Newton Flotman FC

As I waited for people to arrive for the start of the Horse Race Night I began to get the feeling that the event was goint to be a failure. We delayed the start and had only 20 people in the hall but we pressed ahead and to my surprise we made it a very successful evening.

I owe thanks to those who worked so hard over the last week to sell as much as possible prior to the night (Tom Bridges, David Burgess, Danny Gaskin and Andy Snape). I owe an even bigger vote of thanks to those who sponsored races and paid even more than the £20 requested for the pleasure of being a race sponsor. Most of all a huge thank you to those who turned up on the night and made it such a huge success with an eventual profit of £574. Although this is considerably less than the money we made at previous events it is an incredible amount when you think of the small number who took part. There was nothing lost from the atmosphere because of the small number in attendance which was due entirely to an enthusiastic audience and a brilliant as ever compere. It was suggested that it would not be viable to raffle the horses for race 9 but we went ahead anyway and as a result of some very competitive bidding £92 was collected (thanks to the winning bidders -Kenny Savage, David Burgess, Nick Eagle, Trevor Fisher, Jacky Burgess, Honest Fred Bookmakers, Amy Bridges and Alan Bridges).

All in all this was a great night out and those who did not attend will never know what a great night they missed.

The club needs the support of every member if it is to survive financially so make sure that you attend the next two events - a golf day with a meal at Dunston Hall on 14th October and a night at Great Yarmoth Dog Racing on 15th October.

David Preston Memorial Football Match and 2006/2007 Presentation Evening

On 26th May the club held a charity football match followed by a barbecue.

The event was to remember Mr. David Preston who had been a staunch supporter of the club right up until his untimely death. His camper van was a familiar sight parked near one corner of the pitch at home matches and he would just as likely turn up at away matches never worrying about the distance he had to travel to support the team.

Initially it had been intended that the match would be between all existing players with members of David's family invited to join in. However word got around about what we were doing and suddenly we had enough players to make up four teams! The extra players were people who had played over the last three years and had all got to know and respect David. We therefore decided that the match would be between current players and those from previous years with everybody getting as much playing time as posible. We were also able to secure the services of Mr. Norman Christmas, a qualified referee, to be our match official.

On the morning of the match the weather looked decidely unpredictable which meant the barbecue was in danger of being cancelled. We were saved by friends of mine, Team Ladders Motorsport, who very kindly delivered and erected their awning tensure that we could cook whatever the weather.

We were supported by in excess of 50 spectators who were determined to show their support and respect whatever the weather. In the end it stayed relatively dry albeit rather chilly. The pitch was looking immaculate having been worked on the evening before by Barry Cooke, Andy Preston, Clive Smith and David Burgess. They had even taken the time to re-paint the stand.

At five minutes to three more than forty players were led out by three young mascots and lined up around the centre circle. There was a minute of silence followed by a few words from me and a presentation of flowers to David's widow, Joan, by Clive Smith.

The match was very entertaining with numerous substitutions and many people playing in unfamiliar positions. Absolutely everybody who plays football took part and it was good to see current coaches, Steve Matthews and Trevor Fisher, take to the pitch for a spell.

Meanwhile the barbecue was lit and food started to cook which soon enticed a number of the spectators and non-playing footballers to leave the touchline for a few minutes. My thanks here to Jacky Burgess and Ian Manser who braved the eyewatering smoke to do all of the cooking.

The match resulted in a narrow victory for the players from the previous teams although the result was less important than the taking part. The most important aspect was that we raised a consiberable sum of money, £600, which was split between the charity and the club at the request of the family.

In addition to those alread mentioned I would like to thank everybody who took part in the football as they each paid a £4 match fee knowing that they would only get part of a game.

The whole event was thoroughly enjoyed by everybody and it is our intention to make this type of event the finale to the season in future.

Graham Burgess