Belper Town 1 - 0 Carlton Town

What a great way to spend a very cold Saturday afternoon!!

Belper beat the team currently in 2nd place in the division and what's more, deserved the win in a very tight game against a good side.

The photo shows Ben Walker scoring the winning goal. (Pic courtesy of Tim Harrison as usual!)

The biggest crowd of the season at the Meadow saw the match and as ever, Snapper Harrison recorded the best of the action:-

http://www.timharrisonphotography.com/NailersAction/CrltnTwnH0809/album1.html

Great work once again Tim!

The good standard of play is shown by the fact that our particular group of supporters found it hard to pick a "man of the match". Everyone played well and all contributed to the win. In the end, Ben Walker's great finish for the winner earned him the accolade

Up to 8th now with games in hand on the leaders and the poor performance against Glapwell last week (lost 4 - 0!) almost erased from the memory! Come On You Nailers!

Hope You're Having A Good Christmas.....

.... because me and the Duchess are!

Our son and daughter-in-law came over from their home in Holland to spend Christmas with us and it is really great to see them. They head back on Sunday morning so we won't be together for New Year but you can't have everything!

Anyway - whilst wandering around Sheffield on Christmas Eve, I took some pictures - this is a nice one.... hope you agree!

It's the "Dancing Fountains" in an area called the Peace Gardens, by the Town Hall in the centre of Sheffield.

And - football tomorrow - Belper v Carlton - they are 2nd in the Division and after a disastrous 0 - 4 hammering at Glapwell, it will be a tough test for Belper. A report follows!

Overheard in W H Smith today....

I promise I wasn't eavesdropping but I heard this brief exchange between a husband and wife (well I assume they were husband and wife) today whilst looking for Christmas presents in W H Smith (Imagine the Sheffield accents - it's not vital - but it's even funnier if you think "in Sheffield.")

Wife - "There's only one on 'er books there and she's read that."

Husband - "What's that one there - Cheryl Cole?"

Wife - "Dunt know if she'd read it though, it's her autobiography."

Husband (and I swear this is true) - "What's it abaht then?"

What Has Politics to do With Football?

Two instances of "outside interference" made me angry in the last couple of weeks.....

First of all - the saga of the Chris Morgan/Ian Hume incident which seems to drag on and on. Whatever your opinions, the FA's decision (which basically confirmed Morgan had not made a deliberate attempt to seriously injure another player) was made and for what it is worth, even as a Sheffield Wednesday supporter with no love for Morgan or the Blades, I happen to agree with it.

However, because a Barnsley supporting MP decides he doesn't agree, he and a couple of others from Barnsley tabled an Early Day Motion in the House of Commons, demanding that the FA be ordered to investigate the matter again. (And therfore, by suggestion, amend the decision to one he WOULD like.)

Secondly - the ongoing tale of the FA Cup replay between Droylsden and Chesterfield FC. Our local paper reported this week that a Chesterfield Counciller has written to Droylsden, suggesting they forfeit the tie because when the second abandonment occured, almost 75 minutes had been played, Chesterfield were winning 2 - 0 and coasting and therefore Droylsden would have lost anyway!

Why can't these politicians (at "junior" and "senior" levels) concentrate on the job they are paid to do - that is in the case of MP's - trying to sort out the mess the country's finances are in. A letter in our local paper suggested these people are never heard of when there is a matter like Child Protection Department failures, Health Service failures and so on, essentially because there is no self-publicity in that sort of area.

I was told many years ago that all politicians are like bananas. They start out green and straight and end up bent and yellow!

Incidentally, it was mind blowing to hear Lee "Rico Out" Richardson, the Chesterfield Manager, bleating after the second abandonment. In his opinion, the game could have continued because not all of the floodlights failed and it was unfair (and he implied, underhand) because Chesterfield were winning.

Contrast this with his comments after the first abandonment, because of fog, when Droylsden were winning 1 - 0. He said, quote. "It's unfortunate but Droylsden will just have to accept it as we would have done if we had been winning when the game was stopped." End quote! Maybe when he writes his autobiography (probably a 10-page pamphlet) he should call it "The Two Faces of Lee Richardson." Or he could become a politician of course when he gets the push at Chessie!

Plan C Worked!!!!!

Having failed in my attempts to get to the Meadowhall Mall on Tuesday - Plan C was put into place last night.

Bus from home to the City Centre then Tram down to Meadowhall, return by the same route! It worked like a dream! The Mall was busy but I didn't have to queue for anything, got the three things I went for and let public transport take the strain of getting home.

This is "Supertram!"

The transport fare structure puzzled me though! Bus from Norton to City - cost £2. Got on the tram and asked for a single to Meadowhall. "£2.10" said the lady, adding "Are you coming back on the Tram?" When I confirmed this she said - "Buy an 'All Day Saver' - it's £3.50, and will save you 70 pence!" Good Deal!

Mission accomplished, I arrived back in the city and caught a bus to Norton. I offered up £2 to the driver. "It's a quid" (that's £1 sterling for my overseas readers) sez he. "I paid £2 to get here earlier." I said. "Well", sez he "it's Thursday and it's after 7 o'clock so it's cheaper" adding, a little unnecessarily I thought "You won't get that fare tomorrow."

(I did actually tell him I wouldn't need that fare tomorrow cos I wouldn't be catching a bus! This was, I concede, perhaps a little harsh and unnecessary also but after all, he started it!)

Anyway - Job Done and I can finish off the "Bits & Pieces" shopping at my leisure over the next few days! Terrific!

This is what I Missed......

Whilst my Christmas shopping plans A & B were being thwarted on Tuesday - this is what I missed....

Belper 8 - 1 Parkhouse... Derbyshire Senior Cup 3rd Round

http://www.timharrisonphotography.com/NailersAction/PrkhseHDSC3/album1.html

Photos courtesy of Tim "Snapper" Harrison (and a damn fine set of piccies they are too!)

Won't see next Saturday's game either - my son and daughter-in law are arriving from Holland to spend Crimbo in Sheffield so I wanna be around Nortoner Towers on Saturday to greet them.

Last day at work tomorrow (Friday) - I saved some holiday days and so have two full weeks away from work to enjoy Christmas and the New Year...... Wonderful!!

Don't you just love it when a plan comes together....

The Meadowhall adventure turned into a complete farce.....

Left work at 4:30 pm - got to the Retail Park and parked up by 4:45, nipped into Hobbycraft, PC World and Toys R Us - no great rush - traffic doesn't look too bad. Took my time over a 1/4-pounder meal in MacD's and then made my way toward the Mall.

Couldn't get within a quarter of a mile of the place!

Never mind - plan B - go back to the Retail Park - give it 30 minutes - should be easier.

Plan B failed miserably - after 30 mins, traffic was even worse! Mission aborted and to cap it all - my mate Joe kept texting me the score from Belper Town's Derbyshire Senior Cup game (which I could have gone to if Xmas shopping hadn't got in the way)....... Belper won 8 - 1!

Another fine decision by Nortoner..... I hate Christmas! Bah Humbug!

Time Flies.......

...whether you're having fun or not!

Another busy week with little time to post - again. (That's my excuse and I'm sticking to it!)

The New Year is approaching and there are things like year end sales statistics and 2009 sales forecasts to be created. There is no doubt the "crunch" is beginning to bite and next year is going to be tough! Even so, I reckon that though it'll be tough - we'll get through it!

Right - pseudo-evangelical spouting stops...... you can all read enough depressing news in the papers and on TV without me adding my two pennorth. (Penerth? pennerth? penceworth?. -whatever - you know what I mean!)

I'm missing football!. Me and the Duchess haven't made the pilgrimage to Belper since the last Saturday in November. On 6th December the game was away, at Gresley, and we didn't travel, the next match, on Tuesday 9th December was postponed because of a frozen pitch and Saturday 13th was cancelled because of a waterlogged pitch!

There's another game tomorrow (16th) as Belper begin the defence of the Derbyshire Senior Cup they won last season but I'll be experiencing the delights of Christmas Shopping at Meadowhall. (Boy - do I know how to have fun or what!!)

I'll let you know the outcome of the shopping trip. Watch this space!

The Weekend was so relaxing, I forgot to post!!

Well, actually, Sunday and Monday I felt really ill - sore thoat, headache etc. and couldn't face staring at the screen. (And incidentally a note for my mate "Snapper" Harrison who commented on my last blog entry - when it comes to updating blogs regularly Tim ..."Kettle-Pot-Black" springs to mind??!!)

Saturday was a good day though! Decided to give football a miss and the Duchess and I went for a walk around a lovely little village called Ashford-in-the-Water. It's near Bakewell in Derbyshire and the Duchess told me that when she was young, the road through the village was a main route and was heavily congested. Some years ago, they built a by-pass and the main A6 road now runs around the village making it a fantastic, quiet "backwater" of a spot..

We spent maybe an hour or more there and here's some of the pictures I took to give you the "feel" of the place.

and there's more here......

http://s525.photobucket.com/albums/cc337/Nortoner_2008/Ashford%2020081206/?albumview=grid

The week just flew by.....

It's been one of "those" weeks with, sadly, no time to post!!

Monday - 1st full day back in the office after a trip - It's rumoured there's a desk under that pile of paper that has gathered in my absence.

Tuesday - all morning with Brazilian visitors on a "plant tour."

Wednesday - Late start and early finish because the car needed servicing - apart from that, a full day at the desk and some paper cleared!

Thursday - rush hour blizzard meant a 20 minute drive to work took an hour and 10 minutes (I was amazed at the "slagging off" the gritters got!! In Sheffield anyway - the slow traffic and queues were due to the fact that everybody used the main routes rather than the "rat runs". Can't expect every single inch of every street in a city this size to be gritted and ploughed!)

Friday - a day off and I'm also taking Monday as well - to make a well-earned and richly deserved long weekend. More follows as I relax into said weekend!

Belper 3 - 1 Kidsgrove

A real "game of two halves" this (Saturday) with Belper putting on a much better show in the second half. Goals from Lee Stevenson (16 for the season - how many clubs would pay good money for a goal-scoring midfielder!!) and 2 for Ben Walker sorted out another three points.

It was a cold, foggy day and I didn't take that many pictures because the fingers were so cold.

However - I'm quite pleased with this one.....

"Would the last one to leave please turn out the lights?"