Category: London

IQ and his rugby team

Joining the world’s first gay rugby team changed my life. So I made a film about it

At school, the homophobic bullying was worst on the rugby pitch. But the Steelers helped me rediscover my love for the game – and myselfA screenshot from Steelers: the World’s First Gay Rugby Club about the UK rugby team, the Kings Cross Steelers.‘Over time the Steelers won the respect of these straight burly British men because not only did they beat them on occasion, they showed them that we’re all pretty much the same.’

So you can imagine my surprise when years later, a rugby club would go on to change my life. Not just any rugby club, the world’s first gay rugby club, the Kings Cross Steelers in London.

First trip to Griffin Park- revisited

I have previously written about my memories of going to GP for my first game. I managed to track down the game with the use of THE ENGLISH NATIONAL FOOTBALL ARCHIVE. I narrowed it down to the Boxing Day match in 1971.

Now I have found more information after buying book about Griffin Park.

From that I can see that it was a big match with a remarkably large crowd of 18,000+.

No one that I recognise

This also invokes the memory of once queuing for ages to get in with my Dad. So maybe this was the match and it was almost a family day out!

Final visit to Griffin Park

A collection of images and thought

Last weekend I took up the opportunity offered by the club to visit the stadium for a last time. The offer was made by the club in light of the pandemic curtailing the final season and a good will offer to season ticket holders in particular. Anyone could go it seems as the original offer was oversubscribed before he season ticket holders had a chance to get in. Anyway it worked out in the end. Here is my late recording.

Braemer Road
My seat

And finally the image I uploaded to be ‘in the crowd’ for the games at the stadium that were played behind closed doors. I never did see myself on the telly but here I am:

It was a good trip in the company of Anthony. I saw parts of the ground that I had never seen- great view of the pitch from the away end upper tier, for example, or parts I had not been to for many years.

A nice piece of nostalgia.

A farewell piece for Griffin Park

Griffin Park is one of the few old-school grounds left in English football, hemmed in by housing and retaining terracing – a rarity in the Championship in the days of all-seater stadiums since the dawn of the Premier League era.

A nice piece on the BBC to commemorate the final game at GP which happened in the week.

Griffin Park: Can Brentford give ground perfect send-off by winning promotion through the play-offs?

By Rob Stevens

BBC Sport

Brentford v Barnsley
Griffin Park, with its empty Ealing Road terrace (left) hosted its final Championship game last Wednesday when Brentford were beaten by Barnsley
Sky Bet Championship play-off semi-finals, second leg: Brentford v Swansea (agg 0-1)
Date: Wednesday, 29 July Kick-off: 19:45 BST Coverage: Live text on BBC Sport website from 19:15 BST, commentary on BBC Radio London and BBC Radio Wales

The turnstiles at Griffin Park have already rattled for a final time. The Ealing Road terrace, usually a swelling mass of bodies on match days, stands empty.

However, the ground, Brentford’s home since 1904, will host one final game on Wednesday night before the west London club move into a new stadium this summer.

Brentford History

Great video

Lockdown Football and Hope

Possibly the biggest goal in Brentford’s history:pic.twitter.com/iqIZSwpQfB— Essential Brentford (@BrentEssential) July 17, 2020

As the saying goes currently…”we live in strange times ‘.

Football in the Championship as well as the Premier League has restarted behind closed doors as a result of the pandemic.

Brentford have come back after the lockdown break so well with eight wins. They have slowly pulled in WBA and this is the round with 2 games to go. It started .. and ended.. with WBA one point ahead with the Bees having a better GD.

But the Baggies have screwed up by losing to Huddersfield – so now Brentford have the future in their own hands. Four points needed from their last two games. One tomorrow v Stoke away and then home to Barnsley who a rooted at the bottom of the table.

So now a big, big game tomorrow.

Down to the Globe in Windmill Road to see the outcome.