitedly anticipating the fixtures for next season and thirsting for news of
new signings (no doubt Yellowboard would be full of "we're leaving it too
late" merchants) .
I'm sure that you, Ian would be sorting the
photos for next year's fixture calendar.
This time of lockdown has made me realise how
not having County would leave a dreadful hole in our lives. It has made
me aware of how I spend so much time looking forward to Saturdays and how on
matchdays I love meeting the rest of my County mates before the game, having a
few beers, speculating on who Jim Gannon will pick for which position, what are
the strengths and weaknesses of the opposition etc.
Then the game itself - it can be 90 minutes of
ecstasy, or of misery, or of nail-biting tension.
Then back
to the pub to celebrate or to mourn. A detailed post-mortem over a few
beers. County has been the origin of some of the most rewarding
friendships of my life.
One day we'll be back - I can't wait!
Peter
And now something from Help the
Hatters top man John Fitzpatrick.
Some years back I used to work fairly
closely with Eric Webster, and Eric was a great bloke , lively company and the
one to go to about football , having played for Man City and been everything
from Groundsman to Manager at County.
Myself and EW were sitting in the cab of John`s car
at lunchtime with a copy of the Daily Mirror draped across the dashboard, when
our eyes rested on the headline `Footballer dies, asked for ashes spread on football pitch` .
“ You have connections at both Man
City and County, where would your ashes go when the time arrives Eric ?” I asked
not knowing whether the answer would be Maine Road or Edgeley Park.
In double quick time, Eric`s answer came back “ Nah….spread `em at the first bend at Belle Vue Dogs, that`s where all my troubles have come from in life”
Typically Eric that- a great bloke,
and great for County too!
John
Another Help the Hatters stalwart , and mainstay of every conceivable work party / team that the group can put together, Dot Jones, has chipped in with this:-
Well, we are now in the 7th week of
lockdown and have I struggled?
Yes at times, in fact last week I hit
a wall when I just wanted to stay in bed and get out when it was all over ,but
each day brings something new and is one day nearer to getting over this.
I must say I am finding things out about
myself that is hopefully making me a better person. I have found patience,
tolerance, respect goes a long way to helping us thru this strangest of times.
I have found it is making the smallest of things that we take for granted every
day some of the things I miss the most, such as public transport and calling in
for a coffee after shopping.
I went to my local blood donor session last
week and it felt like the highlight of my week. I think there will be a tea
shortage soon due to the amount of it we are drinking, but the house has never
been cleaner and the garden never looked better.
Of course I miss the important things
like family, friends and the Mighty County, but think of how we are going to
feel when we get back to some degree of normality ( whatever that might be)!
Take care every single one of you,
and stay safe.
By the way Ian I have not send a photo but
feel free to attach one from HTH ( unless you feel people have suffered enough).
Best wishes
Best wishes
Dot
So that`s edition number 2 put to
bed, and I want to thank all the above writers for their contributions.
In also inviting others who have not
yet sent in their thoughts, to do so for a third offering, let me reassure them. If you think ` I cannot
write` you can, and old hedgie will don his most sympathetic editorial hat and
sort it into good order for you.
I say again…..give us your thoughts
on how you are doing…or anything at all.
The County Family needs to know, and
knowing just might help them along !
hedgegrower
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