magpies

1. RICHARD GILL TESTIMONIAL


Richard’s retirement at the end of last season is being marked with a special match between a Harleston Magpies HC XI and a Richard Gill XI at Weybread on Sunday 26 August at 2.00pm. The bar will be open from 12.30pm with tea in the clubhouse after the game. A raffle will be held to raise funds for the club – not for Richard!

This is sure to be a very enjoyable occasion tinged with sadness at Richard’s retirement after his outstanding service for the club. So please come along to see the two star-studded teams do battle in this pre-season encounter. Both teams contain many familiar names with Richard’s team including several former Magpies’ stars closely associated with Richard during his spells at Magpies and Doncaster. It will be good to see them in action again including Kwane Brown of Canterbury HC, the Trinidad and Tobago international, whom Richard rates as one of the best players he has either played with or against.

So please come – EVERYBODY WELCOME!  The teams –

HMHC ‘XI’ – Reece Leonard, Dave Francis, Leigh Sitch, Philip Cobbald, Andrew Bedwell, Simon Hipwell, Tristan Baynes, Toby Tibbenham, Jimmy Wheeler, Richard Ling, Ben Wright, Robbie Kinsella, Lawrence Baynes, Peter Bale, Bill Williams. Manager – Robert Stimpson.

RICHARD GILL ‘XI’ – Richard Gill, Iain Martin, Tom Sumner, Matt Riches, Tim Shelley, Carl Sitch, Iain Innes, Mark Braybrook, Colin Wheelhouse, Neil Toulson, Kwane Brown, Rob Wagstaff, Stuart Peters, Bob Skinner, Ben Riches. Manager – David Walton.

Umpires – Paul Gallop and Trevor Norman

2. CLUB CRISIS
The new season is only one month away and the club is still looking for volunteers to run the Men’s 4ths and 6ths and to help with the running of the Men’s 7ths. The heading of this paragraph is not, therefore, an exaggeration. If you are able to help PLEASE contact Tristan Baynes (07799 790445) now.

3. CONGRATULATIONS TO
a) The GB women’s team on their Olympic bronze medal. Seeing them beat New Zealand so comprehensively was for me the emotional highlight of a wonderful Olympics across so many sports. As for the men it was good to see them recover from their mauling by Holland (surely the best ever performance by a hockey team?) to play well in the bronze medal match against a powerful Australia team before losing. I had intended to confine my Olympic watching to the television but I was lucky enough to go on a couple of occasions – to see the men beat Pakistan 4-1 and draw 1-1 with Spain (I’m not sure how I survived the nerve shredding last minute!) – and I can only endorse what a wonderful experience London 2012 was and a triumph for everyone involved in any way with the organisation, including the BBC for their excellent coverage.

b) Kristina Erith and Ali Smyth and also to Mark Wheelhouse and Lizzie Aldous on their respective recent marriages with, of course, our best wishes for the future.

c) Jonathan Aldridge and Philip Cobbald on their selection to represent England Over 50s in the Masters World Cup starting this week at Canterbury HC. In Pool A England play Scotland (Thursday), Australia (Saturday) and Ireland (Sunday) with cross-over games to follow with teams in Pool B comprising Germany, Italy, New Zealand and Wales.

d) Elliot Smith on being part of the England U18 team which beat Germany by two matches to one in Stuttgart last month to round-off a very successful year for the squad. We wish Elliot well following his decision to move to newly-promoted Cambridge City to accommodate his Saturday school commitments and his hockey aspirations. We will miss him and his father Mark who has been a keen supporter of the club in recent seasons.

4. OTHER NEWS
a) Please see the Home Page of the website for the pre-season training details bearing in mind the Club Day is being held on Saturday 1 September and the new league season opens on Saturday 15 September. So you have another month to get into shape for the battles ahead!
b)  For your diary – Club Quiz Night (Saturday 13 October), Fireworks Spectacular (Friday 2 November) and Casino & Cocktail Night (Saturday 24 November). Full programme on the website. 

Musings will be back on (hopefully) a weekly basis from early September.

With kind regards         
Mike Denham           
[email protected]        
14/8/12

MIKE DANIELS Trailer Sales, Erde & Dealers 01986 893025