Paintwork

Trips to Hazlerigg Victory 6 Newcastle Independent 0 and Gosforth Bohemian Reserves 6 Ellington 1...

With Percy Main having all these spare Saturdays in April because of how the fixtures have fallen, I realised I needed to find something else to provide my Saturday entertainment. I had hoped it would be hiding at square leg for Tynemouth 3s in Division 6 South of the Northumberland and Tyneside Cricket League, but I made a huge error on Saturday 18^th April, making myself unavailable so I could enjoy a corporate freebie in The Magpie Suite at SJP for the Bournemouth game. We all know how that turned out, though I must say the smoked salmon was divine. Meanwhile, Tynemouth 3s battered Kirkley 2s by 9 wickets in my absence and so I realised there was little prospect of being needed for the visit of Benwell and Walbottle 2s on Saturday 25^th April. As TCC won by 120 runs, I’m away in Ireland for the May Day weekend (look out for next week’s blog about the Leeside Derby between Cork City and Cobh Ramblers, as well as a trip to Limerick for Treaty United versus Wexford Youths) and Tynemouth 3s are inactive on Saturday 9^th May, my cricket experiences may be limited to say the least this season, which I’m deeply sad about.

Therefore, my attention returned to the fond task of recompleting my Northern Alliance grounds set; an activity I’d long compared to painting the Sistine Chapel ceiling. Having recently visited Wrekenton Blue Star, I was left requiring only one new team, Gateshead Borough who play at King George’s Playing Fields by the Tyne Tunnel, which is of course in South Tyneside and not Gateshead. Unfortunately, they had run out of fixtures, so that was off the agenda. I did need to do some revisits; Bedlington United at Gallagher Park, Hazlerigg Victory at Hezzy Welfare and Gosforth Bohemian Reserves at Kenton School. I’d seen all 3 of these clubs before (Bohs at Benson Park and Bullocksteads 4G, Hezzy at Great Park and Dinnington Welfare and Bedlington at Blyth Academy), but time was running out to get them in before the end of the season and maintaining my Percy Main commitments.

Normally on a Monday night, I play 6-a-side up the West Road, having done so for over 20 years, but a window of opportunity presented itself when our game was called off on Monday 20^th April on account of a few drop outs. A quick scan of the Alliance fixture list showed me that Hezzy were at home to Newcastle Independent that evening with a 6.30 kick off. I didn’t need to think twice, and, on a sunny evening, I headed off on the bus to town, catching the 44 from Haymarket to Hazlerigg. Unfortunately, I was so engrossed reading the incredible Boyhood by David Keenan (review coming in my next cultural blog), that I missed my stop and had to walk back for about 10 minutes. As you know, it wouldn’t be me if I didn’t have a slight mishap with my travel itinerary when out exploring, but I found the ground with relative ease and even had time for a quick catch up with Hazlerigg paterfamilias Mark Bullock before kick-off.

Bully is one of the most committed and hardest working figures in the grassroots game in our area. He singlehandedly runs Hezzy’s Saturday and Sunday teams, as well as overseeing the development of the club to include an Over 35s team, which I believe he sometimes turn outs for, as well as an Over 50s Walking Football team that I almost ended up playing for, but that’s another story for another time. I’ve watched Hezzy develop twice from the bottom division of the Tyneside Amateur League when I was chair, to the top flight of the Alliance, where they are currently holding their own in mid table. After a seemingly endless set of problems regarding the improvements at their home, with a new set of changers courtesy of the developers who built the swanky new homes that fringe two sides of the pitch, which has also been re-laid with added drainage, Hezzy are finally back home.

Their opponents this evening were Newcastle Independent, who also began life in the Tyneside Amateur League and have progressed to the Alliance Premier. About a year ago, it seemed if they had grand plans. Having used the 4G at Coach Lane as their home base for several seasons, they came up with the idea of moving to Kingston Park to move up to the next level. That venue doesn’t have a great track record for football teams, witness the demise of the original Blue Star who went out of existence after moving there. Presumably, the new Red Bull ownership of Newcastle Falcons union and league teams put a block on this ambitious plan and for most of this season, Newcastle Independent seem to have been itinerant lodgers at a vast array of pitches. This seems to have clearly affected their fortunes on the pitch, as they were truly awful on this occasion, despite the repeated imprecations of their tetchy, voluble keeper, whose oath-edged invective towards his team mates had a visibly deleterious effect on their self confidence and esprit de corps. Perhaps he ought to have concentrated more on his own performance, as I made him responsible for at least a couple of the numerous goals he conceded.

Hazlerigg Victory 6 Newcastle Independent 0. Make no mistake, this was an absolute hammering and a joy to see, rewarding as it did all the hard work and thousands of hours of devoted service put in by Bully. Having been seduced by the sunny afternoon, I attended in shorts and started to feel decidedly cold in the second half when the sun slipped behind the far houses. Thus I was able to leave for the bus about 5 minutes early with a clear conscience, as I didn’t want another half hour of shivering on the street waiting for the next one. The 44 took me to Haymarket and another bus took me home, with a feeling of pleasure and contentment from an evening well spent.

I mentioned Walking Football just before and I’m delighted to say I’ve got myself a team (Lemington) to play for in the Newcastle United Foundation league at Blakelaw Sports Hub on a Thursday afternoon. I must say I’m enjoying it tremendously and will blog about it when the season ends in June. Getting there by public transport involves the infrequent and unreliable 6 or 7 from the Freeman Hospital, which heads towards the Metro Centre after doing a detailed loop of the north and west of Newcastle. On one of my trips, I noticed the bus passes Kenton School, where Gosforth Bohemian Reserves have decamped, to reduce the pressure on the Benson Park pitch that remains the preserve of their first team. They are another side who were in the Tyneside Amateur League and so when I saw they were at home to Ellington on Saturday 25^th April, that was my intended destination. Another warm day and another game attended in shorts, I got the bus after cycling up to the Freeman just after 1pm, arriving half an hour later. A brief walk along Kenton Road took me to the school entrance, but the pitch is actually outside the school grounds, accessed behind a row of houses.

Having recently seen Bohs on the receiving end of an 8-0 thumping at Wrekenton Blue Star, I wasn’t holding out much hope for the quality of this game, as Ellington were below them in the table (11 v 13), but I was to be pleasantly surprised by how well Bohs played. The facilities were nothing to write home about. No refreshments, no hard standing and no toilets for the approximate attendance of 25 or so, but what do you expect from a railed school pitch I suppose. At least there were a few goals to keep me entertained.

My friend Peter Holland, experienced keeper and tremendous company, was injured in this game last year. He ruptured his Achilles and has had to retire, though he did play one game last month to ensure he appeared in 24 consecutive Alliance seasons. Well done to him. I noticed that Bohs had several other grey bearded, experienced Irish players in their ranks. Lads who know how to play the game for certain and they were the difference in this one. After a fairly frenetic opening, the game settled down when Bohs opened up a rapid 3-0 lead. A couple of tap-ins sandwiched a lovely curling finish into the bottom corner.

Ellington were not happy at the break and tried to turn things around. Despite an improved second half, it ended up 6-1 to Bohs, with fourth goal the pick of the bunch; a sublime acrobatic volley that flashed into the top corner. A solid, emphatic win and another ground ticked off. Let’s see if I can get to Bedlington United, Gateshead Borough and any new sides coming into the Alliance next year.

Wait

The 2026 cricket season has started for Tynemouth, but not for me...

At every cricket club, from the start of March onwards, there is a sense of profound anticipation in the air regarding the imminent new season. Tynemouth CC is no different, though the first item on the agenda for 2026 was the Northern finals of the ECB Indoor 6 A Side competition. Having sailed past Blyth CC in the Northumberland final, we had a bye in the North Eastern final as no Durham sides had entered. This gave us a clear passage to Northern finals, which were held at Derbyshire CC’s County Ground on Sunday March 8^th. In recognition of the distance we had to travel, Tynemouth were placed in the second semi-final against Lancashire’s representatives, Liverpool John Moores University.

The team selected consisted of Dan McGee (captain), Ben Harland (w/k), Matt Kimmitt, Joe Snowdon, Barry Stewart and George Stewart. The support was me. I was supposed to be scorer, which I’ve never done before, but a Scouse boffin with a lap top did the honours and I only had to update the scoreboard. To get there, I scrounged a lift down with Dan and Snowy, who had already done nets at South North that morning, once they’d refuelled with an enormous Wetherspoons breakfast in The Job Bulman. I didn’t partake. The journey both ways was long but not arduous and we literally spent about an hour and a half in Derby. I’ve only previously ever been there for games at the Baseball Ground and Pride Park. I don’t think I’m missing much.

Anyway, Tynemouth batted first and scored about 120, with Kimmitt, who’d benefitted from a night in his own bed as he hails from those parts, top scoring with 44*, showing the importance of a good rest before playing. Despite trying our best, Tynemouth lost by 2 wickets with an over and a half to go. A quick coffee from a local garage and we were away back up the road, getting back just in time for Call the Midwife, importantly enough.

Despite the result, I was enthused enough by exposure to the most beautiful game to show up for nets the week after. Thoroughly enjoyed it as well. Obviously I didn’t bat, but I turned my arm over. Got hit all around the place, of course, but I did manage to take the wicket of the First XI captain, which will no doubt be my season highlight. Encouragingly, the work I’ve been doing in the gym over the winter meant that kit, which was previously far too tight fitted perfectly and, most importantly, the remedial efforts I’ve been doing on my right shoulder meant I could bowl without discomfort (badly, but at least it didn’t hurt) and throw the ball overarm for the first time in possibly three years. In retrospect, I really should have gone to more nets, but getting to South North by public transport with a cricket bag for 9.30 on a Sunday morning is a nightmare.

I did make the TCC AGM. Twice. The first attempt was on the night Newcastle played Barcelona away. I arrived with the score 2-2 in an Uber from town, so we all know how things went from that point. Perhaps the scheduling could have been different, but UEFA selfishly refused to move the game at Camp Nou, and our meeting was postponed for being inquorate. It went ahead on Wednesday April 1^st, and it was a pleasure, as always, to see so many old friends and acquaintances furiously debating irrelevant minutiae. Suitably fired up, I was so much looking forward to the season, especially having shifted 2 and a bit stone and rediscovering the use of my right arm, that I paid my subs immediately and began anxiously scanning the WhatsApp group for messages regarding the forthcoming fixtures.

And then I didn’t get selected for the 3s opening game at home to Kirkley so, having initially intended to watch Gosforth Bohemian Reserves versus North Shields Athletic Reserves at Kenton School in the Alliance Division 2, I accepted a last minute corporate freebie in the Magpie Room for NUFC v Bournemouth. We all know how that went. Mind, the smoked salmon was lovely.

Incidentally TCC 3s beat Kirkley by 9 wickets, so the decision not to play me was obviously the correct one. Let’s see what next Saturday at home to Benwell & Walbottle brings.

Black to Blue

Easter Saturday; Wrekenton Blue Stsr 8 Gosforth Bohemians Reserves 0, Northern Alliance Division 2 -:

In 1933 and 1935, Ludwig Wittgenstein, the Austro-British philosopher who worked primarily in logic, philosophy of mathematics, philosophy of mind, and philosophy of language, gave a series of lectures at Cambridge University, entitled Preliminary Studies for Philosophical Investigations. These lecture notes were published in 1958 as The Blue and the Brown Books, named after the colours, chosen for the respective covers. In 1976, The Rolling Stones released their thirteenth album, Black and Blue. I bought it after loving the track Crazy Mama played by John Coulson on the Metro Radio Saturday night rock show. Although, the album’s best cut is probably Memory Motel, the most famous is the single Fool to Cry and the most infamous would be Cherry Oh Baby, execrably covered by UB40 in 1984. In 1990, That Petrol Emotion included the track Blue to Black on their fourth album, Chemicrazy. On Easter Saturday 2026, I walked down Black Lane in Eighton Banks, skirting Brown Crescent, to see Wrekenton Blue Star host Gosforth Bohemians Reserves in the Northern Alliance Division 2.

The reason I chose this fixture was partly because both Percy Main and Benfield were inactive and partly because of the need to keep up my record of having ticked off every Alliance ground. This task, as I’ve mentioned before, is the ground collecting equivalent of painting the Sistine Chapel ceiling, on account of the constantly changing membership of the league and the regular changes of home venues by constituent teams. Also, when you factor in the lack of lights at most venues, it means that from September to April, there’s no opportunity to tick off another ground, unless the fixtures fall kindly, as they did on this day. Consequently, in my 63^rd game of the season, I achieved my first Alliance tick of 2025/2026. Contrast this with my adventures in the Northern League that saw me experience new surroundings at Darlington Town, Durham United, FC Hartlepool and Grangetown Boys’ Club on midweek evenings.

Another reason for visiting this ground is that almost certainly Wrekenton Blue Star will be promoted and therefore, Percy Main will be required to play here next season. Hence, taking bus advice from my pal Neil Waite, who lives in the area, I found myself on the 28 from Eldon Square to Chester-Le-Street around 1pm on Easter Saturday. It was a quick, direct service; across the river, to Gateshead interchange, up the steep bank to the Queen Eliabeth Hospital and then across the top to Wrekenton. The ground is just beyond Wrekenton in the settlement of Eighton Bank, where the road, imaginatively called Long Bank (there’s nominative determinism writ large for you) begins a sharp descent towards the Angel of the North junction. The bus stop closest to the ground is at the end of Black Lane, leaving a 100 yard wander to today’s destination.

Arriving at the ground, I noticed facilities were basic but ideal at this level. A few shipping containers acted as changing rooms, toilets and a refreshment hut, from whence I got a coffee for the reasonable price of a quid. Like most clubs at this level, there was no entrance fee and so I took my place on the far side of the pitch, leaning against the green metal fence. Trees behind the far goal precluded ay sight of Anthony Gormley’s masterwork, sadly. A word of caution; as there’s no hard standing, I’d advise waterproof footwear in wet conditions. The rain held off on my visit, thankfully, despite regular volleys of thick dark clouds passing overhead in gusty conditions.

At kick off, Wrekenton, attired in white shirts and blue shorts, stood top of the table in Division 2. Of course one of the great imponderables in The Northern Alliance is not knowing how many teams will be promoted or relegated until after the campaign is over. Suffice to say, with the resignation of Whitburn from our division, there may be 3 teams promoted from Division 2. As there are still about 5 games left, it is difficult to predict exactly who will come up, but Wrekenton, North Sunderland (now that’s a canny trip for an early midweek kick off) and North Shields Athletic Reserves have got a 7-point cushion minimum on the chasing pack. Gosforth Bohemians Reserves, in their usual red and black, are safely in lower mid-table with 27 points, far ahead of back markers Great Park and Forest Hall, who look doomed to finish as the bottom 2.

As is often the case at this time of year, the team with nothing to play for are on a hiding to nothing. This is how it proved. A young, fast and direct Wrekenton side tore them to pieces from the very start. Despite looking reasonably well organised in midfield and potentially threatening up top, Bohs were all over the place at the back. It was 3-0 to the home side after 15 minutes when the Bohs keeper injured himself and had to be helped from the field. With no substitute custodian on the bench, an outfield player was pressed into service. He did his best, but it was 6-0 at the break and I feared an absolute landslide after the interval.

 

Thankfully, it wasn’t the case and a determined, disciplined rearguard action saw the damage limited to an 8-0 final score. Wrekenton did make and miss a lot of chances before the final, late two-goal salvo. I watched this half from in front of the shipping containers and reckoned the crowd to be about 40. All of them supporting Wrekenton I’d imagine.

At full time, I caught a deserted 28 back to Eldon Square and was in the house for the full time scores, so a successful afternoon out. I’m now left with 4 grounds I need to visit to recomplete my Alliance set. I can’t see myself getting to Bedlington United’s Gallagher Park, Gateshead Borough’s Lindisfarne Recess by the south entry to the Tyne Tunnel (the only one that wouldn’t be a revisit) or the Kenton School home of Gosforth Bohemian Reserves. However, I’m intending to take in Hazlerigg Victory against North Shields Athletic on Saturday 9^th May as Tynemouth CC 3s don’t have a game that day. If I do, you’ll be able to read about it here, I promise.