Sunday Afternoon.....

... and I should be outside cutting yet another privet hedge but to be honest - the weather don't look too great and that's all the excuse I need!

We went to watch Belper Town v Holbrook MW in the FA Cup Preliminary round yesterday, expecting an easy win over a team who are 2 or 3 leagues below Belper. As is so often the case in the FA Cup - it didn't happen and the game finished at 1 - 1. Not a classic by any means and Belper will need to up their performance in the replay on Tuesday evening.

The Holbrook keeper makes a good save to deny Belper late in the game.

The rest of my album from this game is here:

http://nortoner09.jalbum.net/Belper%201%20-%201%20Holbrook%20FA%20Cup/

...... and Snapper Harrison's pictures are here:

http://www.timharrisonphotography.com/NailersAction/HlbrkMW0910HFAC/index.html

After 24 hours to reflect on the game, I guess that whilst this wasn't the greatest performance I've ever seen from a Belper side, the only thing which was really missing was the finishing. Improve that and the replay should be no problem.

Monday morning and work are looming again but the atmosphere is a bit better after a couple of weeks where we've managed to pull in a few orders. The 2nd week of September is a scheduled plant shutdown week anyway so we've bought a bit of breathing space if nothing else.

During the shutdown, we usually carry out plant maintenance work and so forth but all of the office staff are off for the week - except me.... I will be working (well, actually, just popping into the office for a couple of hours) Monday to Thursday to check e-mails and faxes etc. Just in case any new work comes in!

It also looks like my son and his wife are coming over from Holland that week for a short holiday - they plan to spend a couple of days in Wales before popping up to Sheffield to visit us. Looking forward to that!!

Anyway - nothing else to update you with (we didn't win the Lotto last night.... not even a tenner) so I'll leave you in peace. Enjoy what's left of Sunday!

I'm Feeling a Little Bit Pleased with myself!

Went to watch Belper Town draw 1 - 1 with Grantham on Tuesday evening. The draw was disappointing. In fact - the whole match was a bit disappointing - scrappy for the most part with the odd bit of good football played here and there. I didn't take the camera (decided I fancied just watching a game normally for a change rather than through the lens!) Have a look at Snappers album here:

http://www.timharrisonphotography.com/NailersAction/Grnthm0910H/index.html

However - even though I didn't take the camera, the reason I'm a bit pleased is actually photography related! On Saturday, I'd been to the reserves game and put an album of about 30 of the best pics on the Belper Forum. This one was included:

The "subject" player is Will Harcourt, younger brother of first team regular Mick Harcourt and I have to admit, I thought it wasn't a bad "snap" at all.

Anyway - at the match Tuesday, Will's parents showed me an 8 x 10 print they've had made of it because whilst they have several good pictures of Mick in action they have nothing really of Will! They asked if I minded and I said of course I didn't mind - in fact I take it as a massive compliment!

Apparently the photo will hang in the downstairs "loo" along with pictures of Mick. Then I thought about it - people like my pictures so much they hang them in the bog!!!!! Hahaha!!

FA Cup Prelim round on Saturday and a local derby against Holbrook MW - a team from 3 leagues below Belper. They are sure to be up for it as, I am sure, will Belper. Should be a good game.

Oh Yeah...

.... and we won a tenner on the National Lottery Saturday night!

That Was The Week(end) That Was

Sunday evening already. Back to work in the morning..... Dammit!!

Had a good weekend though! Saturday afternoon - watched Belepr Reserves lose 1 - 2 to Carlton Town Reserves but it was a good performance from the lads against the side that won the League Title last year. The picture above is from that game and the rest of my "effort" is here:

http://nortoner09.jalbum.net/Belper%20Res%20v%20Carlton%20Res/

Whilst we were down in Belper, the first team were winning 1 - 0 at Witton Albion. That was a cracking result because Witton were relegated from the higher division last season and had won all of their opening games.

Nigel Oldrini (Belper Towns match reporter) details events in a full report on the Belper website (see link on right) and from his account it seems it was a battling performance with goalkeeper Leigh Walker making a last-minute penalty save.

As well as the match report, you can look at Snapper Harrison's record of events here:

http://www.timharrisonphotography.com/NailersAction/Wttn0910A/index.html

Next up for the first team is a home game against Grantham Town on Tuesday evening. We should be there so look out for the report and pictures!

The early part of today (Sunday) was spent cutting grass and hedges before coming inside about 3:30 pm to watch the finale of the Ashes decider on Sky Sports. I'm really glad that England won but I wonder if the present squad is good enough to retain the trophy in December 2010 when they visit Australia. For now, though, enjoy the moment!

Now it's time for a relax, although the Duchess has just come upstairs and is reporting "nothing to watch!" on TV so I might go and have a long soak in a Radox bath - I know how to have fun tha nose!!

Thursday evening - where has the week gone?

On Tuesday evening we went to watch Glapwell FC v Belper Town and unfortunately for us, the home side won 2 -1 with the winning goal coming in the 85th minute. I took the camera but wasn't all that bothered about taking pictures to be honest. Still, I managed a few and this is one of the better ones:

I've had problems downloading Jalbum (which we use to publish "albums" on t'internet.) It looks like it was Jalbum which crashed my new PC earlier this week. Start in "Safe Mode" and then "System Restore" to the point before Jalbum was installed recovered the machine perfectly. In fact, I've just had another go at downloading the programme but it hasn't worked.

So - if you wanna see more of the game, Tim Harrison's view is here.....

http://www.timharrisonphotography.com/NailersAction/Glpwll0910A/index.html

Nice to see he's maintaining his standard (now he's bought An EOS 50D like mine!!!!!)

What else this week? - Well, work has picked up a little. Two weeks ago we were looking at running the plant 2 days last week, 2 days this week and then possibly shutting down for 3 weeks to wait for the order situation to improve.

As it happens, we've managed to pull in some orders over the last few days so the guys worked 3 days last week, 3.1/2 days this week and we'll work 3 days next week and 2 possibly 3 days the week after that. That takes us to our annual late summer shutdown (2nd week of September.) So we've bought some "breathing space", although it's still very much "hand-to-mouth."

Anyway - the next football we will see is on Saturday when we are going down to Belper to watch the reserve side play Carlton Town Reserves. The first team are at Witton Albion which is a bit of a trek for us so we decided to give that a miss and wander down to The Meadows instead. A full report will follow but for now it's time to relax with a cuppa and think about getting some kip!

Another good weekend....

... began with a very enjoyable Saturday afternoon spent watching Belper Town comfortably beat Willenhall 3 - 0. Here's a picture of Lee Stevenson heading in the 2nd goal:

It was a reasonably easy win. The Belper team played better as the game went on - partly due I guess, to the fact we had three new signings in the side and the players took a little time to settle and "get to know" each other.

The rest of my pictures from the game are here:
http://nortoner09.jalbum.net/Belper%203%20-%200%20Willenhall/

and Snapper Harrisons's pics are here:
http://www.timharrisonphotography.com/NailersAction/Wllnhall0910H/index.html

compare and contrast if you wish but remember Tim is semi-pro (He does weddings - great service and very good rates - so if you're in the Belper area and thinking of getting wed - contact Tim. His website is linked on the right of the screen. Hmmmm - wonder if he be willing to pay commission on any new business?!!?)

Anyway - Saturday evening was spent trying to complete the set up (begun on Friday afternoon) of the new PC at home. Downloading programmes, installing software and generally getting the machine to the state I want it.

All appeared OK on Saturday and Sunday but hot off the press - something is wrong - the Duchess was using the PC this morning when it suddenly decided not to play any more. Now - it won't start up. It "locks" on the desktop with wallpaper as usual and all the icons in place but the mouse pointer is a spinning ring - and nothing can be clicked on. The general concensus is that it might be infected with malware - either that or the Norton Security software is cocking things up... so this evening I have to try starting in "safe mode" and restoring the system to a time when it did work.

Talk about "out of my depth!!" I'll let you know how I get on - probably via my laptop cos I am to PC problems what the England cricket selectors are to squad selection - neither of us has a clue!!

The plan was to spend the rest of the weekend attacking the garden once again but a slight change in the weather on Sunday lunchtime put paid to that. A few drops of rain brought me indoors and - well - you know what it's like - I got settled in front of the PC - editing photos and generally doing "computer stuff" - and then realised it was 5 pm and a little late to get back out there cos the Duchess was getting ready to put food on the table.

So - you are pretty much up to date - I'll report on the computer problems ASAP although I get the feeling a good mate of mine, who knows more about PCs than I do, (but then again - who doesn't?!) might be getting a call later!

It's Wednesday lunchtime.....

.... and I'm bored.

Things are still a bit slow at work - this is confirmed by the fact that my "File This" tray is completely empty!

I'm hoping to complete the set-up of my new PC tonight - the Duchess has a Junior Football Meeting so hopefully, by the time she's back, I'll have done it and be watching the England game..... although, thinking about it, I'm not really that bothered about the football on TV - I'd rather watch Belper Town "Live." But that has to wait until Saturday!

Anyway.... back to the grind - I have twiddled my thumbs anti-clockwise this morning and now have to do them clockwise to restore the equilibrium. Ho Hum!

See Yer Later!

Belper 0 - 2 Worksop

One of those games where the scoreline doesn't truly reflect the game.

Worksop, from the Premier Division were held until well into the 2nd half and their second goal came from a shot which deflected off a defender's backside and flew into the net off the inside of a post!

Anyway - there are some more of my pictures here:

http://nortoner.jalbum.net/Belper%200-2%20Worksop/

Still learning with the new camera and so some shots are not to the high standard set by Snapper and Smiffy (see previous posts) but hopefully, I'm getting there!

I have to say that after the game on Thursday evening, which resulted in a 4 - 4 draw with Gresley FC (from a division below Belper) I was a bit concerned about prospects for the coming season but after the display on Saturday from a team that I would imagine is going to be pretty much our "first eleven" I am a lot more confident.

To be truthful, My only fear is that after last season, the fans are going to expect better - with the resultant pressure on Managers and players. I agree that last season was a very good one but it's gone now and although not forgotten, if the team can manage something similar this year - I reckon that will be a great achievement.

Yes - promotion would have been great but something inside tells me that it might have come a little too "early" for the team and we could well have struggled in the Premier Division. Now Andy & Danny know what extra is needed, and the squad to me already looks stronger than it did last year, despite losing players like Krystof Kotylo and Ben Walker.

Anyway, the real stuff starts on Saturday - at home to Willenhall so we'll have to wait and see.

Good Luck Guys!

A lot has happened since my last post....

........ Belper Town have played 2 more pre-season friendlies; I have had a mammoth gardening session and the main reason why I haven't been able to make a blog entry - my desktop computer at home has been playing silly beggars.

Anyway - in brief - Belper drew 4 - 4 with Gresley FC last Thursday night. The new camera made it's "football debut" and I'll link to some pics shortly.

Saturday - Doncaster in the morning to pick up a new PC (don't ask "Why Doncaster?" - it's a long story) , then supermarket for the "weekly shop", then Belper Town 0 - 2 Worksop Saturday afternoon (more pics to follow but if you can't wait, go here:

http://www.timharrisonphotography.com/NailersAction/WrkspH0910/index.html

or here:

http://mossleysmiffy.jalbum.net/BelperWorksopPSF/

for Snapper Harrison and Mossley Smiffy's excellent efforts) then Bakewell for fish & chips on the way back to Sheffield.

Sunday - out into the garden at 9:40 a.m. - back in at 17:40 p.m. after cutting 100ft of privet hedge and mowing the back garden and single handedly destroying about 10,000 black ants who had established themselves under the garden path.

Monday morning - it's back to work for a rest!

I'll post more this evening when I get home

Some Pictures from the Belper Town Open Day

The Community Shield was on display
Sir Geoff Hurst attended (he's the one in the middle!)Sir Geoff in discussion with Dave Laughlin, Club Secretary and chief organiser of the "do"Dressed for the occasion ;-)Joint Manager Danny Hudson and his wife, Kerrie, were there.Sir Geoff and his co-ambassador - a coach whose name I didn't catch (but he was a youth coach at Man United when the likes of Beckham, Neville, Scholes and Giggs were coming through the ranks)The event was very well attended, I thought:

What A Lovely Weekend!

We've enjoyed a smashing weekend which makes Monday morning back at the Effingham Road House of Fun all the harder to take!

Anyway - Friday evening, we went to Meadowhall and I bought my "dream" camera - a Canon EOS 50D. The photographers amongst you will know what this is but for those of you who don't - trust me - it's a cracker!! It's left me £1500 worse off but it's worth every penny.

So - Saturday afternoon and a trip to see Belper play another pre-season "friendly" at Frickley Athletic. It was raining very heavily and so the new camera stayed at home and I used the faithful 300D which I bought from my son a couple of years ago. I might post a couple of my pics if I can find any of sufficient quality to match Snapper Harrisons effort:

http://www.timharrisonphotography.com/NailersAction/FrklyA0910/index.html

or Mossley Smiffys offering:

http://mossleysmiffy.jalbum.net/FrickleyBelperPSF/

Both are fine photographers and even with the "Dream Camera" it'll be hard to match the standard they set - but I'll give it a go!

It was a good game at Frickley - they are a Unibond Premier League Club (we're Division One) and we could only field a "bare minimum" team due to holidays etc. We gave them a run for their money - taking the lead fairly early and then battling out the game until about 10 mins from the end when they equalised.

Didn't like their attitude though. I know the game should be played to win no matter if it's a friendly or the real thing but Aaron Pride, our young full back, came home in an ambulance and is now on crutches after a Frickley player "left a foot in" late in the game. No need for it and I hope he is proud of himself. As I said - be competitive, play hard but don't go around kicking lumps off people. The referee did nothing, not even a free kick - need I say more.

So - Saturday evening was spent at the Firth Park Bowl where my sister-in-law was celebrating her 50th birthday. A pleasant evening (if a little loud - they had a disco and an "80's Tribute" duo who were unfortunately stunningly bad!) and it was nice to "catch up" with my brother and his family.

Sunday - and the new camera got its first outing at the Open Day at Belper Town. The event was held in conjunction with McDonalds whose stated aim is to get 20,000 football coaches "trained up" by 2010. It was a good day, well organised - as ever - (Belper Club Secretary Dave Laughlin did most of it so you'd expect nothing less!) and the major attendees were Sir Geoff Hurst and a coach whose name I didn't catch but who coached the Man Utd Youth squad and brought Beckham, Neville, Giggs, Scholes etc etc through the ranks. This guy did a "Masterclass" coaching session, lasting about 30 minutes - very impressive. The Community Shield Trophy was on display and drew lots of attention and Belper Town FC were presented with their "FA Charter Standard Club" certification.

Pics will be posted on here when I've processed them but in the meantime, lunchtime at the salt mines is over and so I gotta get back to work......

To be continued.........