NEWS ARCHIVE - SEASON 2010/2011
April 27, 2011
THAT'S that then! Only two matches left, and then we'll be heading back to where we came from after a 138-game break from the rigours of life in the bottom two divisions over a span of four years.
It was enjoyable while it lasted, but I doubt we'll see it again during my lifetime. Mind you, I said that last time after we'd played Colchester on the final day of the 2007-08 season and look what happened.
Anyway, before we start getting too over-excited by the prospect of Hartlepool, Carlisle and Rochdale away again, let's wrap up the formalities of this season first.
NOTTINGHAM FOREST (away): Saturday, April 30
HAD Monday's result against Millwall turned out rather differently, then there would probably have been quite a few travelling SULSESC making the trip up to Nottingham on Saturday for what would have been a big game. Instead, there will be three of us on the train out of St. Pancras to see relegation mathematically confirmed at the City Ground. Myself, Matt Gray and Anthony Campbell are on the 10.15 train out (arriving into Nottingham at 11.59) and the 18.28 coming back (20.18 at St. Pancras). If any latecomers would like to join us for the trip, the current fare on the same trains is not totally horrendous yet: it's 36 quid return as of tonight (Tuesday), booked as 21 quid and 15 singles.
MATCH TICKETS: We have a SULSESC allocation of four tickets for the three of us on the train, plus Bob Dook. United have an allocation of 1,051 in total so seeing as the game is now meaningless, I can't imagine anyone turning up on the day will have any trouble getting into the away end.
PUB: Our usual Nottingham haunt will be Saturday's pre-match destination. SULSESC's real ale guru Nick Haines writes: "That'll be the Vat & Fiddle at 12 Queen's Bridge Road then (map: http://bit.ly/fLzhTP), as usual. Still in the beer guide, still sounds great.
"Also well worth a visit is the Canalhouse at 48 Canal Street, NG1 7EH (map: http://bit.ly/gxprMa), which is also just a short walk from the station. This is the one with a canal inside the pub, with wooden walkways over it, and usually a moored narrowboat. And if you feel like it, there's always Ye Olde Trip To Jerusalem, at 1 Brewhouse Yard, NG1 6AD (map: http://bit.ly/eOf88."
The Vat and Fiddle it is, but we may squeeze in a visit to the other two if we have time.
PORTSMOUTH (home): Saturday, May 7
FOR the final game of the season at home to Portsmouth a week on Saturday, we have six of us booked on the 08.10 out of Kings Cross: me, Matt, Dave Payne, Brad, Steve Sumner and the chairman.
Due into Scunny at 10.46, it'll be the Honest Lawyer from 10.50 onwards for one last time this season.
Coming back, we're booked on the 17.18 out of Scunny, which gets us back to Kings Cross at 20.10. To book on the same trains now will set you back 56.50 return, so I guess we won't expect to see many latecomers joining us on the trip!
FORECASTING COMPETITION
WITH two games to go, Geoff Kemp is odds-on favourite to clinch this year's first prize of 100 quid and is already guaranteed a share of top spot at worst. Only yours truly and Tina Constable are capable of stopping him but it doesn't look very likely.
As Geoff and myself have the same prediction (0-2) for Forest away on Saturday, I need a 1-0 defeat for the Iron in the last game against Portsmouth to force a tie for top spot. Any other scoreline, and Geoff wins.
Tina, meanwhile, trails Geoff by four points at the moment and therefore needs both of her last two predictions (0-1 v Forest and 0-2 v Portsmouth) to come true to share the prize money.
And that's it for this season. Don't forget we still have a couple of darts matches to be played and the AGM will be arranged for some time in the summer, so I'll put out the occasional SULSESC news email during the close season whenever there's anything new to report.
UTI
Andy
April 20, 2011
COVENTRY CITY (away): Good Friday, April 22
ONLY three of us on the train so far for this one, with me, Chris Vaughan and Dave Payne booked on the 10.03 out of Euston (arrive Coventry 11.02) and returning on the 18.11 from Coventry (arrives Euston at 19.14). Anyone making a late decision to travel is welcome to join us.
TICKETS: I have six tickets for the game at 25.50 each for me, Chris, Dave, Bob Dook, Andy Kerr and Jon Dunn.
PUB: The lunchtime meeting place will be the Old Windmill at 22 Spon Street, CV1 3BA. Nick Haines' recommendation is: "Last time you went to the Old Windmill and judging by the SULSESC match report, it was pretty good. But, if it's not, there are two others nearby you could try: the Gatehouse Tavern at 46 Hill Street, CV1 4AN, and the Town Wall Tavern on Bond Street, CV1 4AH."
After the Palace fiasco, I'll be checking to make sure there's a Slug & Lettuce in close proximity obviously!
MILLWALL (home): Easter Monday, April 25
I CAN'T make this one as I'm working, but for any members who are travelling up, unfortunately I haven't been able to locate a Slug & Lettuce in Scunny yet, so you'll just have to make do with the Honest Lawyer for a change.
NOTTINGHAM FOREST (away): Saturday, April 30
THERE'S three of us booked on the train for this one (me, Matt Gray and Anthony Campbell), going out on the 10.15 from St. Pancras and returning on the 18.28 from Nottingham. Hopefully, United will still be in with a chance of staying up after the two Easter matches, so if anyone else would like to join us, then get booked up asap before the fares rise too much!
UTI
Andy
April 13, 2011
CRYSTAL PALACE (away): Saturday, April 16
It looks like the final throw of the dice will come at Selhurst Park this Saturday after Reading lobbed a spanner in the 'relegation avoidance' works at GP tonight. Defeat at Palace and it's pretty much all over as we will be, at best, eight points from safety with only 12 to play for.
In anticipation of the inevitable, I reckon we may as well try and enjoy our remaining few weeks as a Championship club, so here's the plan for Saturday.
TICKETS: I have match tickets for the following members (although some were given out last Saturday at the QPR game, so don't lose it, Darren):-
1 GARRATT Mike
2 HALL Caroline
1 HOLLAND Neil
1 HUNSLEY Colin
1 KILGANNON John
4 LETOREY Dave
3 PARROTT John (2 adult, 1 kid aged 10)
2 PAYNE Dave
1 ROBERTSHAW Darren
2 SMITH David (1 adult, 1 OAP)
1 SUMNER Steve
1 TAYLOR Nigel
1 THEAKER Andy
1 TOWNSEND Roger
1 WATSON Mal
1 WHITWORTH Nick
2 WRIGHT Mick (1 adult, 1 kid)
1 WRIGHT Neil
We didn't quite have enough Sun vouchers to cover all the adult tickets we required, so I had to buy two adult tickets at the full price of £25. I can't be bothered to start working out prices according to who collected the vouchers and who didn't, so the easiest thing to do is split the total cost of the adult tickets between everyone, which works out to 10.84 each. The child tickets are a tenner and OAP tickets are 15 quid. Cheques or cash to me on the day please, or a bank transfer in advance if you prefer (email me if you need my bank details).
PUB: We have a new pre-match venue for this one! It has been mentioned during recent games that the Shipwrights Arms at London Bridge, our previous meeting place for matches in south east London, has been going downhill since we first started using it, so we've come up with an alternative for this Saturday: The Falcon, just outside Clapham Junction railway station (full address is 2 St Johns Hill, Clapham Junction, SW11 1RU). It's dead easy to find, come out of the main entrance of CJ railway station, turn left and the pub is a short way along on the left by the traffic lights. Meet there from 12 noon. To get to the ground, the journey time from Clapham Junction to Selhurst station is only 17 minutes and there are trains roughly every 10 minutes. I would suggest we catch the 14.00 off CJ which gets to Selhurst at 14.17, giving plenty of time to walk to the ground.
COVENTRY (away): Good Friday, April 22
AT the moment, I know we need match tickets for me, Chris Vaughan, Dave Payne and Bob Dook. If anyone else wants one, please let me know by Friday.
THE SPONSORED LUNCH
WE now need to collect payment from those members who attended the lunch at Glanford Park last Saturday in anticipation of a hefty bill arriving fairly shortly from SUFC.
If you haven't already paid, can you please transfer 35 quid (or 20 quid for season ticket holders) to the SULSESC account asap. The account details are:-
Account holder: SULSESC
Sort Code: 40-03-28
Account No. 01187902
PLAYER OF THE YEAR
AFTER much debate over the Player of the Year award (as everyone will no doubt have seen from their email inbox!), we finally got enough votes together to make a decision and in the end, goalkeeper Josh Lillis was presented with the John Birkett Memorial Shield by Jenny and Liam Tremayne at the SULSESC match sponsorship lunch last Saturday.
UTI
Andy
March 30, 2011
PLAYER OF YEAR
FIRST thing we need to do this week is get the Player of the Season votes in!
I've just remembered that we're supposed to be presenting the John Birkett Memorial Shield to the lucky winner at the sponsored lunch a week on Saturday against QPR so, ideally, we need to know who that 'lucky winner' is going to be fairly quickly so we can get the shield engraved.
It's going to be quite an interesting call this year, as personally I can't see any stand-out candidates at all (now that Forte has left obviously!).
Anyway, it's down to you lot to decide so please email me your vote by Monday of next week.
BIKE RIDE
WE'RE now counting down the days to the charity bike ride, which starts a week tomorrow (Wednesday, April 6). Many thanks to those SULSESC members who have already made donations. We've now passed the 5,500 pound mark which is a great achievement, even if chief organiser Vaughan's target of 10,000 quid is looking a little on the optimistic side.
If you haven't donated yet, don't panic because there's still plenty of time! Click on the 'donate now' link on the website: http://bikeride.sulsesc.com
THE SPONSORED LUNCH
BELIEVE it or not, we still have six places available at the SULSESC match sponsorship for lunch in the restaurant at Glanford Park before the QPR game a week on Saturday.
There's me saying it's bound to be over-subscribed and at the moment we have only filled 26 of the available 32 places!
A reminder that it will be approximately 35 per head, which includes seat in the main stand for the game, three-course lunch, programme, tea/coffee at half-time, etc.
The 26 on the list so far are below. If any other members would like a place, please let me know by noon on Monday as I will have to let SUFC know by then if we're not going to need all 32 places.
1 Me
1 ASHTON Dave
1 BROOK Phil
1 DUNN Jon
1 FOSTER Russ
1 GRAY Matt
2 HOLLANDS Karen & Neil
1 KERR Andy
1 LETOREY Dave
1 PATTERSON Anthony
1 PAYNE Dave
2 PEARSON Mark
2 RHODES Paul
1 ROBERTSHAW Darren
1 SMITH Mick
1 THEAKER Andy
2 TREMAYNES Jenny & Liam
1 VAUGHAN Chris
2 WHITE Martin
1 WHITWORTH Nick
1 WRIGHT Neil
NORWICH CITY (away): Saturday, April 2
MAL Watson will be making his comeback after injury in this weekend's trip to East Anglia and I have match tickets for the following members:
1 Me
2 BORRILL Mark
1 BRAD
2 CARTER Tony
3 HOLLANDS (2 adult, 1 child)
2 KILGANNON John
1 LETOREY Dave
1 PARROTT John (20 in credit from Portsmouth refund)
2 PATTERSON Anthony
1 PAYNE Dave
1 POLLARD Richard
1 SUMNER Steve
2 VAUGHAN Chris (20 in credit from Portsmouth refund)
1 WATSON Mal
Prices are 28 adults and 13 for kids. Cheques payable to me on the day please or bank transfer is fine if you prefer.
TRAINS: We are on the 10.00 train out of Liverpool Street so meet in the Wetherspoons on the station from 09.00 if you want breakfast and a pint first. Coming back, it's the 18.00 from Norwich which arrives back at Liverpool Street at 19.55.
PUB: Meet in the Kings Arms, 22 Hall Road, NR1 3HQ. Those of us on the train are due into Norwich at 11.48 so I would think we should be in the Kings Arms pretty much from 12 noon. Our alternatives, as suggested by Nick Haines, are the Coach & Horses at 82 Thorpe Road, NR1 1BA (map: http://bit.ly/g7f7eZ), which is the pub we went in before the away game at Carrow Road in 2007 and the Murderers/Gardener's Arms at 2 Timberhill, NR1 3LB. We may have chance to do all three at some point in the day, but we'll go with the Kings Arms as the meeting place to begin with.
CRYSTAL PALACE (away): Saturday, April 16
I WILL sort out the tickets for Palace away when (or if!) I get to Scunny at the end of the bike ride. At the moment, I have the following on the list, so please let me know by Monday of next week (April 4), if you would like to be added.
1 Me
1 GARRATT Mike
2 HALL Caroline
1 HOLLAND Neil
1 KILGANNON John
4 LETOREY Dave
3 PARROTT John (2 adult, 1 kid aged 10)
2 PAYNE Dave
2 SMITH David (1 adult, 1 OAP)
1 TOWNSEND Roger
1 WATSON Mal
2 WRIGHT Mick (1 adult, 1 kid)
1 WRIGHT Neil
UTI
Andy
March 23, 2011
FIRSTLY, can I say that I was only joking when I began last week's SULSESC news by saying that at least Lawsy and Russ would be back to sort the mess out. I didn't think there was a possibility it might come true!
Actually, I can't believe the Messiah, Mick Buxton, isn't on his way back to GP yet!
There's certainly a mess to sort out, though, after last Saturday's tame effort at Portman Road. I think we're doomed!
Nonetheless, a good day was had by all the travelling SULSESC contingent, particularly John Kilgannon who won over 60 quid in the on-the-day predict-the-score competition, which seems to have been 'rolling over' since about Workington away in 1976, its been so long since anyone won it.
Our plans for a 'breakfast meet-up' in Wetherspoons on Liverpool Street station were rather scuppered, however, as none of us had bothered to check the day's fixtures. If we had, we would have realised that West Ham were away to Spurs in the lunchtime kick-off, and therefore Wetherspoons would be rammed with about 400 Hammers fans, all on their fourth pint of the day by 9.30 am, and waving their shoes in the air to a chant of: "Shoes Off, If You Love West Ham".
I have now checked the fixtures for Saturday, April 2, ahead of our second departure out of Liverpool Street in a fortnight and we should be all right for a Wetherspoons get-together for breakfast this time as the likes of Spurs, Ipswich and Colchester are all away.
Mind you, knowing our luck, there will probably be 400 Aldershot fans in there this time en route to Southend, waving their shoes in the air to a chant of: "Shoes Off, If You Love The Shots".
Anyway, enough of this waffle, onto business:-
NORWICH CITY (away): Saturday, April 2
WE have a train trip running to United's next game, which is at Carrow Road a week on Saturday. We're on the 10.00 out of Liverpool Street (meet at 9 am at Wetherspoons for breakfast), arriving in Norwich at 11.48. On the way back, it's the 18.00 train out of Norwich, which gets back to Liverpool Street at 19.55.
At the moment, I know we need match tickets for:-
1 Me
2 BORRILL Mark
1 BRAD
2 CARTER Tony
3 HOLLANDS (2 adult, 1 child)
1 KILGANNON John
1 LETOREY Dave
1 PARROTT John (20 quid in credit from Portsmouth refund)
2 PATTERSON Anthony
1 PAYNE Dave
1 SUMNER Steve
2 VAUGHAN Chris (20 quid in credit from Portsmouth refund)
If anyone else would like a ticket, the deadline for ordering is 10 am this Friday (March 25).
THE SPONSORED LUNCH
WE have 32 places available in the restaurant at Glanford Park for the SULSESC match sponsorship against QPR on April 9, which coincides with the culmination of the charity cycle ride of course.
So far, 26 places have been taken so there are still six up for grabs. A reminder that it will be approximately 35 quid per head, which includes seat in the main stand for the game, three-course lunch, programme, tea/coffee at half-time, etc.
The 26 on the list so far are below. If you would like to join us, please email me asap (first come, first served for the remaining places).
1 Me
1 ASHTON Dave
1 BROOK Phil
1 DUNN Jon
1 FOSTER Russ
1 GRAY Matt
2 HOLLANDS Karen & Neil
1 KERR Andy
1 LETOREY Dave
1 PATTERSON Anthony
1 PAYNE Dave
2 PEARSON Mark
2 RHODES Paul
1 ROBERTSHAW Darren
1 SMITH Mick
1 THEAKER Andy
2 TREMAYNES Jenny & Liam
1 VAUGHAN Chris
2 WHITE Martin
1 WHITWORTH Nick
1 WRIGHT Neil
CRYSTAL PLACE (away): Saturday, April 16
MANY thanks to everyone who has sent me their Sun vouchers, which we should be able to use for the game at Palace.
I have had tickets requests so far from the following members. Please email me if you would like to be added to the list.
2 HALL Caroline
1 HOLLAND Neil
4 LETOREY Dave
2 PAYNE Dave
1 TOWNSEND Roger
COVENTRY CITY (away): Good Friday, April 22
SO far, there's only three of us going and seeing as United will probably be relegated by then, I'm not expecting a huge surge of interest!
However, if you would like a match ticket, please let me know. We're on the 10.03 train from Euston, returning on the 18.11 from Coventry, and at the moment, we have the following members travelling:-
1 Me
1 PAYNE Dave
1 VAUGHAN Chris
Keep the faith. UTI.
Andy
March 15, 2011
PLEASED I wasn't at Glanford Park tonight. It was painful enough listening on Five Live Extra!
Never mind, at least Lawsy & Russ should be back before the end of the week to sort the mess out.
In the meantime, back on Planet SULSESC, here's what's happening this week.
THE BIKE RIDE
THREE weeks tomorrow, our intrepid team of cyclists will be setting off on the charity cycle ride to Scunny. We're not even halfway to our target of 10,000 yet, so our fund-raising efforts need to be stepped up somewhat over the coming days!
We realise times are difficult for everyone these days, but if you can afford to chip in with a fiver, a tenner, 20 quid or even more, please do your little bit for the cause if you can.
If every SULSESC member contributed just 10 quid, that would be a grand straight away and it's amazing how all the small donations quickly add up.
Go to the SULSESC website at www.sulsesc.com and click on the cycle ride link at the foot of the home page to visit the cycle ride website created by Dave Letorey. Once there, you can click on the 'donate now' link to be taken to our Virgin Giving page.
SPONSORED LUNCH
THE cycle ride culminates in the SULSESC match sponsorship of the QPR game on Saturday, April 9.
We have 32 places available for lunch in the restaurant and I'm trying to finalise the numbers now. It will be approximately 35 quid per head on the day which includes three-course lunch, admission to the game, etc.
If you're not directly involved in the cycle ride, please email me asap if you would like to be added to the list for a place. I will do my best to accommodate everyone but at the moment, I think we will be over-subscribed, so it will have to be first come, first served.
IPSWICH TOWN (away): Saturday, March 19
TRAINS: We are on the 10.30 from Liverpool Street (meet in the Wetherspoons first from 9.30 for breakfast), which arrives in Ipswich at 11.43. Coming back, we're on the 18.43 out of Ipswich, arriving back at Liverpool Street at 19.55.
TICKETS: Using The Sun vouchers, we have eight tickets for Saturday's game, but only seven takers at the moment, so there is one ticket going spare. It will be 14.75 each if someone takes it; 16.85 each for the seven if not. If anyone wants the ticket, please email me. The seven members I have tickets for are:
1 Me
1 HUNSLEY Colin
1 KILGANNON John
1 PAYNE Dave
1 STUBLEY Andy
1 WHITWORTH Nick
1 WRIGHT Neil
PUB: The pub to meet in will be The Dove, as recommended by our real ale guru Nick Haines who says: "Last time I recommended the Dove Street Inn on St Helens Street, IP4 2LA, and it was very good. Sounds like it still is, so I'll recommend it again."
DARTS
WE have an important darts match this week when we take on third-placed Derby on Thursday night in The Horseshoe in Clerkenwell.
Captain Vaughan says: "The team will be Colin Lowe, Andy Theaker, Barry Henderson, Frank Rhodes, Neil Wright, Tony Carter, Neil Holland and me. Don't think I've missed anyone off.
"I don't want to appear to be taking this seriously but I propose a practice session beforehand at the Cittie of Yorke (Sam Smiths) in Holborn for those who are taking it seriously."
All members welcome to attend as usual, even if you don't want to play.
UTI
Andy
March 8, 2011
LEICESTER CITY (home): Saturday, March 12
FOR those going up for this Saturday’s game, it will be Honest Lawyer from 12 noon as usual.
IPSWICH TOWN (away): Saturday, March 19
THE SULSESC train trip to this game will be departing on the 10.30 from Liverpool Street (meet in the Wetherspoons first for breakfast?), which arrives in Ipswich at 11.43. Coming back, we're on the 18.43 out of Ipswich, arriving back at Liverpool Street at 19.55. The Sun vouchers are available for this game and at the moment I know we need match tickets for:-
1 Me
1 Neil Wright
1 Dave Payne
1 Andy Stubley
1 John Kilgannon
If anyone else wants a match ticket, please email me by 10 am on Friday morning as I will pick the tickets up before the Leicester game on Saturday.
NORWICH CITY (away): Saturday, April 2
WE have a train trip running to the game at Carrow Road in three weeks and we're on the 10.00 out of Liverpool Street (Wetherspoons again anyone?), arriving in Norwich at 11.48. On the way back, it's the 18.00 train out of Norwich, which gets back to Liverpool Street at 19.55.
At the moment, I know we need match tickets for:-
1 Me
1 Dave Payne
1 John Parrott
2 Tony Carter
1 Dave Letorey
If anyone else wants a match ticket, please email me asap.
NOTTINGHAM FOREST (away): Saturday, April 30
TRAVEL secretary Gray has been investigating train fares for the Iron's final away game of the season (and final away game in the Championship?) and we're looking at a return fare of 30 quid at the moment. It's 18 quid out on the 10.15 from St. Pancras and 12 quid back on the 18.28 from Nottingham, which is about as good as it's going to get. Hopefully there will be some interest in a club trip, so we plan to book up this week before the fares rise. Email Matt (scunnymatt@hotmail.com) if you want a ticket.
SUN VOUCHERS
IF anyone still has any spare Sun vouchers left, please post them onto me (30 Randalls Road, Leatherhead, Surrey, KT22 7TQ), and we can figure out how many we will have available for Palace away next month. Many thanks to those who have already done so.
At the moment, I have the following on the list for Palace match tickets:-
1 John Kilgannon
1 Dave Letorey
2 Liam Tremayne (U16 tickets)
If you would like to be added, please email me.
LOOKING AHEAD
IS anyone going to Coventry on Good Friday? If we are to run a train trip to this match, we need to book tickets asap to get the cheapest fares, so please let me know if you're interested.
UTI
Andy
February 17, 2011
DERBY COUNTY (home): Saturday, February 19
FOR any members going up to Scunny for this Saturday's game against Derby, the pre-match lunchtime get-together will be in the Honest Lawyer as usual. Apparently, the Scunny Telegraph will be sending a photographer round at 1.30 pm for a publicity shot for the Charity Bike Ride in April, so all SULSESC members are welcome!
TALKING OF THE BIKE RIDE...
...the big SULSESC news of the week is the launch of our new website, specifically to publicise the ride and help raise sponsorship money as we bid to hit our target of 10,000 quid.
SULSESC member Dave Letorey has built the site from scratch in a very short space of time and deserves all the praise going for a wonderful effort.
Log on to see the fruits of his labours at:-
http://bikeride.sulsesc.com
And don't forget to click on the 'donate now' button if you haven't already!
Dave also says: "When you tell people about it, tell them to tweet #sulsescbr and tell all their friends and Facebook."
PORTSMOUTH TICKETS
RIGHT, I've sorted out the shambles that was the Portsmouth ticket fiasco and, by my calculations, we have two tickets going spare. If anyone would like to take one or both, please send me a text (0788-181 6611) before lunchtime on Saturday as otherwise I will be claiming refunds on them from SUFC when I'm in Scunny on Saturday for the Derby game.
I still hold tickets for Matt Gray, Dave Payne, Brad and Steve Sumner, while Colin Hunsley (x 2), Chris Vaughan and John Parrott are either in credit for future tickets or are due a refund from me.
Tickets for Nick Haines, Ross Henderson, Roly Roberts, Chris Vaughan and Nick Whitworth went in the post on Tuesday evening, so I hope you've all received them by now. Let me know if you haven't.
IPSWICH (away): Saturday, March 19
THE proposed darts match for the Humber-Orwell Trophy after the away match at Ipswich is not going to happen as it looks very unlikely at this stage that we will be able to raise a team.
That means we can now book the train tickets as we know what time we'll be coming back. Return fares are still available for just 16 quid and Matt is going to book on Friday afternoon so please email him by 3 pm on scunnymatt@hotmail.com if you want him to book a train ticket.
We also have quite a collection of Sun vouchers for this game (see below).
SUN VOUCHERS
MANY thanks to those members who have collected the Sun vouchers.
Judging from the emails, we have had a great response and should have quite a few available to give us discounted tickets for the Ipswich and Palace away games.
Perhaps the easiest thing will be if everyone can post the vouchers to me (or give them to me at the Derby game on Saturday if you're going) and I'll collate them ahead of sorting out match tickets for Ipswich and Palace through SUFC.
My address is: 30 Randalls Road, Leatherhead, Surrey, KT22 7TQ.
DARTS
OUR next match is on Thursday of next week (Feb 24) away to Rotherham.
Skipper Vaughan writes: "The team so far is: David Payne, Neil Holland, Matt Gray, Barry Henderson, Neil Wright and me.
"One or two of you were 'don't knows' when I sent the original e-mail, so let me know if you'll be coming. It's always good to have a reserve or two.
"The APFSCIL pairs competition takes place at the Horseshoe (where we played Sunderland) this coming Monday. In Barry's absence I intend to hinder Brad in his attempt to reach the quarter-finals again. If anyone else fancies entering, please let me know asap."
Chris' email is: chris_vaughan@ntlworld.com.
Right, fingers crossed for another three points this Saturday and then United's Houdini act may well be on!
UTI
Andy
February 8, 2011
Having finally managed to erase the horrors of last Saturday's Humber Derby debacle from my memory bank, I thought it was about time I issued another SULSESC news bulletin, seeing as I've lapsed a bit in the last fortnight.
THE CHARITY CYCLE RIDE
CHIEF organiser Vaughan has been pulling out all the stops in the New Year to get this year's pedal-athon into some sort of order, and has done a grand job so far as things are progressing well. We have hotels booked in Bedford, Bourne and Lincoln, so it looks like there's no turning back now.
For those members who are not totally au fait with what's happening,
SUFC's official website announced the news today, so you can read all about it here:-
http://www.scunthorpe-united.co.uk/page/News/0,,10442~2287922,00.html
Dave Letorey is also working on our very own website specifically for the bike ride, which will be going live shortly (once I've written some copy for him probably. Sorry for the delay, Dave!).
Clearly, the main objective is to raise as much money as possible for our two chosen charities, Diabetes UK and the RNLI, so even if you're not actively involved as a cyclist or support crew member, please can we ask all SULSESC members to do your best to support the cause by donating whatever you can afford. Our target is to raise 10,000 quid so every fiver, every tenner, every 20, even every pound all helps.
We have an official online fund-raising page on the Virgin Money Giving website, so to make a donation, go to:-
http://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/team/SULSESC
Our honorary president Graham Taylor has already sent an email of support to chairman Wright which read:-
Good luck to you all Neil. Am afraid I will not be joining you due to other commitments, but will certainly be keeping an eye open as to how you all get on.
The Iron really need supporting now because we all know to be in the Championship alone is a worthy achievement. I was speaking to Ian Baraclough recently and reminded him of my first 11 games as manager of Lincoln City. Played 11 won 0 drawn 7 lost 4. The
chant of 'Taylor out'Â rang around Sincil Bank! Fortunately I had the support of the Chairman and Board of Directors - and things changed!
UP THE IRON!!
Graham Taylor
FORTHCOMING MATCHES: Tickets and travel
CARDIFF CITY (away): Saturday, February 12
I'm not sure who is going to this game as for once we don't have an organised SULSESC train trip. If anyone is going and would like to meet up with fellow SULSESC members, I suggest a 'reply all' to the group email to see if there's any interest. Our recommended pre-match pub is The Cottage on St. Mary Street.
BRISTOL CITY (away): Saturday, February 26
WE are running a train trip to the match at Ashton Gate at the end of the month (to see Martyn Woolford score a hat-trick!).
We're on the 10.00 train out of Paddington, returning on the 18.30 from Bristol and when we booked there were 10 quid singles available. Email travel secretary Matt Gray (scunnymatt@hotmail.com) for further details if you're thinking of going.
PORTSMOUTH (away): Tuesday, March 1 (19.45 KO)
WHAT a bloody nightmare this one has been! Anyway, as I'm sure you all know, the game has now been rearranged for the above date.
I have got refunds from SUFC on 10 of the 30 tickets so far, some people are still planning to go, others can't make it, so I will sit down this week and try and work out the tickets I've got left and who needs them and who doesn't, and put a further update out in next week's group email.
In the meantime, Dave Bowers has emailed to say he will be driving and can offer lifts.
Dave says: "I am happy to drive and I can take 3 others. I'll be driving straight from work (Heathrow) so all the potential passengers need to do is get to Hatton Cross by a certain time. Let me know if anyone's interested."
Please email Dave (davidbowers202@msn.com) if you would like a lift.
IPSWICH TOWN (away): Saturday, March 19
THERE is a strong possibility of a darts match straight after this game against the Ipswich Town London branch, so that will influence the times of trains.
It must be three years since the infamous Humber-Orwell Trophy was last contested (on the occasion of the Iron's last visit to Portman Road) and Ipswich are very confident of raising a team for another arrer-chucking extravaganza. So, can we raise a team to meet their challenge? Please email darts captain Vaughan (chris_vaughan@ntlworld.com) if you would like to play. Last time, the darts got underway around 6 pm in a town centre pub and we all caught the train back to London once it was over (and Ipswich had romped to their traditional huge win!).
Travel secretary Gray says: "National Express East Anglia has loads of 8 quid fares for these trips. If we can collect enough Sun vouchers for Ipswich, it may turn out to be a cheapish trip."
Liverpool Street, 10.30 out, 11.43 arrive.
Ipswich, 18.13 out, 19.17 arrive.
The return journey, of course, will depend on whether the Humber-Orwell Trophy darts match goes ahead or not.
NORWICH CITY (away): Saturday, April 2
WE are looking at running a club trip by train to the game at Carrow Road in April and Matt has already earmarked the following trains with 8 quid singles available at the moment:-
Liverpool Street, 10.00 out, 11.48 arrive.
Norwich, 18.30 out, 20.17 arrive.
We would like to get this one booked asap before the fares go up, so please email Matt ((scunnymatt@hotmail.com) by Friday of this week if you would like to be included.
SUN VOUCHERS
I'M sure everyone will have read the recent email exchanges between members concerning last week's offer in The Sun for cheap football tickets.
We can potentially get cheap tickets for the Ipswich and Crystal Palace away games, so the first thing to establish is how many vouchers we've got between us all.
Right, who's got what then? Please email me.
DARTS
THINGS are going well for the SULSESC darts team this season and we have begun 2011 in fine form with two wins, both over Sunderland.
On Wednesday of last week (February 2), we managed a 6-5 in the Stamford Arms when Captain Vaughan atoned for earlier cock-ups with an 18, tops, finish to win beer for the team in the vital last leg.
And then on Monday of this week (February 7), we travelled to Sunderland (well, the Horseshoe at Clerkenwell) and managed an exact repeat of the earlier 6-5 scoreline.
In the current league table, we are second behind leaders Ipswich with a game in hand, although the fact Ipswich have won seven out of seven suggests it will be a tall order to catch them. Click on the APFSCIL website at http://www.apfscil.org.uk/, then the 'sports' link and 'darts' to view the latest League One table.
MAL WATSON
SULSESC member Mal Watson is continuing his recovery at home following the broken leg he sustained just before Christmas.
Mal emailed me last week to say: "I went to the doc last Friday and it's all looking good so far but I still have to be careful.
"I still have a knee brace on which I have to keep on for the next 6 weeks. I had my first physio appointment yesterday and have now progressed to crutches but still have the zimmer frame just in case.
"My next appointment at the fracture clinic is 11 March so the Ipswich game is a possibility especially since there should not be too much walking there although I wouldn't want to commit myself."
Right, I'm all 'SULSESC news-d out' now, so that's enough for this week.
UTI
Andy
January 21, 2011
BURNLEY (home): Saturday, January 22
A REMINDER that for those not going up to Scunny for the Burnley game tomorrow, there will be a SULSESC get together in the Lord Clyde, 27 Clenham Street, SE1 1ER, to watch it on the telly (5.20 pm start, don't forget). Here's a link to the pub:-
http://www.beerintheevening.com/pubs/s/53/5373/Lord_Clyde/Borough
...which is next to Borough tube station and easily walkable from both Waterloo and London Bridge.
If you are planning on going, email Matt Gray on scunnymatt@hotmail.com or give him a call on 07717-890117 so we have some idea of numbers likely to attend.
MIDDLESBROUGH (away): Tuesday, February 1
AS this is a midweek game and the numbers of travelling SULSESC are likely to be limited (!), I won't be bothering to organise an allocation of match tickets for this one. It.s not exactly going to be a sell-out, is it!
DARTS
OUR next darts match is on Tuesday of next week, January 25, when we are away to Newcastle.
Captain Vaughan writes: "Team (squad) for next Tuesday's game at The Whitesmiths Arms, Crosby Row, SE1 is: Neil Holland, David Payne, Matt Gray, Tony Carter, Paul Rhodes, Brad, Steve Sumner, Frank Rhodes and Neil Wright.
"I can't make this one due to work so Neil H. is in charge."
The following week, we are at home to Sunderland in the Stamford Arms and at the moment are scratching around to raise a team.
Vaughany says: "I have the following so far for the Sunderland game at the Stamford: Brad, Frank Rhodes, Neil W., Steve Sumner (possibly) and me. Can anyone else make it?"
As always, all SULSESC members are welcome to attend, whether you would like to play or not.
January 12, 2011
LEEDS (away): Saturday, January 15
TRAVEL AND TICKETS: The spare train ticket for this Saturday's trip to Leeds has been taken (by Brad) but if anyone makes a late decision to travel, we'll be on the 09.10 out of King's Cross, returning on the 18.40 from Leeds.
I have got match tickets for the following members:-
1 Me
1 DUKE Vic (senior)
1 GRAY Matt
1 HENDERSON Ross
1 PAYNE Dave
1 ROBERTSHAW Darren
1 WHITE Martin
PUB: The pub to meet in before the game will be The Adelphi, 1-3 Hunslet Road, LS10, which opens at 12 noon according to its website (www.theadelphi.co.uk). It's recommended by a mate of mine who is a regular Leeds supporter, who says: "It's a famous Leeds pub, and as it's by Leeds Bridge it's in the right direction for the ground. Five minutes walk from the station. Always gets a good crowd. It'll be busy, but they all will. There's a 20 minute walk to the ground - fairly popular route to Elland Road."
After the game, we will probably be calling in at Whitelocks at Turks Head Yard, LS1 6HB, which is recommended by SULSESC real ale guru Nick Haines. It's down an alley off Briggate near Marks & Spencer (map: http://tinyurl.com/b53sct; http://whitelocks.co.uk).
BURNLEY (home): Saturday, January 22
AS I'm sure everyone knows by now, this game is live on Sky with a 5.20 pm kick-off. For those not going up to Scunny, there will be a SULSESC get together in the Lord Clyde, 27 Clenham Street, SE1 1ER, to watch it on the telly. The pub is next to Borough tube station and easily walkable from both Waterloo and London Bridge.
LOOKING AHEAD
TRAVEL secretary Gray has a SULSESC train trip booked up already for Swansea at home on Saturday, March 5, on the usual trains of the 09.10 from King's Cross and the 18.10 from Scunny coming back. Current fare is 28.90. Visit the East Coast trains website asap to ensure the cheapest fare if you'd like to join us.
He also has members travelling to Bristol City (away) on Saturday, February 26, leaving Paddington at 10.00, and getting back at 20.14.
DARTS
CAPTAIN Vaughan writes as follows: "Happy New Year, arrer chuckers!
"Our next scheduled match will be against Newcastle at the Whitesmiths Arms (37 Crosby Row, SE1 3YD) on Tuesday, January 25, so please check your diaries and let me know if you can play.
"Following this, it's Sunderland at home on Wednesday, February 2 - again, please let me know if you can make it.
"Finally, for now, the Rotherham game at the Calthorpe Arms, which was cancelled due to the bad weather before Christmas, has been rearranged for Thursday, February 24."
January 6, 2011
EVERTON (home): Saturday, January 8
I HAVE got match tickets for the following members:-
TELEGRAPH STAND (seating)
1 DUKE Vic (OAP)
2 HUNSLEY Colin
2 KILGANNON John
2 PARROTT John
3 REES Ian (2 adult, 1 child)
2 THEAKER Andy (1 adult, 1 child)
1 TREMAYNE Liam
3 WRIGHT Mick (2 adults, 1 child)
EXECUTIVE
1 Dave Payne (seat G88)
DONNY ROAD END STANDING
3 BRACKENBURY Gary (1 adult, 2 kids)
1 Brad
1 DUNN Jon
1 FOSTER Russ
1 LETOREY Dave
2 OLNEY Andy
1 VAUGHAN Chris
1 WRIGHT Neil
I'm travelling up in the Chairman-Mobile on Saturday morning so we'll aim to be in the Honest Lawyer from 12.30 and tickets will be available for collection from me then. We'll probably be in the Lawyer until just after 2 pm and will then head down to The Berkeley for a pint, so if you can't make the Lawyer, the Berkeley between 2.20 pm and 2.35 pm is Plan B. Failing that, outside the Iron Bar at 2.45 pm will be Plan C.
LEEDS (away): Saturday, January 15
WE have a spare train ticket for Leeds away a week on Saturday now that Mal Watson has played the "ooh, I've broken my leg" card to get out of watching any further shambolic performances from the Iron!
We're on the 09.10 train from King's Cross, returning on the 18.40 from Leeds, and the return fare is 24.25. If anyone would like the ticket, please let me know asap.
In terms of match tickets, the prospect of a sound beating at Elland Road doesn't seem to appeal to too many members, as we only have the following on the list so far:-
1 Me
1 DUKE Vic (senior)
1 GRAY Matt
1 PAYNE Dave
1 ROBERTSHAW Darren
1 WHITE Martin
If anyone else would like to be added to the list, please let me know by tomorrow (Friday) at the latest.
UTI
Andy
December 31, 2010
DONCASTER (away): Saturday, January 1
PUB: For those going to Donny, the suggested meeting place is The Leopard, which is about 2 minutes' walk from the railway station. Turn right out of the station, go across the car park, go past the first pub you come to and The Leopard is slightly further on on the right. The address is 1 West Street, DN1 3AA. Here's a link: http://www.beerintheevening.com/pubs/s/28/2808/Leopard/Doncaster
WATFORD (home): Monday, January 3
MYSELF and Steve Sumner are 'the SULSESC train trip' for this one if anyone is planning on making the trip by train and wants to meet us at King's Cross? Otherwise, it will be the Honest Lawyer as usual from 12 noon.
PORTSMOUTH TICKETS
IF any member who ordered a ticket for Portsmouth has already decided that they won't be able to attend the rearranged game, whenever that might be, let me know and I'll get some of the ticket money refunded on Monday while I'm in Scunny for the Watford game.
LEEDS UNITED (away): Saturday, January 15
NEXT game we'll need tickets for is the trip to Elland Road in a couple of weeks. Let me know if you want a ticket by noon on Thursday, January 6 please.
Andy
December 8, 2010
NOTTINGHAM FOREST (home): Saturday, December 11
IN the unlikely event that this Saturday's home game beats the snow and actually takes place, the Honest Lawyer from 12 noon will be the meeting place as usual.
PORTSMOUTH (away): Saturday, December 18
I STARTED a list of who wanted a ticket for this one about a fortnight ago, then hit greater heights of incompetence when I accidentally deleted it this morning! I have pieced the list together again as best I can but if you have requested a ticket and are not shown on the list below, please let me know by lunchtime on Friday. I hope to collect the tickets from SUFC this weekend when I'm in Scunny for the Forest match.
1 Me
1 GRAY Matt
1 HAINES Nick
4 HALL Caroline
3 HUNSLEY Colin
1 PAYNE Dave
1 PARROTT John
2 THEAKER Andy (1 adult, 1 kid)
1 ROBERTS Roly (concession)
EVERTON (home): Saturday, January 8
THE list of those members who have requested a match ticket for the Everton FA Cup game is below.
Final call for tickets will now be 2 pm tomorrow (Thursday).
TELEGRAPH STAND
1 DUKE Vic (OAP)
2 KILGANNON John
2 PARROTT John
3 REES Ian (2 adult, 1 child)
2 THEAKER Andy (1 adult, 1 child)
2 TREMAYNE Jenny
3 WRIGHT Mick (2 adults, 1 kid)
EXECUTIVE STAND
1 PAYNE Dave (G88)
STANDING
3 BRACKENBURY Gary (1 adult, 2 kids)
1 DUNN Jon
1 LETOREY Dave
2 OLNEY Andy
1 VAUGHAN Chris
1 WRIGHT Neil
DARTS
WE have a rearranged darts match tonight (Wednesday) against Derby County in the Stamford Arms. The Skipper has been scratching around to raise a full team, so all members are welcome to attend to help make up the numbers if required!
Last Thursday's match against Rotherham was postponed because of the bad weather.
UTI
Andy
November 30, 2010
MILLWALL (away): Saturday, December 4
TICKETS: We have an allocation of tickets for the following SULSESC members:-
1 CAMPBELL Anthony
2 HALL Caroline
2 HENDERSON Ross
1 HUNSLEY Colin
1 KILGANNON John
6 PARROTT John
2 SMITH David (1 adult, 1 senior)
1 SUMNER Steve
1 THEAKER Andy (under-16)
1 WRIGHT Neil
Unfortunately, I can't go to the game this weekend so Steve Sumner has got all the tickets for distribution on the day. Prices are 22 adults, 13 senior citizens and 13 under-16s. I've paid for them, however, so everyone owes me (with the exception of Andy Theaker, who owes Steve!). Thanks to those who have already transferred the money online. If anyone else would like to do that, email me and I'll let you have my bank details, otherwise a cheque to Steve on the day is fine.
MEETING PLACE: Our regular haunt for games on this side of London is the Shipwrights Arms on Tooley Street, SE1 2TF. Turn right out of London Bridge station following the signs for the London Dungeon, and the Shipwrights is just past the London Dungeon on the right. It's literally only 2-3 mins' walk from London Bridge station, from where there are frequent trains to South Bermondsey for the New Den. Don't forget, it's a 5.20 pm kick-off, not 3 pm, so the chairman suggests meeting in the Shipwrights from 2 pm. Steve's mobile number in case of any problems re ticket collection is 07885-967397.
PORTSMOUTH (away): Saturday, December 18
A REMINDER that I'm now compiling the list of those who want tickets for the forthcoming away game at Portsmouth, for which tickets are now on sale priced 20 quid adults, 15 senior citizens and students and 10 under-17s. I will collect these tickets when I'm in Scunny for the Forest game next week, so please let me know by 12 noon on Thursday, December 9, if you would like a ticket.
EVERTON (home): Saturday, January 10
NOT a bad draw in the FA Cup, was it. Tickets go on sale next week so please let me know by 12 noon on Monday, December 6 if you would like one. Please state if you are a season ticket holder or an Iron member, and also whether you would like a standing or seating ticket.
Travel secretary Gray has looked into train times and fares and the best we can get at the moment is 28.50 return (although this might be cheaper if we can get a group fare). Email Matt by Friday if you are interested in going by train.
EBAY
A REMINDER that we have two signed first team shirts (home and away), autographed by the first team squad, listed on ebay at the moment and the auction will end tomorrow evening (Wednesday). They are the shirts we were given by United for sponsorships last season and any money we raise will go into club funds to help pay for the QPR match sponsorship in April. If anyone is interested in bidding, do a search for 'scunthorpe utd' on ebay and you'll find them.
DARTS
WE have another darts match this week (snow permitting), as we travel to face Rotherham United on Thursday night (December 2) in the Calthorpe Arms on Grays Inn Road.
Skipper Vaughan writes: "The team will be Andy T., Barry, Colin, David, Frank, Neil H (capt), Neil W, Paul. I understand last Wednesday's defeat to Ipswich was a close run thing - let's put that one behind us and go for the full 3 - er - 13 - er well, you know, let's try and win this one at least 6-5."
APFSCIL
THANKS to Steve Sumner, Dave Bowers and Matt Gray, who attended the November APFSCIL meeting.
According to the rota, it's Dave Payne and Neil Wright's turn to cover the December meeting this Monday (December 6) and then it's me and Brad in January.
UTI
Andy
November 23, 2010
COVENTRY (home): Saturday, November 27
WE have another train trip organised for this Saturday's home match against Coventry (snow permitting, judging by the weather forecast!), with a group of us on the usual 09.10 train out of King's Cross. If anyone would like to join the trip, you're more than welcome, although the cheapest fares are long gone and the current asking price on the East Coast trains website works out at 53.40 return.
For those who will be at the match, family and friends of former long-time SULSESC member Andrew Metcalfe, who sadly died in the summer, are making the trip over from Manchester, so there will be a gathering in the Honest Lawyer before the game. As usual, Lawyer from 12 noon is the plan. Hope to see you there.
MILLWALL (away): Saturday, December 4
TICKETS are now on sale for the forthcoming away game at Millwall a week on Saturday which is, of course, live on Sky Sports with a 5.20 pm kick-off. I will sort out the SULSESC allocation while I'm in Scunny for the Coventry game this Saturday, so please email me by 2 pm on Friday if you would like a match ticket. Prices are 22 adults, 13 senior citizens, 13 under-16s and 8 under-12s. At the moment, I have Caroline Hall (2 adult) and John Parrott on the list (awaiting confirmation of how many you need, John!). Pub to meet in will be the Shipwrights Arms at London Bridge as usual, I'll confirm the details in next week's group email.
PORTSMOUTH (away): Saturday, December 18
THE only other away game prior to Christmas is the trip to Portsmouth, for which tickets are now on sale priced 20 adults, 15 senior citizens and students and 10 under-17s.
I've already started the list for this one and at the moment have Caroline Hall (4), Steve Edwards (4) and Nick Haines (1) on it. Please email me if you would also like a match ticket. Train and pub details to come nearer the time.
LOOKING AHEAD
TRAVEL Secretary Gray is now working on train times and fares for games in February and says there are cheap singles (11.15) available for the derby match against Hull at Glanford Park on Saturday, February 5. If anyone would like to book now, please email Matt by Friday lunchtime of this week. If we get three or more going, we may even get more discount.
EBAY
THE two signed first team shirts (home and away), autographed by the first team squad, have been listed on ebay this week. They are the shirts we were given by United for sponsorships last season. At the AGM in the summer, it was agreed that we would auction them off on ebay with the proceeds going into club funds to help pay for the QPR match sponsorship in April (and at long last, I've finally got round to doing it!). If anyone is interested in bidding, search for 'scunthorpe utd' on ebay and you'll find them. They're on there until next week. Have still got a signed ball to list as well, which I'll try and do this week.
DARTS
SKIPPER Vaughan has named a team of seven for Wednesday night's darts match against APFSCIL champions Ipswich in the Stamford Arms.
Vaughany says: "Team for Ipswich at the Stamford: Andy T., Barry, Brad, Colin, Matt, Neil H (capt.), Neil W. Stay strong lads. The hopes of all SULSESC go with you."
To boost your confidence, the Ipswich captain tells me they are depleted for this match. They have got a full team, "but it is definitely not our strongest," says Mr. Loy, so this is probably our best ever chance of beating them!
November 17, 2010
DERBY (away): Saturday, November 20
FOR those SULSESC members travelling to Pride Park on Saturday, the pub to meet in will be The Brunswick, 1 Railway Terrace, DE1 2RU; map: http://bit.ly/9QDJQz).
Our pub guide Nick Haines says: "As the address suggests, it's handy for the station and seems to be about the best pub in Derby. I believe SULSESC has gone there before (yes, last season! - Andy). There are about a dozen beers, half brewed on the premises (Brunswick Brewery), the rest a range including Everards, who own the pub."
Nick also suggests "two alternatives in the Good Beer Guide. First, the Smithfield on Meadow Road, DE1 2BH (map: http://bit.ly/aL4xuH), which has beer from the local Headless Brewery, as well as beers from Oakham, Whim and Enville. It has a rear patio that overlooks the river - if only it were August! The beer guide says it's "a short, pleasant walk" from the station."
Vic and Darren are the only two going to this game, as far as I know at the moment.
TRAVEL NEWS
LATEST update from Travel Secretary Gray:-
Burnley (H): Saturday, January 22. Now this match has been chosen for Sky, it's unlikely that anyone will be interested in trains (especially given current home form), but the trip is available for the usual 11.15 singles. There are plenty of options available to get up to Scunny, but only the 20.10 back which gets into KX at 22.47. Plenty of time to get a lift back to the Lawyer for a swift pint before getting the train. The alternative is train up on Saturday, stay overnight in Scunny for a beer or two and come back on the Sunday morning if anyone is interested in that?
Middlesbrough (A): Tuesday, February 1. From London this is only possible via car, or train if you're staying over. Grand Central Railway runs a service to Northallerton where you change for Transpennine Express to Middlesbrough - should take around three hours.
DARTS
WE'RE out of the Cup! That was the bad news revealed by 'Captain' Vaughan this morning after last night's debacle against Gillingham.
The skipper says: "Now that we've got our involvement in the Cup out of the way for another year (3-8 to Gillingham, if you're interested) it's time to concentrate on the league.
"I'm still looking for a couple of players for the Ipswich (Stamford Arms, Wednesday, November 24) and Rotherham games (Calthorpe Arms, 252 Grays Inn Road, WC1X 8JR, Thursday, December 2).
"So far I have the following: Ipswich - Barry, Neil W, Neil H, Colin, Brad. Rotherham - Barry, Neil W, Andy T, Neil H, Colin.
"Fortunately for all concerned I can't make either of these games but please let me know if you can.
"Finally, I have managed to rearrange the Derby game for Wednesday, December 8 at the Stamford. So far, only Colin, Brad and myself are definites (probably), so please let me know who else is available."
Email Chris on chris_vaughan@ntlworld.com.
November 11, 2010
CARDIFF CITY (home): Saturday, November 13
FOR any latecomers prepared to pay the 65 quid return for this Saturday's home game (defeat?), which is the current fare advertised on the East Coast trains website, the SULSESC train trip will be using the 09.10 out of King's Cross and the 18.10 returning from Scunny. Alternatively, meet in the Honest Lawyer as usual from 12 noon.
DERBY COUNTY (away): Saturday, November 20
DUE to the unavailability of any cheap train fares for this game, we are unfortunately unable to run a SULSESC trip to Pride Park (for our fourth successive away win?). In view of that, I am not planning to organise an allocation of match tickets for this one as they are freely available from the ticket office at Glanford Park anyway and it's clearly not likely to sell out, so any SULSESC members who are going is advised to sort out their own tickets. Note: you can pay on the day, it's 3 quid more expensive (28 instead of 25).
LOOKING AHEAD...
MATT Gray is trying to figure out the logistics of the trip to Portsmouth next month. He asks anyone who has a Network card and who is planning to travel via Waterloo to email him (scunnymatt@hotmail.com) so we can work out the cheapest fares for the highest number of members.
DARTS
THE scheduled game against Derby this week was postponed at Derby's request, so our next match will be next week when we take on Gillingham in the Cup on Tuesday (November 16).
The venue is the City Retreat in Shoe Lane, EC4 (nearest tube Chancery Lane) and the team so far will be: Frank, Brad, Neil H, Neil W, Colin and Chris.
Skipper Vaughan says: "As you can see we're down to just six, so if anyone else can make it please let me know."
November 3, 2010
HULL CITY (away): Saturday, November 6
WE have a SULSESC allocation of tickets for the following members.
1 BRAD
1 DUNN Jon
1 DUKE Vic (senior)
1 GRAY Matt
1 KERR Andy
1 ROBERTSHAW Darren
1 VAUGHAN Chris
1 WRIGHT Neil
Prices are 25, apart from Vic (15).
I'm not going, so for those who didn't collect their ticket from me at the Leeds game last Saturday, Matt Gray has now got them all. If you haven't paid me yet, either a bank transfer or a cheque (payable to me) given to Matt will be fine.
PUB: The meeting place for those going on Saturday will be Ye Olde White Harte, 25 Silver Street, Hull, HU1 1JG. Travel secretary Gray says: "Vic has just emailed to say the White Harte is an excellent choice, so I've told him to meet us in there from 12 onwards.
Further info from: http://www.yeoldewhiteharte.co.uk/
"It should be 20-30 mins walk to ground, but apart from a Wetherspoons, there's nothing else closer for away fans."
LEEDS United (away): Saturday, January 15
WE now have four members (Matt Gray, Dave Payne, Mal Watson and myself) booked on a train trip for this game in January, departing on the 09.10 from King's Cross and returning on the 18.40 from Leeds. Current cost is 24.25 per person, booked as two singles, so if anyone else would like to join us, I suggest you visit the East Coast trains website asap to book before the fares go up!
DARTS
THE darts team made a remarkable start to life in Division One of the APFSCIL League with a 10-1 win over Newcastle United in the Stamford Arms last week, with new signing Andy 'The Power' Theaker turning out to be the star of the show on his debut.
There is confusion over our next match next week, however, as skipper Vaughan says: "The Derby game, which, out of the goodness of our hearts and wishing to avoid the usual problems of arranging darts matches with Derby, we agreed to move to Tuesday the 9th, has now been cancelled by Derby.
"However, they haven't yet cancelled the original date (Wed 10th), so watch this space."
UTI
Andy
October 26, 2010
LEEDS United (home): Saturday, October 30
I NOW have a spare ticket in the main stand for Saturday's home game with Leeds (25 quid). If anyone would like to buy it, please email me asap.
We have a train trip running, travelling on the 09.10 out of King's Cross (although the cheapest fares will presumably have long gone).
For any members going to the game, the Honest Lawyer will be the usual pre-match meeting place.
HULL City (away): Saturday, November 6
I HAVE got a SULSESC allocation for the following members:-
1 BRAD
1 DUNN Jon
1 DUKE Vic (senior)
1 GRAY Matt
1 KERR Andy
1 ROBERTSHAW Darren
1 TREMAYNE Liam (U16)
1 VAUGHAN Chris
1 WRIGHT Neil
Prices are 25 quid apart from Vic and Liam (15 each). I'll collect the tickets on Saturday before the Leeds game.
DARTS
OUR first darts match of the season is confirmed as ON for tomorrow (Wednesday, October 27) in the Stamford Arms when we will be taking on Newcastle United.
All members are welcome to attend, just for a drink if you don't want to show yourself up on the oche along with the darts team.
Skipper Vaughan adds: "Derby have asked to change our home game from November 10 to Tuesday the 9th, which is when the Iron are at home to Middlesbrough. Assuming not too many people will be going to that, who can make it to the Stamford for darts instead?
"Finally (for the time being) we've been drawn away to Gillingham in the preliminary round of the cup on Tuesday, November 16 at their place, the City Retreat in Shoe Lane, EC4. Again, who can make this one?"
All replies to Chris at chris_vaughan@ntlworld.com
October 20, 2010
FIRSTLY, can I ask anyone who has ordered a Watford or Leeds ticket to pay me asap please, because the total for the two matches is close to £1,000, and I need to settle my credit card bill for this month very shortly!
WATFORD (away): Saturday, October 23
WE have a SULSESC allocation of 38 tickets for the following members:-
1 AS
3 ASHTON Dave (2 adult, 1 U16)
3 BORRILL Mark
1 BOWERS Dave
1 BRAD
1 DOOK Bob
1 FOSTER Russ
1 GARRATT Mike
1 GRAY Matt
1 HENDERSON Ross (U25 student)
3 HOLLANDS (2 adult, 1 U16)
1 HUNSLEY Colin
1 KILGANNON John
2 PAYNE Dave
1 REES Ian
1 ROBERTS Roly (OAP)
1 ROBERTSHAW Darren
2 SMITH Dave
1 STUBLEY Andy
1 SUMNER Steve
3 THEAKER Andy (1 adult, 2 U16)
1 TOWNSEND Roger
1 WATSON Mal
1 WHITWORTH Darren
1 WHITWORTH Nick
2 WRIGHT Mick (1 adult, 1 U16)
1 WRIGHT Neil
PAYMENT: Cost is 25 quid adults, a quid for the kids, and 15 quid each for Roly (senior) and Ross (student).
PUB: Meeting place in Watford will be the Wellington Arms, 2 Woodford Road, Watford, WD17 1PA. Come out of Watford Junction station, head left for 200m and you are there. To get to the ground from the pub is a walk of 15-20 mins.
For those travelling by train from London, we will meet at Euston from 11 am onwards (there are plenty of trains to Watford Junction, leaving at 11.46, 11.54, 12.04, 12.24, etc, and journey time is only 14-20 mins). From past experience, the Bree Louise, which would be the obvious choice, won't open until 12 noon but there is a passable boozer on the other side of Euston station on Eversholt Street which myself and Mal Watson found ourselves in last time we were away to Watford. Can't remember the name of it, but exit Euston station on the opposite to the Bree Louise and the pub's on the other side of the road!
LEEDS (home): Saturday, October 30
I HAVE tickets for the Leeds game for the following:
STANDING
1 GRAY Matt: £16 (Iron member)
1 TOWNSEND Roger: £21
1 WATSON Mal: £21
1 WRIGHT Neil: £16 (Iron member)
SEATING: Main stand
1 REED Phil: £25
1 SUMNER Steve: £20 (Iron member)
2 THEAKER Andy (1 adult, 1 U16): £36
HULL CITY (away): Saturday, November 6
WHO wants a ticket for the Tigers away? Email me by 10 am Friday please.
UTI
Andy
October 13, 2010
DONCASTER (home): Saturday, October 16
FOR any members going up for this Saturday's early kick-off against Donny, as with last season's early starts, meeting place will be either Wetherspoons from opening time or the Honest Lawyer as normal. We haven't checked with landlord Al, but I would expect that he will be opening the Lawyer early.
WATFORD (away): Saturday, October 23
WE currently have the following 33 members on the list for a match ticket through SULSESC:-
3 ASHTON Dave (2 adult, 1 U16)
1 BORRILL Mark
1 BOWERS Dave
1 BRAD
1 FOSTER Russ
1 GARRATT Mike
1 GRAY Matt
1 HENDERSON Ross (U25 student)
3 HOLLANDS The (2 adult, 1 U16)
1 HUNSLEY Colin
1 KILGANNON John
2 PAYNE Dave
1 REES Ian
1 ROBERTS Roly (OAP)
2 SMITH Dave
1 STUBLEY Andy
1 SUMNER Steve
3 THEAKER Andy (1 adult, 2 U16)
1 TOWNSEND Roger
1 WATSON Mal
1 WHITWORTH Darren
2 WRIGHT Mick (1 adult, 1 U16)
1 WRIGHT Neil
I will be putting our order in tomorrow so I can collect the tickets this weekend when I'm in Scunny for the Donny match, so if anyone else would like to be added to the list, please let me know by 2 pm Thursday.
LEEDS (home): Saturday, October 30
I HAVE tickets for the Leeds game for the following:
STANDING
1 GRAY Matt: £16 (Iron member)
1 TOWNSEND Roger: £21
1 WATSON Mal: £21
1 WRIGHT Neil: £16 (Iron member)
SEATING: Main stand
1 REED Phil: £25
1 SUMNER Steve: £20 (Iron member)
2 THEAKER Andy (1 adult, 1 U16): £36
FORTHCOMING TRAVEL
TRAVEL secretary Matt Gray has been looking into trips in December...
"Both Preston and Watford home games (December 26 and January 3) are impossible on trains as it stands.
"Portsmouth (A) - December 18. Trains are from Victoria or Waterloo, but the route from Waterloo seems to be 20-30 mins faster. Fast trains leave Waterloo at 10 am, 10.30 am, 11 am and returns are 18.15, 18.45, 19.15. If you have a Network Card you will get a discount when you either book tickets on the day or beforehand. At present on the South West trains website it seems that a day return is £19.15 with the railcard or £29 without.
"I have a railcard, so I can get three other tickets but does anyone else have one and will be going from Waterloo? If we co-ordinate we should be able to get everyone on the cheapest possible travel.
"Also, before we book anything we need to know which station in Portsmouth as there are three of them. Fratton is obviously near the ground but is it near pubs for away fans?
"Doncaster (A) - January 1. There are trains available for this for £9.50 singles (£19 total). Either 9.10 or 10.10 out, 18.10 back.
"Email Matt if you have a Network card and are planning to go to Portsmouth, so he can work out cheapest options for everyone."
October 5, 2010
MEMBERSHIP
A REMINDER to anyone who has forgotten to renew their membership for this season that annual subs were due on August 1. We always give everyone a couple of months after that date in which to renew, so this will be your final SULSESC group email for the time being if you haven't yet paid up for 2010-11!
DONCASTER (home): Saturday, October 16
OUR next game is the early kick-off (12 noon) against Donny at Glanford Park. Tickets are on sale now from the SUFC ticket office and as I don't expect it will be a sell out, I won't bother organising a SULSESC allocation as it's going to be easier (for me anyway!) for anyone who is going to sort out their own ticket.
PRESTON (away): Tuesday, October 19
PRESTON away on a Tuesday night, anyone? No, I didn't think there would be a surge of interest from those living in the south-east!
According to the SUFC website, adult tickets are just a tenner and, as with the Donny game, as it clearly won't be a sell-out, any SULSESC members planning on making the trip are advised to sort out their own ticket.
As for a meeting place, SULSESC's 'Real Ale Guru' Nick Haines offers the following suggestions: "Last year I suggested the Black Horse at 166 Friargate, PR1 2EJ (map: http://bit.ly/9Pn7tm). It still looks a good bet, but like most of the good pubs in Preston, there's no food. For food, there's the Grey Friar (Wetherspoons) close by at 144 Friargate, or the Market Tavern at 33 Market Street, PR1 2ES, which doesn't do food but lets you bring your own. Those are my top tips.
"You used to go to the Old Black Bull at 35 Friargate, PR1 2AT (map: http://bit.ly/aMfeqS). It's back in the beer guide now it's free of tie, so that's an option, and it's close to the Olde Dog & Partridge at 41 Friargate, but neither of these do food in the evenings either.
"All five are within easy walking distance, and there are plenty of car parks nearby (map: http://bit.ly/9ka8sV), just off the A6. Hope that helps."
If anyone would like to meet up before the game on the night, do a 'reply all' to this group email to find out if any other members are going.
WATFORD (away): Saturday, October 23
I WOULD expect slightly more SULSESC interest in the away game after Preston, seeing as we have the rather shorter trip to Watford!
MATCH TICKETS: If you would like a ticket, please email me by Thursday of next week (October 14) and I will pick up the SULSESC allocation when I'm up in Scunny for the Donny game. Prices are: £25 - adults; £15 - concessions (over 65s, 16-19 years and students under 25 with NUS cards); £10 - U16s.
Adult and concession tickets cost £2 extra if bought on the matchday, so you will save money by ordering through SULSESC.
PUB ON THE DAY: We have discovered a new pre-match watering hole for this season, courtesy of SULSESC member Dave Bowers, who lives locally. Dave emailed to say: "I popped into my local last night on the way home and spoke to the landlord about the possibility of the branch drinking there when we play Watford in a few weeks time. He always has a guest ale on tap and is happy to order a couple of others to accommodate the ale drinkers amongst the branch. Food is also to a decent standard and the location is perfect. Out of Watford Junction, head left for 200m and you are there. To get to the ground from the pub is a walk of 15-20 down one straight road. Easy Peasy. The pub in question is called 'The Wellington Arms'."
We may well also arrange a pub to meet in at Euston on Saturday morning for those catching the train out of London (details nearer the time, as we need to check out the opening times of the Bree Louise following last season's fiasco!).
LEEDS (home): Saturday, October 30
THE last game of the month may well be a sell-out with the visit of Leeds to Glanford Park, so I will arrange a SULSESC allocation for this match. Tickets go on general sale this Thursday (October 7) so email me by this Friday morning (10 am) if you would like one.
DARTS
THE darts fixtures are out at long last!
Mind you, the season is away to its stuttering start as usual with the first two games, v Newcastle and v Sunderland, already called off by the opposition for various reasons.
Sunderland have now offered us next Monday, October 11, as a possible date to play them at The Horseshoe in Clerkenwell, so if you can make that, please email Captain Vaughan asap on chris_vaughan@ntlworld.com.
Newcastle are proposing October 27 as a rearranged date for their visit to the Stamford, so at the moment, the fixture list is looking like this:-
Mon 11 Oct (a) Sunderland
Wed 27 Oct (h) Newcastle
Wed 10 Nov (h) Derby
w/c 15 Nov Cup prelim
Wed 24 Nov (h) Ipswich
Thu 02 Dec (a) Rotherham
w/c 10 Jan cup round 1
w/c 17 Jan pairs competition
Tue 25 Jan (a) Newcastle
Wed 02 Feb (h) Sunderland
w/c 28 Feb cup QF
Thu 17 Mar (a) Derby
Mon 11 Apr (a) Ipswich
Wed 18 May (h) Rotherham
PREDICTIONS SWEEP
FOR anyone who paid £1 to enter the predictions sweep at QPR in August, no-one got the 2-0 scoreline correct so there was a £24 rollover to Leicester last Saturday.
With a decent SULSESC turn-out, there was £36 up for grabs but as the game went into injury-time, it was looking like a double rollover to the Watford match as nobody had 2-1 to the home side. Unfortunately for the majority of us, however, Leicester then scored again to make it 3-1, which was the pre-match prediction of both Mal Watson and Mark Borrill, who shared £18 each.
NEVER THOUGHT I'D SEE THE DAY...
...said Martyn Girdham, who emailed on the day of the Manchester United game with the following: "I cannot do a large group email to SULSESC members but I do like this on the Manure website previewing tonight's game...
Scunthorpe v United
Barclays Premier League
Wed 22 September (19:45 BST)
APFSCIL
FOR the second month running, Monday's APFSCIL meeting was cancelled due to the tube strike, so Chairman Wright and Dave Payne were spared.
Don't panic though, lads, you won't miss out, December hasn't been covered yet so I'll put you down for that!
Thanks to Dave Bowers, who has volunteered to attend next month with Steve.
The provisional revised rota is now:-
November: Steve Sumner & Dave Bowers.
December: Neil Wright & Dave Payne.
January: Me & Brad.
Venue is the Exmouth Arms, Starcross Street, NW1, which is next to Euston station. Any more volunteers will be most welcome!
That's it for this week, so UTI...
Andy
September 29, 2010
LEICESTER (away)
FOR those going to Leicester on Saturday, we have a SULSESC allocation of 17 match tickets for the following members:-
1 Me
1 Steve Sumner
1 Nick Whitworth
1 Geoff Kemp
1 Mal Watson
1 Dave Payne
1 Mark Borrill
4 Gary Brackenbury (2 adult, 2 kids)
4 Ian Rees (2 adult, 2 kids)
2 Ross Henderson (2 x U22)
TRAIN: We have a SULSESC train trip organised to this game, leaving St. Pancras on the 10.00 (arrives Leicester 11.29) and returning on the 17.57 (arrives back at St. Pancras at 19.28).
PUB: The pre-match pub to meet in from 12 noon will be The Criterion at 44 Millstone Lane, LE1 5JN (map: http://tinyurl.com/ddet5k). Beer: Oakham Inferno, Bishops Farewell, guests. Good Beer Guide says: 'Two-roomed 1960s city-centre pub offering up to 10 guest ales from micro- and regional breweries at weekends. Beer festivals are held regularly. Darts and dominoes are played in the bar, Italian-style pizzas are served Tuesday to Saturday. Leicester CAMRA Pub of the Year 2006, 2007 and 2008 and regional runner-up 2007.
PLANNING AHEAD
TRAVEL secretary Matt Gray says there are cheap train tickets available for the home game against Nottingham Forest on Saturday, December 11 (going out on the usual train of 09.10 from King's Cross and returning on the 18.10 from Scunny). Matt plans to book this asap before the fares rise, so if anyone is interested, please email Matt by 9 am this Friday.
APFSCIL
THANKS to those who have already volunteered to attend an APFSCIL meeting this year.
The chairman and Dave P. will be covering next Monday's October meeting and at the moment, the rota looks like this through to January:-
October: Neil Wright & Dave Payne.
November: Steve Sumner & A.N.Other (volunteer required please!)
December: TBA.
January: Me & Brad.
Venue is the Exmouth Arms, Starcross Street, NW1, which is next to Euston station. More volunteers welcome!
DARTS
OUR first darts match of the new season should have been tonight (Wednesday) against Newcastle United in the Stamford Arms, but our opponents have pulled out so the game has unfortunately been cancelled.
Amazingly, we somehow managed to win promotion to the top division last season so will be starting life as the 'Blackpool of the APFSCIL Darts League' when the new campaign finally gets underway.
Here's a link to the final Second Division table from last season for anyone who may be interested:-
http://www.apfscil.org.uk/sports/darts_2009-10_div_2%20lr.htm
We are awaiting further updates from Captain Vaughan as to the date and venue for our next match.
UTI
Andy
September 21, 2010
MANCHESTER UNITED (home)
FOR those members who are travelling up to Glanford Park tomorrow night to watch Michael Owen's hat-trick, SULSESC will be meeting in the Honest Lawyer before the game, probably from about 5 pm, so I hope to see some of you there.
For those members unable to travel north, there is the option of getting together in the Stamford Arms in Stamford Street, SE1 to watch the match on Sky, as per John Parrott's email yesterday. If anyone is interested in doing that, please email John direct on johngparrott@gmail.com.
And for those members currently in San Diego, please check the fixtures more carefully next year before booking your holiday.
LEICESTER (away)
NEXT trip on the agenda is to Leicester a week on Saturday (October 2), so I guess we need to organise the SULSESC allocation for that one.
I've just emailed SUFC to find out what's happening with tickets for that game, seeing as there is currently no information on the official website.
However, I can't imagine it will sell out so if you would like a ticket, please email me by Monday morning (10 am) please.
We have a SULSESC train trip organised to this game, leaving St. Pancras on the 10.00 (arrives Leicester 11.29) and returning on the 17.57 (arrives back at St. Pancras at 19.28). Six members have already booked and if you would like to join them, go to the East Midlands Trains website to book.
APFSCIL
ONE thing we forgot to sort out at the AGM was the rota for the APFSCIL meetings.
The September meeting was cancelled due to the tube strike, so we got away with one there! However, the next meeting is scheduled for Monday, October 4, in the usual venue of the Exmouth Arms, Starcross Street, NW1, which is next to Euston station. Any volunteers?
I will volunteer myself and Brad for our annual January visit so that's another one covered. Get your name down now for an APFSCIL visit to avoid disappointment before every month is covered!
UTI
Andy
September 16, 2010
SWANSEA (away)
FOR those going to this Saturday's game at Swansea - which is not very many by the sound of it! - our resident SULSESC pub guide Nick Haines has suggested a boozer to meet up in (details below). I see from the emails that one or two of you are going, so I suggest anyone who wants to organise a pre-match get-together does a 'reply all' to the group email list to sound out the interest.
Nick's recommendation is: "There are two new additions to the 2011 beer guide, but like all the rest, they're in completely the wrong direction for the ground. Local pub of the year is a Wetherspoons, so moving swiftly on I'll suggest once again the Queens Hotel at Gloucester Place, SA1 1TY, down by the waterfront. Hope that helps."
MANCHESTER UNITED (home)
HOPEFULLY everyone who ordered a ticket through the SULSESC allocation has by now received it.
On the night, for those in Scunny early enough, we will be meeting in either the Honest Lawyer or Wetherspoons.
For those not going up for the game who would like to get together in central London with fellow SULSESC members to watch it live on Sky, the Stamford Arms, Stamford Street, SE1 will be the venue as usual. Even though he will be at Glanford Park, Matt Gray is coordinating this seeing as he knows the landlord, so drop Matt an email if you intend to go which will give us an idea of numbers.
LEICESTER (away): October 2
WE have a SULSESC train trip organised to this game, leaving St. Pancras on the 10.00 (arrives Leicester 11.29) and returning on the 17.57 (arrives back at St. Pancras at 19.28). Six members have already booked and if you would like to join them, go to the East Midlands Trains website to book.
LOOKING FURTHER AHEAD…
TRAVEL secretary Matt Gray has been looking at train trips for the following two games:
DERBY (away) - November 20
Matt says: "Trains to Derby are now available: going out - 10.25, gets in 12.09 (15 quid, or add a pound for first class); back - 19.01, gets in 20.34 (15 quid, or add a pound for first class). Other times are 3 quid more for a single (e.g. 18.18 back or an earlier train out at 09.55).
"I'm not sure whether I'll do this one yet, given I'll be doing 3 away trips in December, but am happy to co-ordinate and book tickets."
COVENTRY (home) - November 27
Matt has now booked a train trip for this game, going out on the 09.10 from Kings Cross and returning on the 18.18 for 22.30 quid return. Five members going at the moment, if you would like to join them, visit the East Coast trains website to book your own tickets.
KIT SPONSORSHIP
AS I'm sure you all know, we got two syndicates of SULSESC members together this season to raise the money to sponsor the shirts of two United players in memory of Ian Tremayne and Andrew Metcalfe.
In memory of Ian, we sponsored the kit of youngster Johnathan Williams and I recently received the following email from the player's father:-
"My name is John Williams and I am the father of Johnathan Williams who is a first year profesional at Scunthorpe United.
"I would like to take this opportunity to thank you for sponsoring Johnathan's home and away kits for the coming season. Your kind gesture was unexpected but nonetheless very appreciated.
"It was my intention to sponsor Johnathan myself, but my family and I really appreciate the fact that you have stepped forward and supported him in this way.
"As a consequence, I have now sponsored the shirts of three of Nigel Adkins' backroom staff. The staff in question are first team coach Ian Barraclough, assistant manager Andy Crosby ,and youth development officer Tony Daws.
"I do not know what your intentions are for Johnathan's kits when you receive them at the end of the season, but would you please consider swopping some or all of his kits for the three shirts that I have sponsored?
"We were hoping for Johnathan's kits for sentimental reasons and to be family keepsakes, so any gesture from yourselves would be greatly appreciated."
I have replied saying that we are quite happy to swap the kits at the end of the season.
UTI
Andy