Monday, 13 April 2009

Easter Monday at Golcar

Posted by Peter Davies

Another sunny day. Swallow Lane looked gorgeous and the Colne Valley panoramas were spectacular on a crisp April afternoon. It was a pre-season friendly against Scholes, with plenty of people in attendance on the boundary, including the new Golcar president who was constantly being referred to by pals as 'El Presidente'! Pie and peas were served at teatime, just as the wind started to get up and the temperature cooled slightly. One of the Scholes batsmen hit a straight six which crashed right through a bedroom window. But, thankfully, it was reported that the householder concerned was a) in Spain, and b) a Golcar CC member - so everyone breathed a sigh of relief. News came through in mid-afternoon of the Giants' win on Humberside - and this perked everyone up. Took some photos of what appeared to be foundation stones right at the bottom of the front of the Golcar pavilion. Each stone had a name on it - founding fathers of the club perhaps or trustees when the building was constructed.

Sunday, 12 April 2009

From Holmfirth to Blackley

Posted by Peter Davies

The first local friendlies of the summer. At Holmfirth I met club chairman David Whiteley who showed me round the pavilion, which is currently being redeveloped. He said he'd been down every afternoon since last November working on the building! He also handed me a box of old Holmfirth CC scorebooks - some, he said, dating back to the Second World War. A great find. At Broad Oak the visitors were Golcar. A beautiful sunny day and dozens and dozens of spectators in attendance. At Rastrick, Paddock were the opponents. Again, loads of spectators and the Paddock players waiting to bat sat out on the boundary's edge. I chatted with Mark Turner and Hugh Golbourne who, in association with the Cricket Heritage Project, are planning a major new cricketing initiative this summer. More details to follow! Also mananged to photograph some old Rastrick team photos in the club pavilion. Finally, beautiful Blackley - according to Brian Senior, seasoned professional cricket watcher, the nicest ground in West Yorkshire! And it was gorgeous today - with Holmfirth the visitors. Club secretary Julie Pearson told me about the winter redevelopment work on their pavilion - and I could almost smell the sense of newness as I wandered into the building. She also said they're hoping to frame a selection of our exhibition boards for display in the pavilion - and they'll probably alternate which boards are on display every few months. Great news!

Thursday, 9 April 2009

More conferences...

Posted by Peter Davies

On Tuesday 7th April I spoke about the Cricket Heritage Project at the 'Recording Leisure Lives' conference in Bolton. During the intervals I met some very interesting and important people in the sport heritage world including author Simon Inglis. He said he loved what we were doing in Calderdale and Kirklees - which was great to hear! At the Huddersfield 'Sport and Oral History' conference, staged last weekend, I also met some prominent academics involved in sport history. Again, they seemed to be very much aware of what we were doing on the project, which was very nice to know.

Monday, 30 March 2009

Conference

Posted by Peter Davies

The 5th Annual Pennine Cricket Conference was staged at the University of Huddersfield on 28 March. It was a very good day with four excellent speakers (take a bow Messrs Jowett, Cooper, Laughton and Hutton) and a wonderful audience about 35-40 strong. The topics discussed were the story of Southowram CC, professionals in the Central Lancashire League, rhymester Albert Craig and cricket grounds 2008. There was an update on project news, lunch in the Varsity pub across the road, and some great chat and banter during the coffee breaks. The bookstall did some good trade and it is good to know the new season is only a few weeks away. Thank you to everyone who spoke and came along for making it such a memorable day.

Tuesday, 17 March 2009

Promotional event

Posted by Peter Davies

This Saturday just gone myself and the two PR students helping with the Cricket Heritage Project - Megan and Hayley - organised a promotional event in Halifax town centre. We had a stall, some flyers and books, and also a large bowl of sweets to entice local people with. Between 10 and 4 we met a number of passers-by and were able to chat with them about the project and cricket in general. It was a bit windy though! Look out for us in Huddersfield town centre this coming Saturday.

Friday, 20 February 2009

'Nothing to Play For' by Dave Walker

Posted by Peter Davies

Check out 'Nothing to Play For' by Dave Walker - see http://www.ckcricketheritage.org.uk/index.htm. Creative writing based around the fortunes of Almondbury Casuals CC.

Wednesday, 11 February 2009

2009 exhibitions

Posted by Peter Davies

We have lots planned for this summer in terms of new exhibitions. In March we're going to donate a replacement heritage display to Badger Hill CC (Rastrick). Then in May we are moving on to East Bierley CC - a club we were late researching because we didn't realise it was actually located within the boundaries of Kirklees!

In the same month we will launch our 'Cricket and Industry' displays in Calderdale (Dean Clough) and Kirklees (venue TBA). These exhibitions will focus on the relationship between cricket and industry - especially the way in which textile barons saw sport, and cricket in particular, as a way of encouraging and motivating their workforces. There's lots to talk about here...