My Addiction To Bloody Twitter...

Simple question realy but one i feel very difficult to answer..140 characters or dolly mixtures will certainly never be enough to sum up anyones addiction to Twattin Twitter..Bet you're wondering why i said "dolly mixtures" now...i shall explain in a short while.

ADDICTION yes quite a scary word and one so many of us readily throw away and say "no not me..i'm alright jack..no addiction worries here". Taking a deeper look we all have addictions of one form or another, some are addicted to narcotics some coronation street, some even addicted to themselves..
Each to their own i say..choose your vice and enjoy..if kept under control a great deal of pleasure can be drawn from it..

My addiction of late has been Twitter..over 2000 tweets in less than a month kinda speaks for itself..Why am i calling this an addiction..??? well in my eyes i feel i've let twitter take control of my everyday life..i feel compelled to tweet my every move, then when replies come flooding back "@" i quite rightly reply as promptly as possible..this seems to then spark conversation through cyberspace and so a friendship is cemented..nowt wrong with being polite and replying i hear you say..and rightly so, there is nowt wrong with it at all..HOWEVER this i feel is where the addiction is born..twitter has become more of a social meeting place in the past year..TIMELINES are now filled with chatter instead of what i think twitter was designed for "SHARING LINKS AND INFORMATION WITHIN YOUR NETWORK" , yes this little "@" is crucial to the sharing process, as is the #HashTag .

Getting back to my problem and the problem of many i'm sure..having a compatable phone armed with alerts relating to your twitter activity are a bloody nightmare..yes a useful tool to many..as soon as that phone bleeps you grab it and check alerts..bit like a kid opening christmas presents..you never know what it is but deep down you hope its good...i'm betting you're all nodding your heads now..YES..???

The urge to tweet is at times for me gripping..i can be in a situation a place or even in the bath..all of a sudden a thought comes through..next problem obviously is SHRINKING it to under 140 characters..few moments later its zapped out into cyberspace for followers and beyond to see..then the process starts..replies replies replies to attend to and still you are yet to wash your hair..This is my take on twitter taking over our everyday lives and interfering in the most basic of functions..how many times have you seen the tweet "been dying to go for a pee ?" ...Bloody crazy when you think of it and something i'm sure medical experts are keeping a very close eye on..could this be the next thing you go to your doctor with ???
I'm sure if i went to my doc and said "doc i think im cracking up, i'm a twitter addict" he would likely ROTFL OR PHSL..my doc always laughs at me..its true, why is a private matter but i will just say my humour and positive outlook on life always raises a giggle or at the very least a smile from him...

So as much as i see i have a problem and realise my addiction to twitter has been way out of hand i'm doing this my way and restricting my use of twitter to only a few tweets a day..mainly out of courtesy to the person  using the dreaded "@" and to using it for what i want to share..rather than what i want to say..i'm sure you understand where i'm coming from on this..Crazy thing is i'm putting it down in words to share on twitter.

DOLLY MIXTURES..yes they are quite addictive..just like the people who use twitter..Some are simply a delight..some are somewhat green and a bit too soft..some are bloody awful and tasteless..NOW as for the sugar coated ones..they are the ones best avoided..totally fake..totally pathetic and totally sad lonely individuals who maybe need to read this blog to see where their lives are heading..
                                                     

                                                                   "ARE YOU ???"

                                   

The Oldest Football Club in Norfolk..

Formed in 1897 , Great Yarmouth Town Fc holds a special place in my heart, as you've seen from my previous blogs about my adventures through the world of football..Great yarmouth has been my home town for over 20 years now and as such i've always enjoyed getting along to the wellesley to see the Bloaters..Unlike many football fans who show loyalty to one club, i feel getting behind your local team no matter where you are in the world not only helps that club, but also helps broaden your knowledge of the game as a whole..
Many a cold rainy afternoon and evening i've spent down at the wellesley, even when i've been totally skint i've made a point of getting along at half time (no entrance charge) just to see how things are going..

In the early days of me supporting the club there was a good friendly vibe around the place, something i liked as i was struggling to find my feet in my new adopted town..As time moved along, i felt i was a part of the club and i'd often have a chat with the then chairman Colin Smith who in later years became a neighbour . Its always nice to feel accepted and a brief chat from a friendly face goes a long way to cementing loyalty further.
Crowds at the club were quite decent, and often topped 150, pretty good at that level and you'd always find a fair few visiting supporters attending games..Highlights of the season were visits from local rivals Gorleston Fc, just over the river on what my mate ian calls the posh side..Then of course the visit of Lowestoft Town Fc from over the border in suffolk with their very passionate support..

Jumping forward a few years i'd like to mention some of the players i've seen down at the wellesley..on the local front there is of course the ex norwich city and rangers player Disco Dale Gordon and Greg Downs from coventry city who have put in shifts in the black and amber shirt..Stuart Roach and Scotty Mcintosh were particular favourites of mine bagging goals for fun..The legend Mark Vincent who could have easily made it as a pro in the game, but chose to stay loyal to the club playing well over 600 games and nicely rewarded with 2 testimonial games against the upcoming rushden & diamonds and barry frys peterborough united..i could rattle off quite a few names that have impressed me over the years..

A recent initiative which i was involved in with the club was to establish a supporters association to help raise awareness of the club in the community and to bring more people through the gates..Sadly this initiative has fallen on its face now..there is established support for the club and a core support of approx 70 who turn out for most home games..Trying to build support is a HUGE task for the club..there are potential customers out there..its just getting them to walk through the gates and spend a couple of hours at the wellesley..

There was a few years ago a very vocal youth element supporting the club "The Yarmybarmyarmy" who gave vocal support at each home game, and travelled to away games too..Sadly this small group of fans blotted their copy book with the club, and were ejected from a game at norwich city fc for breaching club security regulations and failing to sit down in a stadium that was nearly empty...all very harsh on them realy, as anyone who visits carrow road will witness many in the barclay terrace standing for the full 90 minutes as well as visiting fans standing in the jarrold stand..

So here we are in 2011 and news reached me from the new chairman, that Paul Tong (1st team manager) has left the club..All a bit out of the blue and very sad..Life must go on at our local club, there is a big task ahead on tuesday night versus norfolk rivals Dereham Town..i do hope the game is attended by at least 100 supporters tomorrow night..This old norfolk club realy does deserve better from the locals..yes there are numerous factors stopping fans coming along..however i truly believe there would be a massive outcry if this club was allowed to die from locals both sides of the river yare..

My only hope is that this blog will find its way to football fans who realy do care about the game and if by chance you are a resident of the borough of great yarmouth..please get along to the wellesley and support the club..There is always a friendly welcome and i'm sure once you're bitten by the bug as i was many years ago..you'll love it and your veins will have a few pints of amber and black blood flowing through them.

The Captain.....

                 Captain sensible back in the 80's appearing on top of the pops..

Berchem Sport (antwerp-belgium)

                                BERCHEM SPORT PHOTOGRAPHS THROUGH THE YEARS

Time For The Shit To Hit The Fan In More Than 140 Characters...

Today is the day i'm going to "vent my spleen" about my favourite pastime #Twitter..Before i kick off i'd like to say the vast majority of people i communicate with on twitter are very polite and worthy of the odd conversation from time to time..Like most users on there i have my particular favourites..the ones who take the time to say hello out of the blue..the ones i may have met and consider friends, and the ones who tweet bloody great tweets with links to amazing things.


#FOLLOWFRIDAY

Something i do enjoy about twitter is helping users to increase their following..See without followers their tweets are lost in cyberspace..worthless pieces of cybertrash that nobody ever notices..
NOW all this following lark has gone a bit silly lately.."i wont follow you because you're friends with him..if you dont followback i wont follow you..and on and on and on".....incessant BULLSHIT..surely you follow what you want..who you want and when you want..NO CUNT tells me who to follow..i may see the odd followfriday and follow someone if they have similar interests or are good value in the comedy stakes..However i wont follow someone because someone says he or she is funny because they wrote "VAGINA" on my photo of a mashed up watermelon on twitpic..

Out of all the people on twitter i follow..i can honestly say "hand on heart" the funniest fuckers out of all of them are Paul Saxton from Norwich and his mate Andy (foolfromthehill)..now thier podcasts are simply pure entertainment..brought raw like a pound of liver and turned into a warm hearty platefull of delicious goodness  with lashings of gravy to dip your bread into..I CANT WORK OUT HOW TO ADD THE LINK TO THEIR PODCAST ON THIS BLOG, so you'll just have to google the paul and andy podcast for yourselves and listen..

The numbers game REALY DOES GET MY GOAT..i see loads on twitter realy pushing hard to gain more followers and look impressive with the odd few thousand followers..however, take a read of their timeline and you find..a dull boring bastard who tweets nothing but shite or spends all day chatting to some trollope from outer mongolia..YES THERE ARE SAD PEOPLE USING TWITTER...very sad, so much so, if they read back what they tweet sometimes, and thought a little more..perhaps the broadcasting for followers wouldn't be needed and the merits of great TWEETS would gain more followers instead..USE YOUR FUCKING BRAINS YOU IDIOTS.

Summed up, i've fallen into all the above traps on twitter..i've learned the ropes taken the hits and finally i can say with confidence i am fully fledged and versed on the psychology and sociology gently combined to make twitter a great great site..
CELEBS WILL BE CELEBS..spammers will be spammers..normal folk will just be normal..AS FOR ME..!! well i'll just continue being me..love me or hate me i'll always try to bring a smile a day and tell it how it is..TRUST me i often delete a lot of tweets before hitting the tweet button..i see a lot of shit and i get the urge to hammer the person on the other end with loads of verbal..However because i believe in free speech and the freedom of expression.."i dont"..ITS A HUMAN THE OTHER SIDE OF THAT @ ON TWITTER..AND EACH MUST BE TREAT WITH A DEGREE OF  RESPECT..

From The Victoria Ground To Berchem & Back...(Part 3)

Murton colliery welfare fc (AFC Murton)..

As i've mentioned in my previous blogs, my education into learning about the beautiful game has taken a lot of twists and turns..one such turn was in the late 70's early 80's..my grandparents lived in the coal mining village of murton in county durham most of their lives..A very friendly place where a warm welcome is met with a smile and a nice strong cup of tea..its hard to put over in words what this place is about..but if you think of the tv series that featured ROYSTON VASEY and blend it in with some of where the heart is with characters similar to last of the summer wine, you'll be somewhere close..!!!

Very often when staying at my grandparents house on the east moor estate (wembley as it was known to locals) i'd be wrapped up and packed off with a flask of hot tea and a few pence in my pocket to the recreation sports ground..it was quite a treck over 2 fields,down a dirty muddy track past the bus depot and into the ground..
There was nothing special about the place..it was quite ramshacked and the old stand was just about on its last legs..i remember a shed you could get into at half time to shelter from the biting cold wind from the north sea..a lovely old lady used to serve up hot drinks and i'd find a corner and pour myself a welcome hot cup of tea..One game does stick out in my memory..simply because murton were playing sunderland reserves..one player who stood out above all others was shaun elliot..a giant of a man who was later to become captain of the rokerites..i'm not sure why murton were playing sunderland reserves that freezing cold day but i'm sure theres an answer out there somewhere in cyberspace..
I'd happily stand watching games..watching players and how they controlled the ball, passed it short and long..little tricks and how to tackle..all reproduced the following day in the street or on the waste ground nearby..

Returning to my nana's freezing cold after a game i'd ask her for the football scores..all noted neatly down the side of the journal..she'd be very happy if her beloved sunland as she called them won..but in a matter of seconds would be saying "my poor little hartlepool" lost again..a wave of her magic wand and food was there..hot steaming platefulls of whatever and a nice strong cup of tea and piles of bread and butter..

Topic of conversation was usually football and she'd get round to asking what the score was at the game i'd attended..thing was she knew already..canny folk these murton folk..the word on anything spread through the village at lightening speed..it was like my nana had a radar and knew every thing and every move people made..no need for mobile phones in those days..the grapevine did just fine.

I'm pretty much out of touch with things in murton these days..i do have an auntie there and a couple of cousins but time has moved on and the only real communication is via christmas cards..i remember a story many years ago featured on some BBC programme about how afc murton had serious problems at their ground..amazingly a hole had appeared in the pitch, and below was a huge hole leading to old mine workings..i shall do a little googling to catch up on whats what up there..though before even looking i fear the picture is a sad one for afc murton along with many grass roots teams in the non-league pyramid..

Thought i'd include the above video from prefab sprout into this blog..it has some stunning photos and a catchy tune..it also helps bring this part of my series of blogs nicely together..

From The Victoria Ground To Berchem & Back.......(Part 2)

Boro Boys We Are Here..

Moving on from excitement and scary experience of my first visit to ayresome park..i soon became a regular in the east stand with my dad and or his mate paul (a boro nut from birth).
Now living in linthorpe, just a stones throw from ayresome, we'd set off calling at drews sweet shop on st barnabas road for a quarter of midget gems, before taking our seats with the boro faithful in the stand..
One thing that i realy loved was the teams running out to the fanfare of "THE POWER GAME" a rousing tune that realy set the atmosphere and got the vocal holgate end into voice with loads of "come on boro's and the unique hymn of "we are the ayresome angels....."

Under the reign of manager john neal boro were becoming quite a force in the first division..a team of vast experience with local youth blended in..many of the younger players moved on to bigger stages in those days..i remember david mills heading off to west brom for half a million pounds..a massive sum in those days..then greats like darren wood and tony mc andrew heading south to chelsea..BIGGEST  heartbreak was the departure of david hodgson to liverpool along with "SKIPPY" craig johnstone..then the now boro coach heading to the trent to join boro legend brian clough at nottingham forest.

Although sad at the time to see these players go..there always seemed to be a new favourite coming in to stir the passions of the faithful..many greats like bosco jankovic..heine otto..and my all time favourite TERRY COCHRANE came to ayresome and were worshipped like gods..

Pictured above TERRY COCHRANE arrived on teesside from turf moor burnley..SOCKS PULLED UP here , he would often have them round his ankles,ball at his feet and jinking and dribbling down the wing on another boro attack...his trademark step-over would send many a full back the wrong way, leaving him clear  to cross for the oncoming forwards to slam the ball in the back of the net..

Zoom forward a few years and supporting the boro was becoming a chore, rather than a pleasure..things were getting bad on the pitch and crowds were down to a meagre 4000...i was now becoming a regular in the holgate terrace with my mates, with the odd time venturing into the south stand terrace to taunt the visiting fans..
Talking of visiting fans..it must have been quite an experience for many a hardy fan to come to ayresome..the atmosphere was always hostile towards them, and a punch up very often on the agenda..
This was the era of the casual..the trendy "JOEYS" in their designer sportswear..i cant honestly remember when it all started at boro as violence before during and after games was all very normal from my first visit in the 70's.
Numbering at least 300, these lads would take their seats in the east stand or south stand and cheer on the boro while keeping an eye on visitors like a lion stalking its next meal..

I dont want to focus on the hooligan element too much..but it was part and parcel of supporting the club, and loyalty and respect was gained from standing your ground..backing up your mates and never running from anyone..its only since i started using the internet a few years ago, i realised the boro crew name was the frontline..To me it was just the boro lads..some mentioned the beer belly crew and others the boro battle crew..most of these people i knew..i'd grown up with them so to speak and the ones i didnt were soon to become known to all..NOBODY ever handed out membership cards..you just went to the games and if trouble broke out, it was get stuck in and get away from the bobbies before you got lifted..many times i'd get home with a bust nose,ripped clothes and yet another tongue lashing from my mam..
This just went over my head..the next game was just around the corner and the buzz from getting to ayresome park with my mates was becoming addictive..

If boro were away i'd often be found at hartlepool watching my first football passion the not so mighty pools (back then)..my dad was working in aberdeen in the oil industry so i'd also get the odd call from him that i'd be able to fly up north to see him and the dons of aberdeen..all exciting stuff for a young lad growing up in the boro , and the envy of my a lot of my mates.
Taking in a couple of cup finals and a few games, aberdeen were quite a force in the 80's and were to be respected all over europe..
Zooming back a bit and not forgetting my education into the beautiful game..i shall share with you my visits to the tiny murton fc in what was then the wearside league on my next installment..oh and so much more from teesside to the back streets of lowestoft..

From The Victoria Ground to Club Berchem & back...(part 1)

Let me take you on a journey through the tough streets of hartlepool to the first football game i ever attended..Sadly i don't have a programme from the game but do remember me and my dad getting on the bus at peterlee and heading off on the short journey to THE VICTORIA GROUND..
It was quite an adventure for me and i remember it all very well..the opposition was stockport county and we sat in the old wooden stand on clarence road..the game itself is a bit of a blur but i remember we won 3-0 and there was a penalty..this stands out in my mind because my dad told me i had to reel off the scorers and the penalty taker when we got home to mam..alas that bit is well faded in my memory.

Next stop i remember on my voyage through football was to roker park to see sunderland take on cardiff city..this became quite a memorable game as shortly afterwards i was hit with meningitis and rushed to hospital and then to the old isolation hospital in sunderland which i believe was the havelock or something similar..

Anyway now fully recovered and back to my family..we moved to antwerp,belgium as my dad was employed there within the oil industry..

Living in the area of antwerp called berchem..the local team was kv berchem sport and my dads mate mike kear was a full time pro for them..in fact as you'll see from the video, he was the first full time pro..
Now the unusual thing back then was that games were played on a sunday..so off we'd set up our street and  along to the stadium which was not too far away..first memories were of lots of colour when entering the stadium (black & yellow) , flags scarves and fans with claxons making a right racket..second memory was the hot-dogs..omg these were the real deal and served up with mustard..something i'd never tasted before but loved from the first bite..

Anyway we took our places in the stand and waited for "uncle mike" to come out with the other players..all exciting stuff for a 6 year old..the game has faded once again into memory but the sights and smells still linger.

We often went down to see berchem sport and it was a great family day out for us..also my dad took me a few times to see near neighbours royal antwerp..now this was special..a huge stadium and the noise was deafening with the fans singing and dancing right through the whole game.

After a couple of years living in antwerp,we moved back to the north-east and the hustle and bustle of middlesbrough..Good thing was we lived in the then dragonara hotel (ladbrokes) for about a year untill my parents found a suitable home for us in linthorpe.

One amazing story i must share was when the mighty liverpool stayed at the hotel prior to playing the boro the day after..i remember all the stars and got autographs and pats on the head from them all and the manager bob paisley (if only we'd had camera phones back then and facebook or twitter)..also with the team was jimmy tarbuck the scouse comedian whose incessant laughter scared the life out of me..

Next day me and my dad set off to ayresome to se the boro play the mighty liverpool..the result was 1-1 and to be honest i was terrified..lots of  drunken blokes fighting and pushing around us...still that was something i had to get used to quickly because middlesbrough was and still is one of the toughest towns in britain...

Didn't We Have A Lovely Time..

A DUTCH PROVERB...

                               "Even if a monkey wears a gold ring, it is and remains an ugly creature"