BIDFORD-ON-AVON, 31ST MARCH 2025... (Featuring a Great Crested Grebe, a Song Thrush, a flying Grey Heron & a soaring Buzzard...)

 

THE LION & MOUSEHOLE... (My poem about a rock on Mousehole's beach which reminded me of the old TV puppet, Lenny the Lion...)

 The Lion & Mousehole…

It was surely Lenny the Lion.

There, on Mousehole’s rock strewn beach.

Terry Hall’s arm was missing, naturally,

Which would into his puppet’s innards stretch and reach…

It was tough to decide who was in control

There, on vintage children’s television,

For the limp pawing lion was gaily vocal

And the ventriloquist dumbly accepted the derision…

It was Lenny the Lion’s head.

There, with an expression plainly indignant,

Its features hewn and weathered from solid stone

But the hole for Terry’s arm lay redundant…

Pete Ray

I always wondered what had happened to the annoying 

puppet Lenny the Lion and there he was… 

No waxwork, merely a stone effigy of his enormous head at Mousehole, Cornwall… 

GONE DAYS, LEFT TO RIGHT... (My new poem inspired by Victoria Obolensky's painting...)

 Gone Days, Left To Right…

(Inspired by Victoria Obolensky’s painting…)

Well trained in reading left to right whilst bearing days gone by in mind, 

Shadowy thoughts begin to infiltrate, which itchy typing fingers hurry to express.

Calm waters, slightly ruffled, yet not particularly unkind

Lie beneath a darker, shaded place, where I can only read distress.

White winged clouds shift with awesome power across stormy squalls,  

The gloom of tension and strife overridden by a rush of attempted assurance

From the strain of pain and anxiety which constantly stalls

The peace of mind. Yet hope’s amber glimmer above offers a gleam of reassurance… 

Pete Ray

29th March 2025…  

Life’s complicated rush, encapsulated for me, at least, by a thrilling painting…

STUDLEY 0-3 1874 NORTHWICH: THE INDEPENDENT MATCH REPORT + SCREENSHOTS WITH CAPTIONS...

 Bees Stung By 1874 Set Pieces… 

(Well, 3 anyway…)

Studley 0-3 1874 Northwich…

The Mowdog’s thoughts…

This was a largely comfortable victory for the visitors, their strength and belligerence, their dangerous set-piece exploits and their sheer will to prevent the Bees from scoring saw them achieve a play-off place in the MFL Premier Division. Two goals from the long throws of skipper Matt Fenton and another from a wicked corner routine, scored by Fenton himself, all in the opening period, ended the encounter as a contest before the interval. 

TYPICAL THREAT FROM 1874'S SET-PIECES. MORRIS LEAPS HERE...

True Studley passed the ball with some slickness at times but penetration was lacking, except for two breaks at inside-right before half-time by striker Josh Yeboah, who shot past the near post on the first occasion and was then denied one-on-one by a smart save from the quickly advancing 1874 ‘keeper Jack Atkinson. 

YEBOAH SHOOTS WIDE OF THE NEAR POST...

ATKINSON SAVES FROM YEBOAH...

Even the opportunity for a very late consolation goal which fell to lively replacement Lucas Edmonds was squandered when he lobbed the ball over the target from downtown at inside-left with Atkinson stranded. The only other chance for the hosts saw a sliced 19 yard effort from Flynn Coffey drift well off target.

COFFEY SLICES WIDE...

The power exhibited by Northwich defenders Fenton and Tom Morris was the base from which the team worked, allowing John McGrath to push forward on the left flank and midfielders Alfie Foy, Jacson Coppack and the busy Lewis Nolan to make life very hard for their counterparts. Certainly Billy Corns was neat on the ball at times for Studley but rarely was wide forward and ex-Rolling Stones drummer Charlie Watts brought into the action. 

LAKE RISES HIGH IN A RARE STUDLEY ATTACK...

That devastating first 45 by Northwich… 

A goal down early, the guests troubled their opponents with periods of chasing and harrying, forcing the neat passers to go backwards too often and indeed, gloveman Matt Horton had many touches of the ball during that opening period.

A long, wind-aided throw from the left by Fenton caused havoc in the Studley 6 yard box, the often impressive home left-back Sam Smith was covering the experienced Mark Jones but the ball dropped over his leap, Eden Bailey’s poke was blocked by Coffey but the ball ran loose a few yards from goal. Joel Jones latched onto it, moving across the face of goal towards the right, then cleverly dragged the ball back and flicked it with the inside of his right boot, behind his left foot, without looking. The ball went perfectly between the feet of goal-line defender Nate Timbrell and into the net…

Two smart skills and a nutmeg… Nice.

ABOVE & BELOW: JOEL JONES' CLEVER FINISH...

Joel Jones saw a shot blocked by Studley’s skipper Harry Lake, who performed strongly throughout and then his next low effort was saved easily by Horton.

JOEL JONES' SHOT IS BLOCKED...

Goals two and three settled the contest… Harassment by Team 1874 saw Studley forced backwards and indeed they were embarrassed to concede a corner, which proved hugely costly. McGrath’s ensuing corner from the right side curled in towards the goal-line and again Timbrell was inadvertently involved, marking and indeed holding Joel Jones as the ball fell a couple of yards from the goal-line. Horton was watchful but the ball somehow rebounded from Jones and Timbrell, bounced up towards the goal-line and there was Fenton to slam it high into a bulging net from a yard out. 

THE LUNGING...

THE BALL RUNS TO FENTON...

...& HIS SHOT FINDS THE NET...

Another Fenton throw, this time from the right resulted in the third and decisive goal for the visitors. As Horton was baulked in his attempt to punch at the ball, Morris rose at the near post only for his back-header to flick the face of the crossbar and drop at the left post where Bailey was typically lurking and the impish striker scrambled the ball into goal, as home defender Oscar Barry desperately kicked only wind.  

MORRIS' BACK-HEADER...

...CLIPS THE CROSSBAR...

...& IS BUNDLED INTO GOAL...

...BY BAILEY...

Barry’s movement and style was so reminiscent of father Gareth, who of course I watched in Villa colours for many years. Oscar though, favoured his right foot and to be fair he looked more effective in a central defensive position after the break. I always thought that Gareth Barry’s ideal position was as a ball-playing sweeper but that didn’t materialise…  

The second period…

There was more hustle and bustle from the Studley players after the recess and even more guile when Edmonds was introduced as a forward but the Bees failed to change the scoreline and the main goal attempts fell to the guests. 

JOEL JONES CAN'T CONNECT WITH BAILEY'S CROSS...

Mark Jones’ first-half replacement Max Scott clipped a 20 yard free-kick into the right side-netting, Nolan drove well wide and substitute Mark Reed’s drive was blocked by Horton, with Scott’s rebound bouncing away off Smith.

SCOTT'S FREE-KICK WOULD CURL INTO THE SIDE-NETTING...

HORTON BLOCKS REED'S EFFORT WELL...

Reed nodded well over the target from McGrath’s fine centre and finally, the elusive Bailey slipped an effort across the face of goal from a narrow angle on the right.

REED HEADS TOO HIGH...

BAILEY WOULD SHOOT ACROSS THE FACE OF GOAL...

The final words…

The victory for 1874 was fairly comprehensive, Fenton drove his team on, Morris was a tower of strength, Coppack’s passes were often smoothly executed and despite Lake’s fine defending for the hosts, Bailey became more of a threat as the game wore on.

On the artificial surface, Studley did pass the ball smartly at times but an end product wasn’t evident and subsequently they were beaten by the more experienced and physical Greens.

Again the support for 1874 was immense and the players must surely appreciate the away following the team receives from such loyal fans.

The bright sky turned dull and threateningly cloudy, adding some light raindrops to the proceedings but the stiff wind blew colder and colder…

With Corns in their team, it was a pity that Studley’s Charlie Ashley-Footes wasn’t present as well, and although there was a Lake and a Reed on view, Leo Wood wasn’t on the home team sheet to blend in with them… 

Also, having been informed on Northwich’s X/Twitter post that the concession price for entry was £4, I was surprised that the young female on duty at the ground insisted it was £5… Interesting, that… And no prices were evident at the kiosk either… Hmm…