Blue Square Hyphen Awards ...

... this week goes to Macclesfield Town with three:

Braham-Barrett
Barnes-Homer
Morgan-Smith

Tied for second place were Basingstoke Town (Sam-Yorke and Holder-Spooner) and our own Stalybridge Celtic (Bembo-Leta and ... err ... Bembo-Leta).

Also-rans include Cambridge United (Haynes-Brown), Luton Town (Rowe-Turner), Ebbsfleet United (Enver-Marum), Grimsby Town (John-Lewis) and Boston United (Weir-Daley).

Supplementary "Longest" Award goes to Tonbridge Angels (Sinclair-Furlonge) with a score of 16 (excluding hyphen).

Good effort ... but missing that vital punctuation mark !!!

The holiday weekend is really dragging ... !!!
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Mossley v Radcliffe Borough

 
Not one of mine - I was still posting letters when this was taken !!

It was an "above average" day on the mail-face on Saturday - s'pose that'll teach us all to have Good Friday off - so it was a 1450hrs arrival at a sunny (but still chilly) Seel Park.  Mossley were looking to continue their good league run and stay in the hunt for a play-off place (and I was hoping and praying it was not going to be an "After the Lord Mayor's Show" following the Manchester Premier Cup Final victory of Wednesday night !).

I was not disappointed - in the end it was a comfortable 2-0 victory - could have (should have ?) been more, but the bandwagon continues to roll on, with goals from Sam Madeley and a cracker from Gary Gee (the snapper was focussing on the penalty area expecting a cross - of course it swerved in at the far post and I missed it - bugger !!).  With Ramsbottom United losing, Mossley climbed up to 2nd place, but looking at the table I still reckon it's a case of "perm any 4 from 7" for the play-off places (this assumes Skelmersdale United as Champions - a fair assumption I feel !).  Pictures from the game at

Mossley 2 Radcliffe Borough 0

So - Happy Easter to one and all - and it'll be an interesting game tomorrow at Church Lane where 5th placed New Mills take on 2nd placed Mossley.  The Millers are 3 points behind Mossley ... with 5 games in hand - eek !!   Will I be there ?? I think not (shock horror) - OK I've got the day off work (as have all posties) ... and when that occurs, I always get the urge to make a day of it football-wise (because it happens so rarely !!).  Final decision to be made sometime later today/early tomorrow - but a trip down to the "old homestead" to see Stafford Rangers take on Ashton United is one option high on the list.

Other stuff from yesterday - a cracking 2-0 win for Hyde FC over FA Trophy winners Wrexham in front of a crowd of 1800+ could well have guaranteed their Conference Premier status for another season (QED) - well done to the Tigers !  The "big derby" 'twixt Droylsden and Stalybridge ended 1-1 - apparently a poor crowd (356) saw a poor game- but that's the way it goes I guess with two teams not at their best at the moment.  Incidentally, another big "Well Done" to Bish, Tweedy and the crew from Stalybridge who did a Sponsored Beer Walk from Stalybridge down to Droylsden yesterday in aid of the Celtic "Hail Ale" Fund (for a new clubhouse) - my cheque is in the post !! Ashton United ground out  a 0-0 draw at home to Frickley Athletic and neighbours Curzon Ashton contrived to lose 2-0 away at 2nd bottom Ossett Albion (another result which helps Mossley's play-off cause).

Otherwise ... today is going to be a fairly lazy one - the washing machine is already spinning away, a lamb dinner to cook this evening, and a bedroom door to fix - needs new tubular latch (should be fairly straightforward - but you never know with my DIY skills !!).  Might wander down to pick up a "Non League Paper" in the next hour or so - no doubt the "clocks going forward" will take its toll later (up at 0645hrs "old time" this morning after a late one playing with photos - aargh !).
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Good Friday ...

... and a (half) day out in Liverpool ... or to be more precise the Albert Dock area, to see the "Titanic" exhibition at the Maritime Museum ... and a wander around the dock itself ... just a few piccies 

Albert Dock - 29Mar13

Something different ...

Quick Footnote - if I'd have turned up 24 hours later I might have seen - this.  Right place - wrong time !

 
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One for the Ross Noble fans ... see the "Nobleism" DVD ...
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Manchester Premier Cup Final

Here are the words ...

MPC Final Report - from Mossleyweb

MPC Final Report - the Salford City viewpoint

... and here are the pictures ...

Manchester Premier Cup Final - 27Mar13

(We've been out tonight - hence slight delay !!)

and yes - it was yet another bloody cold night for football/snapping ... !
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Ee Ay Addio ...

... you can guess the rest ...

More tomorrow ... 'tis late !!!
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Well it Could be Worse ...

A road we often use to get down to Belper ... give it a miss this week I reckon ...

Anyway - to bed ... an early (0630hrs) start tomorrow, get the posting done and then it's off to Edgeley Park, Stockport for the Manchester Premier Cup Final 'twixt Mossley and Salford City.  Maybe this year Mossley can win it by actually playing a game !!
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Strange Saturday ...

Up at 0600hrs - out of house 0625hrs to give myself time to dig the car out and then struggled into Uppermill arriving before the mail - sorted out first lot before the message filtered through "all deliveries are suspended today" ... so we filled in some time preparing next week's junk mail unaddressed mail before the second lot of mail/parcels arrived.  Threw them in ... and then I thought "Sod it - I'm taking some stuff out - if only to make Monday's bags a bit lighter" (ooh naughty !!!) - so I did - and then I went over to Greenfield (where the "other half" of my walk is) and did the same over there (ooh naughtier !!!).  My reasoning ?? Well we've been supplied with all the right gear (snow chains etc) ... so why suspend delivery ???  I was warned that if I had an accident it would be my fault ... but that's the norm in 99% of cases in 99% of weather conditions so ...

By now of course the postponements were coming through thick and fast - and by the time I got home it was pretty much a complete white-out of non-league footy.  I mused over a trip to pub to watch Sheff United and Brentford ... but found out that was off as well !

So a Saturday afternoon doing ... not a lot ... apart from drinking tea - shock horror - oh and I also rattled off Friday night's "Manchester Evening News" cryptic crossword fairly quickly (used to do it every day on the train home in my previous employment situation - this was probably the first time in nearly three years, and it was good to see my brain is still "functioning")

Other than that ...

... and keeping an eye of what little football there is via the BBC website (note Hyde have turned round a half-time 0-1 deficit and are 2-1 upat the moment).  As mentioned earlier, we're off to Manchester to see "To Kill a Mockingbird" - apparently the complete run is a sell-out (although we're apparently not "open to offers" regarding our tickets !!).

Anyway - I've had enough tea ... might just try a small shandy whilst listening to the last few minutes of the Hereford/Hyde game (courtesy BBC Hereford & Worcester) ...
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Another Friday Night ...

... and Ingerlund can only muster 8 (eight) against the might of San Marino- watched it down at the pub as I already reckon there'll be nowt local to watch tomorrow - the "Captain Oates" weather continues this evening, and is set to continue overnight and throughout Saturday - so a "pass out" was obtained !!!

An "apres-work" beer today - outside the "Railway" in Greenfield (pic from phone !)


Oh yes .. as a follow-up to this quirky post  ref strange goalscoring names ... last night in the Conference Premier, Braintree Town drew 2-2 against Nuneaton Town.  The Braintree goals were scored by ... Marks and Sparkes ...

Got the call during today's blizzard - "Can you come in early doors tomorrow ??" - why not ?? So it's an 0645hrs start in the morning ...
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OK I Lied ...

... about the weather ... getting ready to go out into hell - as in gale force winds and snow ... wish me luck ...

(with apologies to the late Captain Oates ...)

Weather ...

... still pants - and it ain't looking much better over the next few days - although stories of "real" snow are probably a little off course.

Those bloody gloves are going to have to hang in there for a while longer ... unless ... I break out the "emergency pair" - which were actually a Christmas pressie from one of my customer's kiddies (2 years old) - he always comes to the door and say "have we got any parcels ??" - I gave him an RM baseball cap for Christmas cus I'm a nice postie ... witness the gloves ...

... and yes I always wear them when attending said house - hence no holes etc !!!

Meanwhile - it's been like bloody Christmas these last few days - parcels, packets call them what you like - it's been crazy !!  Add to that a stupid amount of door-to-doors (4 off - which take up so much room in the bag - madness).  Never mind ... next week we have the Council Tax bills going to every bloody house - aargh !
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A bit of a Catch-Up ...

... well it's been all pics and no words ... but then again - "If a picture paints a thousand words ..." (courtesy David Gates/Bread !!).

So ... weather ... still bloody awful (in fact today was apparently the first day of spring - so yes more wind-chill more rainy/sleety stuff).  Urgently need this weather to buck up - for the following reason ...

Not only the gloves falling apart - see state of top of right thumb !!!

Weather for next few days looking no better though - aargh !!

Anyway - stepping back a few days ... appointment @ Doctors last Thursday - follow-up was today (taking blood samples to check out "old man's stuff" - i.e. PSA levels - Google prostate - and be thankful that DRE was not invoked - I was !!!).  Friday was ... Friday (as in Mrs Smiffy saying "huzzah - weekend !!" and me saying "not for another 24 hours !!!").  Saturday wasn't too bad work-wise - although weather was still "aargh !" - but I made it to Ashton United with minutes to spare (yep - not even time for a pre-match shandy).  Home side started well and took an early lead when Aaron Burns' free-kick eluded everyone.  However - Ashton caught extremely cold from the restart and Rushall duly equalised.  All of a sudden it was 3-1 to the visitors when a combination of good luck and a little slack defending etc etc etc ... could have been 4-1 had it not been for Paul Phillips saving a penalty.  Second half was an improvement mind - but it took a while for the Ashton second goal to arrive.  There were chances at both ends but I have to say the better team got there in the end - pictures as in earlier thread.

Out of Hurst Cross - and straight off to Rochdale - a sort of celebration as one of our mates has finally decided to kick work into touch and become a "retiree" - much food (home-made mezes and kebabs) and drink - plus a silly game ("Cranium").  Following a good kip ... still crummy weather on Sunday morning, so we went for the "quirky museum" option ... the "Slipper/Shoe Museum" in Rawtenstall to be exact - OK, so it's probably a bit of an afterthought to the actual Mill Shop to be honest, but something different nevertheless.  Tea (coq au vin), sleep, then back out into the cold for work - home to warm for a bit before heading down to "Ice Station Zebra" as the Tameside Stadium is known to some - well me anyway - to watch Curzon Ashton continue their charge towards the play-off with a fairly comfortable (in the end anyway) 3-1 win over Salford City - again pics meantioned earlier.  That was ONE cold night !

It was good to see Mossley continue their recent revival last night with a 4-0 win at Goole - I say say "good to see", but meaning "good to note" if you want to be pedantic - because I didn't go !!  What with Ramsbottom only drawing we now see Mossley in 3rd place and Curzon Ashton 4th - now that would be some play-off semi final !  A bit too early to call yet though - 8 games left for each of them, and a few more for the teams around them (Rammy, New Mills, Trafford) - can't really look beyond Skelmersdale for the title though - 14 points ahead at the moment, it would take a slump of unbelievable proportions to see them blow it.

Nice also ... received a copy of last week's Solihull Moors v FC Halifax Town programme, featuring a few of my pics from Solihull's 3-0 vitory at Stalybridge Celtic a couple of weeks ago - one "slight" typo inside (calling me Mark Smith - oops !), but looked good anyway (also included was a copy of the local sports paper's back page with yet another "one of mine" !!).  A little more for the old portfolio !!

This weekend - Mossley v Harrogate RA - followed by a trip down to the Royal Exchange Theatre Manchester to see "To Kill a Mockingbird" - now I've never been one much for fiction, but this was our set text for "O" Level English Literature back in the mists of time (1973 to be exact !), and as such it IS a book that I know back to front - it'll be interesting to see how it comes out on stage, especially as it is a "theatre in the round".   But first ... a few more days out in the cold / maybe wet / maybe snow even (honest - I've looked at the weather !!) - and hopefully no problems with the weekend footy.
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Curzon Ashton v Salford City ...

... the finished articles (?!?!?) now up and running at

Curzon Ashton 3 Salford City 1

Words to come - and yes I know I'm several days behind !!!
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Curzon Ashton v Salford City - draft ...

OK not draft really ... but I'm getting so far behind with words, whilst attempting to keep up with pictures ... here's the "best efforts" on the 3 Curzon goals tonight ...

1-0 - Kris Dennis

2-1 - Matty Purcell

3-1 - Kris Dennis penalty ...

Faithfully promise a full "catch-up" on the weekend tomorrow - plus some more pics from the Curzon game ...
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Ashton United v Rushall Olympic ...

Some pictures for now ...

Ashton United 2 Rushall Olympic 3

... we've been away since 1700 yesterday ... and there's stuff to be done first ...


Back later.
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Stalybridge Celtic v Northwich Vics ...

... in the Cheshire Senior Cup Semi-Final ...

Well - once I'd got the nod that the Mossley v Farsley game was off - only one other option ... and it's a good job me and some other bugger turned up - otherwise the attendance would have been 99.  Even so ... 101 is pathetic - especially when everyone's (well a good proportion) favourites weren't on the telly.  I guess there are obviously loads of closet Barca fans out there - either that or this idea of "gritty Northerners" is actually a myth.  You have to remember that last night was tropical compared to 24 hours earlier as well (even I only needed one pair of gloves last night).  OK so there's loads of "ructions" in the Stalybridge camp at the moment (check out the message board), but it's a cup semi-final for Frith's sake !!!

So what did the stayaways miss ??? A comfy 3-0 win for the home side allegedly in turmoil against a (for me) surprisingly sterile opposition (who'd won 6 of their last 8 games - including a 10-0 hammering of Hapless Hucknall Town).  Two first half strikes from Tom Buckley and a third late on (after some serious penalty area ping-pong) took Celtic through to the final to play ... well we'll find out later this evening (Chester FC v Witton Albion tonight) at a venue of which I am not aware (might have been mentioned in last night's prog - but I can't afford such luxuries).  Following on from last night's early pics ... the rest are here ...

Stalybridge Celtic 3 Northwich Victoria 0 (CSC Sem-Final)

Glad I went for it anyway - tonight's other midweek option (Ashton U v Matlock T) is frozen off.

Fairly warm today at work - livened up by some seriously childish rowing 'twixt certain posties (+ one manager) early doors today - comforting (in my mind) that I just can't be *rsed to get involved with office politics too much these days (I just went outside for a fag !!) - but if any of them want my opinion in the morning ... they'll ALL get some serious flak !!

Now ... to tellyland (i.e. "Lightfields") ...
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Quick three from tonight ...

... at a cold - but not THAT cold (we're talking "Postie Relativity")  - Stalybridge Celtic v Northwich Vics ...


1-0 - Tom Buckley

2-0 - Buckley again

3-0 - Corey Gregory

Promise more - and better - tomorrow (I'm quite pleased with the "rough-cut" of goal number two !!)
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Mossley OFF ... Stalybridge ON ...

... so it's off to Bower Fold we go - after cooking a Thai Pork Curry - so I'd better get on with it !!!
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Gourmet Monday ...

... following an effing cold day at the mail-face ... bloody cold wind (oh yes that wind-chill factor is alive and sub-zero up our end), snow flurries (ironically when the sun was brightly shining at times !!!) - and loads of Door-to-Doors (you call it junk mail ?? RM call it "live mail" ... but on the other hand they say "Mail is down" - not convinced ... as are some of my 10+ years co-workers).

No ... tonight's title comes from me munching on some Y Fenni cheese (my absolute fave) whilst roasting a joint of beef won in the "Britannia Meat Draw" yesterday afternoon - to be used for cold meat butties all week, whilst also keeping an eye on the jambalaya bubbling away on the stove (OK I've took my eye off it while tapping this out but ...) - and yes I've got my cooking apron on - together with Be-Bop Deluxe on the music machine !!!

Weather is certainly going to be a damper on football this week - we've Mossley at home tomorrow (against Farsley FC) - if that fails there's Stalybridge Celtic at home tomorrow night (against Northwich Vics in the Cheshire Senior Cup) - if that fails there's Ashton United v Matlock Town on Wednesday night.  If that fails ... 
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Mossley v Trafford

... well ... who would have expected that ??  Certainly not me - and many others too I reckon.  Half-time - Mossley 2-0 down playing against 10 men.  I remarked in the club how I couldn't see Mossley scoring if they played all night.  even following the dismissal of our old friend Melford Knight on the half-hour, Mossley huffed and puffed and were getting absolutely nowhere.

However there was obviously something added to the half-time cuppa as it became 2-1 before I'd even got out of the Social Club (curses - part 1 !!!).  Chris Denham then brought the home team level before scoring the winner with 15 minutes left (again photographer absent due to call of nature - curses part 2 !!).  Another bitterly cold afternoon (my excuses for a delayed Social Club departure --- and the call of nature !!) but a welcome win for the home team which may well re-ignite the play-off aspirations - especially when looking at some of yesterday's other results - OK, Curzon and Clitheroe both won, but ... Ramsbottom lose, New Mills lose, Trafford lose (!), Skelmersdale draw.  I reckon there's now eight teams fighting for the top five places - down to and including Cammell Laird who yesterday won 1-0 in front of attendance of ... 31 (thirty one) allegedly (surely a misprunt) !!!! 

Some pictures from yesterday (excluding some goals !!!) at

Mossley 3 Trafford 2

Meanwhile elsewhere - it's all doom and gloom in the Conference, with Hyde slipping back into the relegation zone, Droylsden still firmly anchored in the relegation zone and Stalybridge Celtic slipping further towards same (the knives are really out for Manager Jim Harvey on their Message Board as well !!).  Ashton United got a useful point away at play-off chasing Marine ... oh and  "daarn saaarth", Belper Town thumped secon-placed Stamford 4-0 to do their play-pff aspirations no harm at all.

Weather is looking very iffy over the next few days with snow and sub-zero evenings forecast (get the frost covers on !!!).  Guess we'll have to wait and see ...
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... and you're looking for football ....

...but not yet ...

food stuff first.

Friday night ... cooked by me for others ... Mackerel Fillets in a "citrus salad" ..

And tonight ... while the wife's away ... steak and chips (with wholegrain mustard mind !!!)


Football soonest - promise ....