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#Post#: 93208--------------------------------------------------
Re: Back to my first love
DIR By: jad
Date: June 30, 2025, 5:04 am
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--- Quote from: JCFC link ---
>
> Following jad's query/suggestion/recommendation(?), I gave it
a try, with tomato and spring onions as well. The result was
perfectly acceptable, but surprisingly a little blander than
expected. Perhaps the inclusions were to blame; further
experimentation will be required.
>
> Once again no referee appointments have been posted for this
weekend's National Conference matches, though the two most
significant Saturday games do have named touch judges.
>
--- End Quote ---
I suspect you are right about the inclusions. I checked with
the chief boudiniste of the jad household and was told that the
ingredients were black pudding, eggs and a few herbs. And the
type of black pudding may be relevant: the original recipe is
French, and their black pudding tends, I believe, to be more
spicy than some. When we lived in Glasgow, we used various
Scottish versions, which seemed to work well, as do those from
Ireland, which are the only ones available to us in Italy.
As for Mr Owen Taylor's attempts to operate in two codes, it is
not that many years since anyone attempting that impressive feat
would have needed to officiate in League matches under a
pseudonym (which would have made identifying match officials
even more of a challenge)..
#Post#: 93238--------------------------------------------------
Re: Back to my first love
DIR By: JCFC
Date: July 2, 2025, 6:33 am
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This week the majority of NCL match officials' appointments have
been posted. Fresh from refereeing Premier 2nd v 1st last
weekend, Mr Taylor is due to do 3rd v 4th this Saturday. This
was the match I was planning to attend. Nothing against him, but
I would prefer to see someone different, so alternatives are now
pencilled in. A bus ride to Oldham if fine, a train trip to
Castleton if (as forecast) wet - and TV if very wet. Decide for
yourself whether that last phrase refers to the weather or to
me.
#Post#: 93293--------------------------------------------------
Re: Back to my first love
DIR By: JCFC
Date: July 6, 2025, 3:26 am
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The overnight rain had relented sufficiently for the choice to
be the bus to Oldham. No sooner had it set off, however, than
drizzle returned, restricting the views over the tops. Roadworks
around Uppermill caused delays, but there was plenty of time to
spare. Arrival at the Bull's Head stop initially confirmed the
stereotypical view of Oldham - a depressed-looking pub in the
shadow of two enormous red brick mills. The short walk up the
hill was easy, the crossing of the busy main road less so, but
there was no difficulty in reaching
Saturday 5th July 2025
National Conference League Premier Division
Waterhead Warriors 34 v 18 Hunslet ARLFC
Josh Pemberton (Warrington)
The clubhouse (not sampled), toilets (ditto) and changing rooms
are across the road from the pitch, which is situated at a
slightly higher level in an agreeable, tidy park. The pitch is
railed on both sides, at comfortable leaning height, though
spectators on the near side preferred to watch from the top of a
grass banking. JCFC took advantage of a wooden bench which
afforded a good view of the pitch - and also of the surrounding
trees and the hillside at the clubhouse end.
The home side play in a combination of red, green and black,
Hunslet were in gold with royal blue chevrons, so Mr Pemberton
rightly chose the smart sky blue kit. Tall, very lean,
dark-haired and fashionably bearded, he did not resemble the
online photo, which probably dates from a couple of years ago.
His identity might have been confirmed by the name on the back
of his shirt - but only if he were called Ron Seal. In the end,
confirmation was obtained thanks to Mr Assessor Steve Clements.
The match was a mid-table tussle, 5th v 7th. Drizzle had
started during the warm-up, which may have contributed to a
number of early handling errors. These, in turn, may have
explained Warriors' decision to have a shot at goal from a 13th
minute penalty. It failed, but a second one four minutes later
put two points on the board. On 20 minutes they went over in the
corner, unconverted, and added another try, this time
successfully converted, on 35 minutes. The final action of the
half was a high tackle which earned the Hunslet number 4 a
sin-bin session. Waterhead's long-range penalty kick fell just
short, leaving the half-time score at 12-0.
The Hunslet number 4 still had his ten minutes to serve, during
which time Waterhead scored two converted tries, extending their
lead to 24-0, reduced before the hour by two Hunslet
six-pointers. Waterhead responded with two tries, converting the
second. Hunslet completed the scoring with a converted try,
making the result 34-18. The players clearly felt they had not
had their fun, so when in added time a tackle produced a spot of
grappling on the floor, there was a general pile-up of bodies.
Mr Pemberton could not split himself to form a triangle, so
watched from the side. Gone are the days of referees separating
combatants. No harm was done, the beatitude "Blessed are the
peacemakers" soon prevailed and Mr Pemberton sensibly blew for
full time.
The referee had a very good game. Coherent in his decision
making, composed in his manner, with an occasional smile and a
strong voice, he looked a very promising young official. It is
to be hoped that Mr Clements arrived at a similar verdict.
The drizzle had long departed, the sun reappeared,asking the
trip back over the Pennines more attractive. Arrival in
Huddersfield meshed perfectly with a bus to Brighouse, meaning
that JCFC was home by 17.30, less than ninety minutes after the
final whistle. A very enjoyable - and free - day out.
#Post#: 93363--------------------------------------------------
Re: Back to my first love
DIR By: Microscopist
Date: July 11, 2025, 6:36 am
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I find it strange to think of the sun coming out travelling from
Lancashire to Yorkshire, it is admittedly several years since I
made such an excursion but on that occasion a sort of stygian
gloom announced the transition into Yorkshire. [emoji1]
#Post#: 93379--------------------------------------------------
Re: Back to my first love
DIR By: JCFC
Date: July 11, 2025, 2:07 pm
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Microscopist would presumably agree with The Oldham Tinkers, in
their song Owdham Edge
"To the left there's Royton, Shaw,
Derker,Delph, Springhead an' a'
Now we're touching Yorkshire's line
Can't see owt past there but grime."
I respectfully beg to differ!
Incidentally just over the hill from Derker, in Marsden, there's
an area called Dirker, while near Wakefield there is Durkar. I
assume that the first two, at least, have the same etymology.
A subsequent check on Google suggests that the latter two have a
Scandinavian origin - drit kjarr - referring to a place with a
mixture of dirt and brushwood. It adds an extra variant in
Durker Roods in Meltham. Similarly, the Oldham Derker is
recorded in 1604 as Dirt Carr. I trust you are relieved too know
that.
#Post#: 93393--------------------------------------------------
Re: Back to my first love
DIR By: Microscopist
Date: July 12, 2025, 9:31 pm
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I had the LP ‘Owdham Edge’ when I lived in Surrey, just to hear
a Lancashire accent. Without looking it up - On Owdham Edge the
grass is green, finest sight tha’ ere ave seen…. I have also
regaled (?) the Alloway Burns Club with some proper Lancashire
culture with the classics - ‘Ah Bill’s got a concrete mixer’,and
‘Ee ba gum but am cawd’ along with the Liverpool Spinners ‘Three
Jolly Boys’, though I think that originated from a pub in
Sheffield. (Spellings may not be correct!)
#Post#: 93406--------------------------------------------------
Re: Back to my first love
DIR By: JCFC
Date: July 13, 2025, 12:17 pm
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Staying local on a scorching afternoon, it was a pleasure to
take a seat in the shade of the stand at the Horsfall for
Saturday 12th July 2025
National Conference League Premier Division
West Bowling 64 v 6 Lock Lane
Liam Grundy (Dewsbury & Batley Society)
Touch Judges: Sean Flynn, O Cooper ( Oliver? Owen? Oscar? Who
knows?)
Perhaps just a Vocative, of the sort that caused the young
Winston Churchill to say "But I never do talk to a table."
Mr Flynn, seen just a fortnight ago, was of a comfortable
average build and age. Referee Grundy, still a teenager
apparently, was dark-haired, moderately tall and very, very
slim, but with a strong voice. He was outdone in the
youthfulness stakes, though, by Mr Cooper, who was even younger
(15/16 maximum, at a guess) and was shorter and just as slight
as Mr Grundy. With Lock Lane in blue and white hoops and West
Bowling in predominantly green shirts, Mr Grundy wore yellow,
but the Touch judges had to stick to green.
In the fairly basic programme, downloaded from a QR code on the
door of the bar (JCFC'S was a Lucozade original), the home coach
had predicted that, despite the league positions, 3rd v 10th, it
would be a close game. For a while it was. West Bowling went
over for a converted try after just 4 minutes. First Lock Lane
and the their hosts had a player held up in the in-goal area
before the visitors tried a 14th minute up-and-under. It landed
against the padding of the post, allowing them to regather and
flop over under the posts to level the scores at 6-6. On 28
minutes it was the padding of the post at the other end that
worked in favour of the home side, a charging player's bounce
off it acting like a perfect sidestep and sending him over for a
try, again converted. At this point, Lock Lane's wheels came
off. The home side began to break tackles and make yards with
bullocking runs, and where dummies were concerned proved
accomplished salesmen, with the visitors proving gullible
purchasers. A further try and successful kick soon followed. On
33 minutes Mr Flynn came on (like the good old days) to report a
head tackle, earning the Lock Lane number 17 a sight of the
yellow card and ten minutes in the sin-bin. During this time,
West Bowling stretched the play adding two tries in the corners,
first on the right, then on the left. Neither was converted,
leaving the half-time score at 26-6.
During the break, with the players in the pavilion, thoughts
turned to the touch judges. In the days when JCFC was a regular
watcher, several of them used to sprint impressively back to
their positions on halfway. JCFC'S fallible memory reckons that
Arnold Bagnall was the fastest, but he would be happy to be
corrected. Here, it seems, their remit is to head all the way to
the corner flag at the opposite end, which might have deterred
the old-timers somewhat, and in the heat it was understandable
that the running became increasingly leisurely. Unlike at
Siddal, their positioning seemed more logical, with one of them
remaining level with the play-the-ball, not always the same one.
Indeed, Mr Cooper was able to indicate a forward pass on one
occasion.
Number 17 still had a minute to serve of his sin-bin penalty, by
which time West Bowling had added another converted try. The
subsequent scoring went:
Minute
44: 36-6
60: 42-6
63: 46-6
72: 52-6
75: 58-6
80: 64-6.
The match had been well-handled by the officials, who were well
received at the end.
West Bowling looked very strong. Their forthcoming match at
Siddal, whose narrow win at Thatto Heath had moved them two
points clear at the top, could well be a cracker!
#Post#: 93569--------------------------------------------------
Re: Back to my first love
DIR By: flipmode
Date: July 23, 2025, 1:37 am
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Having had the ultimate (mis)fortune of visiting all three
localised variations of Derker, I can confidently surmise each
is as good/bad as its namesake - just depends on where yer line
is drawn.
#Post#: 106898--------------------------------------------------
Re: Back to my first love
DIR By: JCFC
Date: June 5, 2026, 10:17 am
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With the prospect of a football-less Saturday, Rugby League
should again come to the rescue.
One possibility would be Moldgreen v Drighlington, which offers
the unusual prospect of referee and touch judges all having the
surname Tindall. Could they possibly be related to former
Huddersfield schoolboy and Reading University Challenge captain,
Alan Tindall? On a school holiday to Guernsey in 1961, while
drying himself on a beach, he received the stern command from
teacher Forbes Doig "Tindall, cover yourself," followed when his
reaction was deemed inadequate, by a further barked "Back as
well." Probably no relation, though.
As the forecast is not encouraging, the more likely destination
will be the covered seating at the Horsfall, where the referee
might be of service to Trigger.
#Post#: 106918--------------------------------------------------
Re: Back to my first love
DIR By: JCFC
Date: June 7, 2026, 4:18 am
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And so once more to the Horsfall Stadium for
National Conference Premier
West Bowling 32 v 24 Lock Lane
Admission £4
James Broomhead (a Trigger cast-off?); C. Hope, M. Greenwood
Sadly the Rugby League's appointments page does not give first
names, merely an initial. Had this been the complete set of
initials, as in the past, (C F Appleton, N T Railton, D T H
Davies etc) JCFC would normally have approved, but on this
occasion a name would have been helpful. One touch judge was a
very tall man indeed, the other a younger, shorter chubbier
person of uncertain gender.
Fashion notes: Young Mr Broomhead wore a rich yellow shirt, with
the Ronseal branding; his touch judges had rather paler yellow
shirts, with a pale green pattern on the front. West Bowling
were in dark green with two red hoops, while the visitors
spotted a very bright blue, with broad white band and trim.
In my youth Lock Lane was one of the biggest names in the
amateur game, featuring as one of the teams involved in the
Challenge Cup added to the 30 professional clubs to make for a
32-club draw. Last season, however, they were soundly beaten by
West Bowling (64 - 6). It was no surprise, then, when the home
side bossed the opening minutes. What was surprising, though,
was that on 5 minutes they tried a lofted kick to their right
corner, it was caught by a visiting player, who raced the length
of the field, outpacing all opponents for a try, duly converted.
Five minutes later Lock Lane got over for a second try, this
time in the far corner, expertly converted once more to
establish a twelve point lead. West Bowling came back almost
immediately, with a converted try of their own. On 18 minutes
Lock Lane put in a high kick and the would-be catcher was
unceremoniously barged out of the way before the ball arrived -
an obvious penalty. Mr Broomhead had a chat with the touch judge
and sent the Lock Lane number 10 to the sin-bin.The home side
soon added a try, unconverted this time, Another visitor was
sent for a sit down, reason not known, and West Bowling added
another try, this time adding the two points. The binned player
was able to return after thirteen minutes. On 34 minutes a kick
to their left corner saw Lock Lane get to the ball first for an
unconverted try. An exchange of successful penalties in the
closing stages took the half-time score to 18-18.
The visitors stayed on the pitch for the break, the home team
and the officials heading into the pavilion, but the interval
lasted only six minutes.
West Bowling scored a try in the first minute of the second
half, the conversion giving them a six point lead. This lasted
for a quarter of an hour, until Lock Lane went over in the
corner, another excellent kick drawing them level again. Just
before the hour, the West Bowling number 10 took exception to
some unseen skulduggery in a tackle, responding with a ferocious
punch... leading to the inevitable mêlée. This subsided fairly
quickly, the teams were separated (much easier in Rugby than in
football) while Mr Broomhead and his colleagues had a long
discussion between the two groups. The obvious red card was
shown to the home number 10 and duly marked down in my notebook,
at which point a visiting player was spotted walking down the
far touchline. The assumption was that he had been sin-binned,
but in fact it must have been another dismissal, as both sides
remained at twelve men for the rest of the game. The restart was
a penalty to West Bowling. Scores remained level until the last
five minutes, at which point West Bowling grabbed two tries, the
second being converted with the last kick of the game, to give
them a slightly flattering 32-24 win.
Young Mr Broomhead, still in the headcam age range, must be
considered a decent prospect. He was quite punctilious in his
decisions - there seemed to be a lot of whistle - but did well
overall. His movement was good - he was very comfortable in the
default technique for Rugby League referees of backwards
running.
It had been a very decent afternoon's entertainment, though I
cannot warm to the practice of sundry people wandering on and
off the pitch at every break. A brief injury stoppage, for
example, saw five people appear with water - after just 2
minutes!
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