With circa 6 weeks to go before the end of the 2007/8 season, final outcome from our 5 teams vary from conclusion to "still plenty to play for". Congratulations must go first to the Ladies team who have won their league even before their last few games were played. Not many teams achieve that. Well done to Cathy & Co. The under 11's and under 16's have also had their successes and even though neither will win any silverware, general opinion is that both teams have improved over the season and have provided a sporting outlet for some 30 to 40 kids. That on its own is a success story. Many thanks go to Adrian and his helpers who have come to the end of their youth team days. We hope to see the lads playing for the club in future years. Also congratulations to Steve and Ricky for a well organised operation with the under-11's which bodes well for next year.
With regard to the mens team, Vic and I (sounds too much like "my wife and I") so me & Vic, have had a varied season with 1st team results and are looking for a good run in to finish in the top 5 or 6 places. The reserves with Rob & Mark at the helm are still in a great position to win promotion from Div 6 Anglian Comb and everyone in the club is gearing themselves to help push them over the finishing line. Res team promotion and 1st team top half will be another progressive season for club & players. If you want to support & push us over the edge ( Rob is nearly there aready !!) please check dates in EDP & Evening News. Thanks go to all players who have been accommodating, approachable and understanding even when being moved around or not even getting a game. So what about the future? We have recently added new members onto the committee and welcome Micky Leeder and Nigel Bettridge to the ranks. We are also looking to bring in another youth team to replace the U16 but at a younger age group. We are pushing to get the Parish Council to help progress the club facilities and in so doing will hopefully help other social/sporting groups in the community. Currently the council seem to have the money (not always something you can say). The question is do they have the desire, the ambition, the ability and imagination to think outside the circle and use the money in a constructive way (or is it already to late!). Will they work with us, talk to us & other groups to provide what we need or will they stick a finger in the air and hope that they come up with what everyone needs and wants. If your talking with people, your not talking about them.
Have you seen Sid?
I have on a number of occasions tried without so far succeeding to convince the Parish Council that the ditch/hedge halfway across the Playing Field should be filled in (since it does not do what ditches are famous for). Also the extremely thorny hedge needs to be removed and a fence erected to make the area more user friendly and less dangerous. What has this got to do with Sid you cry..well bear with me. However, it would seem that the ditch is a "conservation area" and cannot be touched. I don't know about you but conservation area tends to create a vision in my mind of forests, rolling hills, sparkling waters e.g. The New Forest, Lake District, Norfolk Broads, Scottish Highlands, you get the picture. These areas tend to be full of flora & fauna, wildlife, streams, trout.."so what about Sid"..shut up & listen. Anyway there are two schools of thought about what we are conserving. Some say it's a flower. Maybe a special orchid or an oriental poppy or even a rare daisy. I have even heard that it could be a mysterious foxglove (latin name Digitalis). Well, DIGITELUS that it had buggered off!! If you can find it then you are a better man than me. I have waited at the gates every Sunday in anticipation of the coach loads of people, with more knowledge than me, who may come and find something, anything, green & appealing, but have been bitterly disappointed. David Attenborough went in there once and has'nt been seen since. The Gazebos & deckchairs stretch for miles. The main surprise is that so far Georgina Race hasn't set up a tea stall. You can't deny however that our ditch has a great selection of highly coloured cans, bottles, bins, traffic cones.so what about this Sid.. Well, the other theory is that we are protecting a rather interesting spider whom I have nicknamed Sid. Has anyone seen Sid? There are more than 40,000 different spiders in the world. And the man that counts them apparently found a DIFFERENT species in our very own ditch. What a coup for the village !!. All that gate money (the flowers never produced anything), maybe even National Television. So what is different about Sid. Well for one thing he's transparent. You got it, you cant see him. Well he would be transparent if the ditch was clean but he's so filthy...so wait for it..You can see him!! Yippee. Just like "Predator". No, predator worked the other way round. Anyway. Now, the main problem Sid has, is that he is one of the only spiders in the world with just 6 legs and is related to another 6 legged spider who lives far far away (I think my mind is going). The difference and the thing that makes Sid unique is that he has 4 legs on one side & only 2 on the other. This is his big problem. No matter how hard the poor devil tries he can only run in circles and so he can't get out of the b.... ditch. This is disappointing. When he was first offered the position he was promised Orchids, Digitalis and Daisies and now he's left with brambles, bottles & bricks. So he must have become a hermit because no one has seen him for a long time. But to be honest no one even remembers him arriving. Did he get off at The Swan or Manor Rd? How much furniture did he have? Can you blame him for hibernating. Only last week his Conservation area was marmalised by a Bushwhacker machine (those gentle 2 ton hedge trimmers). Now when you consider that spiders have no antennae and rely on very sensitive hairs on their legs to pick up sounds, vibrations and air currents, what the hell must a Bushwhacker machine have done to him. Its akin to having an earwax with a commercial steam cleaner. Just in case you missed the point above, we are protecting a rare spider by bushwhacking his house. Brilliant. Anyway, because Sids unbalanced legs make it difficult for him to get around when swinging from branch to bucket he has often lost various parts of his anatomy on the brambles he so diligently tries to avoid. This is obviously very painful but the good thing is that he is so unique that these appendages regrow. I mention this because it may be the only way we can confirm he is in there. When he comes across one of his previous bits & pieces hanging on a thorn he is rumoured to shout "watcha me old cock". If you hear this cry or if you see him peeping out from behind an old bin let me know. To be honest I think he has eaten the rare flowers and gone home. Does that make him or the flowers the rarest. God knows. Anyway long live the untouchable ditch. What would we do without it?...I know.
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