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Showing posts from June, 2023

Community - Embedded

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           Is there a more overused word than than the word "community" ? this community that community, the meriad of various groups, sub groups, sub sub groups all pretty much designed to divide people into nice little catagories. Race, gender, politics, sexuality, physical/mental ability, class and probably a hundred more. Imagine landing from the planet Zog and asking to meet the leader of the community and then trying to understand the answer.       One of the joys of supporting a football club that truly does base itself in the community - all communities within its geographical reach, is that it does not really care what people are but who they are.  I have been priveledged enough to be able to contribute something back to our club at Stockport County over the past few years by way of volunteering my time both as a voluntary worker and secretary of "Help The Hatters" The group performs post match stadium clean ups, remedial repair...

War-tford and Peace at Last

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      War-tford and Peace at Last Any trip to Wembley is bound to be an epic, and so it was for Man-in-a-Hat, so brace yourselves for a six thousand, six hundred and sixty six word War and Peace Hatter’s style.   It was a plan to end all plans. I ended up arranging tickets for a party of eleven (surely a good omen); two seniors, two disabled, two companions and five normals.   Of these eleven, two were coming over from Dublin, one lived in London, one lived in Birmingham (not Uncle Sam!), three lived in Manchester, with the remaining four actually hailing from Stockport.   One was staying in Wimbledon, six were staying in Watford and four were to return home to sleep in their own beds. Those staying in Watford were at three different hotels.   So, the Man-in-a-Hat starting eleven were: Stafford; Sinead & Ruth (friends of Stafford); #39; Mary & Fintan from Dublin; Fran & Gareth from Didsbury; Lesley (my Cousin from London...