Volume Two. Issue One

Welcome to the second edition of the new look aptly renamed "1861" to keep it more unique to the Club. This issue lacks individual content as you would expect for a "close season" issue.

Maisie

Blackheath HC lost an invaluable member of its loyal staff during the early part of the close season. Everybody knew Maisie, not only those who are members of the club but their partners and friends as well as many of the opposition players. The funeral was held in May and was a quiet service with many family and friends. The family have asked me to express their thanks to all of those from Blackheath HC that attended the funeral. Apparently one of Maisie's’ last comments was about the club, and more appropriately her bar she apparently stated the following: “The money in my purse isn’t mine, it is the Club's, make sure you don’t forget!”.

Maisie was truly Blackheath till she died. God rest her soul.

1861 News

You will all be aware that the new season will be upon us shortly. This magazine will not be able to continue on one or two persons input alone. We need to have as much input as possible from ANY member of the Club, no matter what it is or how small it is ! We particularly need the captains of each team to delegate a match reporter to supply me with match reports, they will need to chase them up. The committee members will not have time to chase up the reports week in week out.

The Club just keeps getting bigger!

As we look forward to the new season, this is an exiting time for “the Club” as we buck the trend in Kent and South East London as the only hockey club to increase in size (from six to seven sides) last season. We hope to continue the trend by running an eighth side this forthcoming season - making us one of the largest clubs in the area.

With our 1st Eleven narrowly missing out on promotion last season, and many of our under-19 players representing Lewisham, winning the prestigious London youth games - the future is very rosy at “the World's Oldest Hockey Club tm”. Everything is geared towards a championship winning season, based solidly on the phenomenal team spirit that exists at every level in the club. The hard pre-season fitness sessions!! But most importantly the large amounts of beer that are consumed in the Brian Brown Bar.

Summer Hockey

The Club has had an active summer season with numerous games taking place at Rubens St during the warm summer evenings, this gives the Club the opportunity to introduce new faces to the older ones in an extremely relaxed fashion. Much thanks must go to Conrad De Souza for all the effort he puts in for organising the summer games and having eleven players turn up midweek, further thanks should go to him for the effort he makes in preparing all the food that we shove down our throats at the end of those games!

Pre-Season Training

This has already started and takes place on a Thursday evening at Rubens Street. The training starts at 7:30pm for about an hour depending on what sort of mood Brad’s in!!!! Everyone is welcome.

Skills training

This starts on 2nd September and will take place at Lloyds Bank astro (Copers Cope Rd Beckenham). At the time of going to press I believe that the training starts at 8pm as last year, but please check by calling the Club on the numbers at the top of the page.

Pre-Season Friendly

A block fixture has been arranged for Saturday 13th September against Wayfarers. This will be for the following teams 1st XI (home Lloyds 10.30am) 3rd XI (away), Heathens (away). You will be notified by the individual captain if they would like you to play.

TRIALS

The trials are to take place on the 20th September 1997 at Lloyds Bank astro as above, please ensure that you are there at 10.30am and you make yourself known to the relevant captains. Thank you.

BRING A WHITE SHIRT AS WELL AS RED PLEASE

The Blackheath Web-site

This has been undergoing some vast changes recently thanks to the anorakky efforts of Simon Rous (only joking), from the test pages I saw recently the page was going interactive and looked pretty awesome. The pages will be updates regularly and will feature match reports, photos and a copy of 1861 as every issue is launched. At the moment the exact address for the site is being worked on we were hoping for something along the lines of www.hockey.co.uk but as yet can’t get it, other addresses are being thought up. If you do have the web please have a look when it’s up and running as it will be excellent.

The Outcasts & Heathens on Tour Photos

Due to lack of finances I could only go on two tours this year, so I can only report on those, if anybody wants to report on Medway and give us some photos please do. There are some small attempts at scanned photos from the tour on here. Worryingly they all appear to show members of the Blackheath 3rd XI dressed in women's clothing. There are no photos of the Heathens tour unfortunately.

The Heathens tour was yet again down at Thanet. The team was separated into two hotels after being banned from the regular haunt of ten years by the unruly behaviour of Chris “Cat Burglar” Brown. Cat Burglars' attempts to have us banned for a second year running from a hotel were hampered by his girlfriend not allowing him out on the first night ! The hockey we played was excellent. I think the game of the tour for everybody was the 9:30am game the morning after the heavy night before. We were playing against the most serious side there who cruised to a 2-0 lead quite quickly. After pulling a goal back before half time things began to change. An inspirational half time talk and tea inspired us to fight back to a dramatic 3-2 win which was fought like a true battle. Best sight of the tour was four grown men chucking up in their glasses at 11am in the beer tent after having “downed” four pints in ten minutes!

Dom, Steve & Nosher (l-r)	Dom expertly being made up!
Dom decides the hotel is too good for him!

The Outcasts tour followed just one week later. It was election day that we all met up, many of us only just coming to terms with the fact that this was the first day of a Labour government we had known, cause to drink. Again we stayed at the Cavendish Hotel, with photo of James Talbot stuck firmly on the wall after the escapades of last year ! Again we drunk like there was no tomorrow, gatecrashed the other hotels and took over the party’s. The following day our first game wasn’t until the afternoon, so we again had to drink the beer. In doing so be felt it appropriate to let everybody know who we were, and by the end of the day believe me they did. I can’t remember the hockey as I was drunk for every match. I can remember sending Nosher off though! I can also remember the attack of the chairs and how they appeared to become attached to us, even as we “did” the ladies loos !! The highlight of the tour, however, has to be seeing Nosher legging it from a grown man, whilst dressed up in women’s clothes. If he could run like that on a Saturday the thirds would never lose!!

INPUT

If you would like to take an active role in this newsletter, please contact me at the Club or you can fax or e-mail me the content.

GOOD LUCK

I would like to wish every team at the Club all the best for the forthcoming season and hope to see the 1st XI win promotion this year. I also hope that everybody at the Club enjoys themselves through out the season and can spend some time staying behind after the games and coming to the many social events that will take place through out the season.

Editor: James Talbot. Phone 0181 983 5755. Fax 0181 980 1713. E-mail: JT@lmd-prop.co.uk (if I can’t be reached on any of those, i’m dead!).