Above and Beyond
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| This, and all other photos by hedgegrower |
I
felt it important to recognise a group of people. A core group of perhaps no
more than twelve individuals with around five or six others who in the most
difficult and challenging of times have gone beyond the call of duty in service
of our wonderful club and the people and wider community around it.
If you cast your mind back to the days of mid March when some of us assembled at Maidenhead United for that somewhat surreal ‘last game of English Football’
We all knew that something quite new and different was upon us all although none of us could have predicted with any certainty how different all our lives were about to be become. As what we referred to as ‘lock down’ enveloped us and most of what we held dear was forbidden and in most cases for good reason postponed or cancelled. We saw promotions and play off places decided by a calculator as were relegations. Yet amidst all of this something good was stirring.
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As
the initial lock down restrictions were gradually eased you can imagine that by
then the stadium was in need of some TLC. A weed fest, stands strewn with the
flotsam and jetsam of a dormant spring and early summer were rapidly dealt with
by the marvellous Help the Hatters volunteers, who, under the strictest of
operating conditions and health checks were present in the old stadium albeit
in reduced numbers.
To complement the amazing re-modelling of the stadium the
group’s painting work parties set about brightening up the stands to complement
the smart new branded look. The work became varied with your author and group
secretary engaging in diverse tasks including mowing, painting, removing
dog/fox/badger excrement and writing a speech in the form of a letter for the
mayor of
The
group even considered setting up a Covid response unit that would have offered
help to vulnerable and shielding people but given our profile and assessing the
risk it was felt prudent to not do this as a group although I know some of our
volunteers carry this out on an individual basis.
As
the schedule of works starts to draw to a close and we begin to wind down most
of our operations, we leave a pitch care team in situ and make small teams
available for any work requested.
I
am immensely proud of not just the work ethic of the group but the diverse
nature of the volunteers. Irrespective of gender, age, race, political
persuasion or any other ‘ism’ we actually don’t care, the love of the football
club and the people that support it and live around it are the binding factor.
We’ve welcomed young and old, people that have been furloughed and even lost
their jobs; we have somebody with her own challenges that has used two buses, a
train and a tram to get to the ground and the same for the trip home.
This
year the group were honoured to be nominated and receive the ‘Queens Award for
Voluntary Services’ in recognition of the work carried out at the club and
across the borough. This is equivalent to an MBE and although sadly, due to
Covid our presentation ceremony was cancelled we do get to send representatives
of the group to
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| QAVS Certificate signed by HMQ presented to HtH today! |
As
this rather strange season commences and for most the viewing experience
consists of staring at the input sockets on the back of your TV or computer and
swearing profusely when nothing happens. Hopefully the tech won’t defeat you
and the plus side is that I have relatives in
I
have quite deliberately not given details of the magnificent twelve and the
support cast. They know who they are. I should also mention that some of our
loyal participants have been unable to join us and our thoughts and feelings go
out to them. On behalf of our fabled leader John Fitzpatrick and the rest of us
stay safe, stay well and thanks.
Adrian
Caville
Secretary
Help
the Hatters
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