VIEW FROM THE BAR – v AFC STONEHAM 25-01-20

The View from the Bar

Art’noon. Looks like another straigtforward affair this afternoon, then. Ahem… Gulp. Just what we need when we’re battling for points down the wrong end of the table, eh, a visit from AFC Stoneham? They pipped Amesbury, Hythe and Romsey to the Division 1 title in a four-horse race last year, and have gone from strength to strength this season, looking like Alresford’s likeliest contender for the Premier League title having beaten them during their recent run of eight consecutive league wins. Impressive stuff, although they must be due an off day sometime around now, surely…?
I did consider popping over to Whippingham for the localest of local derbies on Tuesday night. Then I realised it was chuffing freezing, so I stayed in instead. Am I going soft in my old age? Most definitely. I bet a few of you went though – was it any good? The 0-4 scoreline suggests Newport overcame the disadvantage of being designated the away team without too much trouble. It’ll be interesting to see where the IWFA decide on for a neutral venue should we be paired against Newport or Vics in a Gold Cup semi this year (although having said that, I’ve undoubtedly cursed our chances and we’ll be going out at the quarter-final stage to an Island League team, like we did just about every season through the 1980s.
That’s a good point actually. I haven’t heard anything about the Gold Cup yet this year. Anyone got any news?
Speaking of the cold weather, we’ve had more than a few enquiries as to whether we’ll be getting the club scarves back in stock anytime soon. Well the answer is yes, and they’re scheduled to arrive just after the start of a heatwave that will doubtless last well into the next century. Ho ho. But yes, we will be getting some more, but not exactly sure when yet. What happened to all the ones sold so far though? You can’t all have left them on a train, like Westwood regular Andy Barding did. Or left them on the back of a chair in a pub, like my pal, erm, Andy Barding did. I think he’s still got the third one he bought, but should you happen to find one in a tree, or hanging on the back of a toilet door somewhere, it’s probably his.
Now, I know you’re all waiting with baited breath to find out what the latest additions are to the club collection. Well, whether you are or not, you’re the closest thing I’ve got to a captive audience, so… Having tracked down Cowes home programmes from every season going back to the war, bar two, you can imagine how excited I was to spot a never-before-seen programme from the 56-7 season on ebay. And with a different cover from any of our other fifties issues too. What larks! Well, I won it, of course, although it cost me a bit more than I’d like to admit (not helped by the fact it was against Boscombe A, so probably had all the Bournemouth collectors chasing it too. It didn’t help that it was part of a lot of twenty-or-so other programmes either (although they were a couple of other Cowes ones), so if you know anyone with a few quid who wants some 50s Sholing homes, or maybe some 60s-70s Gosport, send them my way. And if you’ve got a little pile of the mythical 1979-80 issue lying around, well, my birthday is coming up…
Enjoy the game.
Toby.