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….




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
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


Comments

Top Posts

Simply Disgraceful !

Wrexham 1 Stockport County 2 ( Vanarama National League) 31 August 2019

Notts County 2 Stockport County 1 ( Vanarama National League) Saturday 23 October 2021