Football History – I Was There! Pre-Season Friendly: Sutton United Vs Leicester City – Played Tuesday July 16th – 2002 [Kick-Off 7:30 pm]! (14.6.2002)

Eventually, during the 1970s, he founded the ‘Tiverton Town Cricket Club’ (TTCB) – and for a time found fame with the antics and achievements this sporting entity achieved! I was actually researching old newspaper articles featuring ‘Peter Wyles’ who is described as the ‘Captain’, ‘Manager’ and even ‘Groundsman’ between 1975-1980! Like everything, eventually other power-bases (and egos) developed and my father quietly withdrew! This is why today all kinds of people make ‘fake’ claims to having founded ‘Tiverton Town Cricket Club’! As a young child, I used to accompany my father to the Tiverton Cricket Club Home Ground (during all kinds of weather) – situated on the outskirts of Tiverton (near the Rugby Ground) – where he used to cut the grass, ‘roll’ the ground and ‘mark-out’ the pitch! I even have memories of attending one or two ‘Home’ matches – and remember talking to the other team members (including ‘Peter Goldsworthy’ and ‘Pete Townsend’, etc). I also remember that one or two of my father’s friends in the team were attending St Luke’s Sports College (in Exeter) at the time – which meant they were of ‘Professional’ cricketing standard with no one locally realising the situation!

Battersea Park: The Central Bandstand! (27.5.2023)

The River Wandle flows for around 9 miles – and originates in the Waddon Ponds and Carshalton Ponds area – a boundary area spanning East Surrey and Southwest Greater London (the London Borough of Sutton and Cheam). The River Wandle enters the right-bank of the River Thames in the vicinity now called ‘Wandsworth’. Both the river (and the place) are probably named after a mighty Saxon Warlord named ‘Waendel’ whose clan dominated a large swathe of Southern and Eastern England! Indeed, so powerful was this man’s reputation that his name came to dominate an entire British river! 

Sutton: Our Red Flag of Freedom Out and About! (14.5.2023)

Thousands of these flags were issued to the Soviet Red Army as the Offensive upon Berlin was initiated – with each flag carrying a unique production number! This was used to trace ‘where’ and ‘when particular Soviet Red Army Units penetrated into Nazi German controlled territory! The last of the elite SS Regiments (mostly comprised of Scandinavian ‘Volunteers’) put up the most stringent of fanatical resistance – hell-bent upon proving Hitler’s theory about ‘race’ (which Hitler used to replace the theory of ‘class’ as perpetuated by Marx and Engels) was right! Of course, like Hitler himself, this theory failed miserably and the Soviet Red Army eventually triumphed over the dark forces of World Fascism!

Henry VIII: St Alban’s the Martyr Church (Cheam) – Constructed from a Nonsuch Royal Stable! (14.5.2023)

The wood used for the roof (and support beams) dates to about 1550 CE – and was originally a very large royal stable used by King Henry VIII and I am told – his daughter – Queen Elizabeth I! It was dismantled from its original site (adjacent to Nonsuch Palace) by Shipwrights – and brought to what was once a remote area of Cheam – and reassembled (with added contemporary brickwork) to form a very large Church! The wood would have been part of a royal forest cultivated in the area – grown to make ships, buildings and other required ‘royal’ structures! Therefore, the wood itself will be far older than the 1550 CE date the barn is believed to have been originally constructed! The beams are held together entirely by wooden-pegs – just as they were originally designned to be – with no ‘modern’ nails or connecting materials! Indeed, Shipwrights reconstructed this building as if they were building a wooden ship!

Sutton: Evening Walk with the Puppies! (8.5.2023)

Indeed, Sutton Council was once ‘forced’ (during the 1990s) to make a public statement to the effect that it recognised and supported the principle of multiculturalism – such was the bad reputation it had regarding accusations of bias, prejudice and blatant racism! This impression was not helped by the fact that the Met Police had also been involved in one or two high profile incidents where it faced Court actions from non-White people subjected racist Police tactics! A Chinese man had telephoned the Police to report that his shop was under siege from members of the far-right. The Police turned-up – greeting the thugs by name – and then ‘arrested’ the Chinese man (giving him a good beating whilst in the back of the van). Luckily, he as very wealthy and was able to pursue this matter in the Courts! Still, it is a lovely evening today on VE Day!

Happy International Workers’ Day! (1.5.2023)

‘In approaching a problem a Marxist should see the whole as well as the parts. A frog in a well says, “The sky is no bigger than the mouth of the well.” That is untrue, for the sky is not just the size of the mouth of the well. If it said, “A part of the sky is the size of the mouth of a well”, that would be true, for it tallies with the facts!’

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