Hopping for Moorfields - Call for Payment

Many thanks to everyone who made a pledge for Hopping for Moorfields during the 2012-13 football season.  This is about raising money to support the world-class scientific research fund at this London hospital, for which benefits ultimately extend worldwide.  Most people pledged a fixed amount per goal but there were a few other categories and criteria – here is the final tally and the request for payment.  It looks like the final total will be around £650.

Please accept my grateful thanks in advance, and let me have your contributions as soon as you can.  It is a brilliant collective effort.  I am sending discreet reminders out later today by email or Twitter DM.

The final number of goals seen was 191, so the penny-a-goal pledges are worth £1.91 each.  Most sponsors chose a fixed amount-per-goal.

Amount Pledged per Goal	Total
1p	£1.91
2p	£3.82
3p	£5.73
4p	£7.64
5p	£9.55
10p	£19.10
25p	£47.75
50p	£95.50

Here are the other end-of-season totals that affect certain sponsors:

Number of Grounds with Visible Farm Animals	2	Clear evidence from Larkhall Athletic but I am counting the duck next to Hadleigh United which was clearly happily domesticated
Dutchmen or Belgians encountered during the season	4	See Stamford
Number of Castlecroft Rangers players seen	20	Including unused subs! This grassroots post became the biggest hit of the season.
Number of games with exactly 3 goals	13	See the full list elsewhere in this post.
Number of games with 8 or more goals	1	Trafford 5 Spennymoor T 3
Number of grounds with covered terraces or standing	32
Number of 0-0 draws	3	At Newport County, and my Boxing Day double at Wisbech T and AFC Sudbury
Number of bicycle kick goals	0
Number of somersault goal celebrations	0
Number of goals scored by goalkeepers	0
Number of abandoned games due to snow	0
Number of days in which personal involvement in a multi-vehicle motorway pile-up is followed by a late-night puncture in a thunderstorm	1	Unfortunately, no-one had the foresight to sponsor me for this. See the Larkhall Athletic post.

Hopping for Moorfields FAQs

1          How can I pay?

By PayPal: to the email address headyapp (at) hotmail (dot) com

By cheque: email me on headyapp (at) hotmail (dot) com or DM me on Twitter and I will send you my home address.

By online transfer: email or DM me and I will let you have my bank account details

I will publish the written acknowledgement from the charity in due course, hopefully around the end of August, to prove that your donations have been passed on.  If you prefer to send the money direct to Moorfields then their details are here.  Let me know if you do this so that I can include you in the totals.

http://www.moorfields.nhs.uk/Getinvolved/MoorfieldsEyeCharity/Howyoucanhelp/Makeadonation

2          Can I make the donation through Gift Aid?

Yes if you meet the qualification rules as a UK taxpayer.  You would need to complete and send this form (link below) to me with your payment and I will make sure that your instructions are followed.  Email or Twitter DM me for contact details if you wish to do this.  This would be a good thing to do as it increases the value of your donation – but remember to keep a copy for your own tax records.

http://www.moorfields.nhs.uk/Getinvolved/MoorfieldsEyeCharity/Howyoucanhelp/GiftAid

3          I didn’t make a pledge at the time, so can you accept a donation now?

Of course, make a payment of any random amount that you choose, by any of the methods in FAQ(1) above.  This would be magnificent.  The original idea of this season is that hundreds of people would give me small amounts each.  No donation is too small or insignificant.

           

4          Will donors’ names be made public?

I will not be publishing individual names though of course many of the initial pledges were made publicly on Twitter.

5          Which games did you see?

Firstly, these were the games at 47 “new” grounds which took my lifetime total up to 512.  Each one has its own blogpost which can be reached from the tag cloud on the right of the page.

Competition	Result
Eastern Counties Premier	FC Clacton 2 CRC 2
Midland Alliance	Tividale 3 Westfields 4
Conference North	Workington 4 Stalybridge Celtic 1
FA Cup Preliminary Round	Wootton Bassett T 1 Hamworthy U 0
FA Cup Preliminary Round	Sleaford T  1 Rainworth Miners Welfare 2
FA Cup Preliminary Round	Highworth T 1 Shortwood U 0
Sussex County D1	Selsey 1 Lancing 5
Isthmian D1S	Crawley Down Gatwick 3 Dulwich Hamlet 1
Hellenic D1E	Henley T 1 Chalfont Wasps 5
Two	Rotherham U 4 Bradford C 0
FA Vase 1st Qual Rd	Cobham 3 Oakwood 2 aet
FA Vase 1st Qual Rd replay	Cranfield U 4 Bush Hill Rangers 1 aet
Conference Premier	Newport Co 0 Stockport Co 0
Hellenic Premier	Marlow 4 Highmoor Ibis 1
FA Cup 1st Qual Rd replay	Blaby & Whetstone 1 Eastwood T 3
Conference South	Truro C 0 Bromley 1
FA Cup 2nd Qual Rd	Trafford 5 Spennymoor T 3
FA Trophy 1st Qual Rd	Grays Ath 1 Ashford T (Mx) 1
Southern D1 Central	Rugby T 6 Guildford C 1
FA Vase R1 Replay	Hanwell T 0 Oxhey Jets 1
FA Cup 4th Qual Rd	Hastings U 3 Blackfield & Langley 0
Denmark (2nd tier)	Hobro 1 AB 1
Denmark (2nd tier)	Viborg 2 Fredericia 2
Denmark Superliga	Esbjerg 1 SønderjyskE 2
Denmark Superliga	FC Midtjylland 1 Brøndby 1
Denmark Superliga	Horsens 1 FC København 0
FA Trophy 3rd Qual Rd	Bognor Regis T 1 Havant & Waterlooville 4
FA Vase R2	Amersham T 1 Rye U 0
Hellenic Premier	Highmoor Ibis 0 Binfield 3
NPL D1S	Brigg T 0 Coalville T 3
FA Vase Rd 3	Hadleigh U 2 Oxhey Jets 0
Isthmian D1S	Maidstone U 2 Worthing 2
Eastern Counties Premier	Wisbech T 0 Godmanchester Rovers 0
Isthmian D1N	AFC Sudbury 0 Needham Market 0
Eastern Counties Premier	Diss Town 1 Gorleston 1
Northern Premier	Witton Albion 2 Nantwich T 2
B’ ham AFA Div 6	Castlecroft Rangers 2 Dosthill Boys Club 2
NPL D1S	Coalville T 2 Sutton Coldfield T 0
FA Vase Rd 4	Larkhall Ath 2 Peacehaven & Telscombe 1
Northern Premier	Buxton 0 FC United of M’cr 3
FA Vase Rd 5	Spalding U 1 Guernsey 3
Southern Premier	Stourbridge 2 Hemel Hempstead Town 3
Southern Premier	Frome T 0 St Albans C 3
Isthmian D1N	Thamesmead T 3 Potters Bar T 2
West Mids Regional Prem	AFC Wulfrunians 4 Black C’try Rangers 3
Combined Counties League D1 Cup Semi-Final	Eversley & California 1 AFC Croydon Athletic 2
South Midlands Premier	Holmer Green 2 London Tigers 3

I also saw these games at Hitchin Town FC:

5-0 v Whitehawk (FA Cup 2^nd Qual Rd replay), 1-2 v Hastings U (FA Cup 3^rd Qual Rd replay), 0-3 v Cambridge C, 0-1 v Leamington, 1-3 v Chesham U and 1-1 v Bedworth U (all Southern Premier League).

Finally, I paid a second visit to Stamford (4-1 v King’s Lynn) and two more to Wembley for the Two and One playoff finals (Bradford C 3-0 Northampton T and Yeovil T 2-1 Brentford).

6          Why did you do this?

Moorfields Hospital has performed a number of eye operations on close family members for a range of conditions involving cataracts and detached retinas.  I and they are very grateful for these life-changing outcomes and it goes without saying that we need to keep on doing good science and developing clinical practice if we are going to help people all over the world recover or protect their sight.  Here are some examples from Moorfields’ own website which show how our donations make a difference.

http://www.moorfields.nhs.uk/Getinvolved/MoorfieldsEyeCharity/Howcharitablefundsaremakingadifference

Lovely Day for Glovers

Bobby Moore's head (above) and foot (below) ...

 

Hopperational details
Date & Venue	Sunday 19 May 2013 at Wembley Stadium
Result	Yeovil Town 2 Brentford 1
Competition	League One Playoff Final
Hopping	17th visit to the new Wembley, and the second time embedded in Yeovil supporters.  I saw them lose out to Blackpool back in May 2007.
Pre-match preparation
Brentford were third and Yeovil fourth in the regular league table.  Brentford’s end-of-season has been astonishing – they were a penalty away from automatic promotion in their final game, but missed it and conceded to their rivals Doncaster on the break.  They recovered to beat Swindon over two legs in the playoff semi-final while Yeovil were coming from behind to beat Sheffield United.
This match in one sentence
A second Yeovil goal just before the interval proved crucial as they were forced into a rearguard action for most of the second half.
So what?
Yeovil Town are up to the Championship next season for the first time in their history.
The drama unfolds
Yeovil took the lead with a superbly taken goal after only 7 minutes.  Maybe it was lucky that the rebound from Sam Foley’s shot fell kindly for Paddy Madden, but the curling finish with the outside of the boot was classy.  1-0 after 7 minutes By the midpoint of the half, and my scene-setter clip, Brentford had settled and it was an even game.  Yeovil are in green-and-white. The second and pivotal goal came at just the right time for Yeovil.  Foley contributed by beating his man and reaching the byeline on the left, but his cross was headed out for a corner.  This resulted in a headed goal at the far post for Sam Burn (credited to James Hayter at the time) whose header was cleared but not until after it had crossed the line having passed through a group of players in the six-yard box.  2-0 after 41 minutes and at half-time It was clear that Brentford would need to score early and Clayton Donaldson earned a corner from a strong run into the box.  Harlee Dean timed his run to perfection and headed home unchallenged to give Brentford hope with plenty of time left.  2-1 after 51 minutes Another Brentford corner caused chaos and Marek Stetch made a brilliant save on his way to the man-of-the-match award.  The momentum was with Brentford and Yeovil could not keep the ball.  They defended ever deeper, but Brentford also became more desperate.  Stech was not beaten again.  My final clip is the 6 minutes of stoppage time and includes some of the finest agricultural hoofing ever to grace the hallowed turf of the national stadium.  Yeovil hung on for a historic win.  Final score 2-1
The programme
Something random
The density of osmium is a staggering 22.6g/cm3 … is that random enough for you?
Hopping for Moorfields Update
Up to 191 goals for the season now, and the 13th three-goal game.
Mars Bar Watch 2013
All sorts of crazy choconomics in the WH Smith at South Mimms Services on the A1(M).  A standard 58g Mars Bar costs 85p (bad enough in itself) but they sit just below the Duo (2 x 42.5g = 85g of Marsy goodness) for 95p.  I bought a small 46g Galaxy bar for 85p just for a change and even the assistant pointed out that I was committing chococonsumerism craziness because the giant 125g bars of the same stuff were on sale at the till for £1.  I have no willpower so I declined but I probably won’t sleep now.  Good job I am not the Chancellor of the Exchequer.
What Next?
No idea!  I will try to fit in another match or two, but the main thing is that I will be asking Hopping for Moorfields sponsors to pay up fairly soon.  Please adjust your budgets accordingly!

It's Just Bantam

Hopperational details
Date & Venue	Saturday 18 May 2013 at Wembley Stadium
Result	Bradford City 3 Northampton Town 0
Competition	League Two Playoff Final
Hopping	My sixteenth visit to the “new” Wembley and my first game for several weeks (due to work commitments!).  It is the second time I have sat among Bradford City supporters.  The last time was at the end of 2001-2 when I managed to suppress my elation at Igor Balis’ stoppage time penalty winner at Valley Parade as West Brom took a giant step towards a first season in the Premier League.
Pre-match preparation
Bradford City have had a remarkable season, reaching the League Cup Final (and losing to Swansea) and sneaking into the final playoff place.  Both they and Northampton beat higher-placed opponents in the playoff semi-finals.  Bradford may find their Wembley experience to be an advantage, though to be fair that’s what West Brom thought after their FA Cup Semi-Final as they went on to lose narrowly to Derby County at the end of 2006-7.
This match in one sentence
Bradford City nailed the win in the first half-hour and this was as close to a stroll in the park as you could get for a Wembley final.
So what?
Bradford City are promoted to League One.
The drama unfolds
I had chosen the highest-altitude ticket in the stadium and took my place in block 527 high above the half-way line.  Here’s a scene-setter clip taken during the early sparring.  Bradford are in gold and black, Northampton in maroon.  Both sides have half-chances and long throws from Northampton pose an early threat. Bradford City took control of the game in the 15th minute.  An overhit cross from the left fell to Garry Thompson on the right of the penalty box and he chipped it intelligently back to the far post where James Hanson had a fairly simple header to open the scoring.  1-0 after 15 minutes It was only another four minutes before something similar happened.  This time the overhit cross was driven to the near post from the right by Nathan Doyle, and this time Rory McArdle stole a yard of space and glanced a header home.  2-0 after 19 minutes The game was effectively over as a contest before the half-hour mark.  Kyel Reid had acres of space for a left-wing cross which was headed back unselfishly across the 6-yard box by Thompson to Nahki Wells who finished easily.  3-0 after 28 minutes and at half-time The second half was largely forgettable for the neutral.  Northampton keeper Lee Nicholls made a fingertip save to stop a fourth, and although there was plenty of effort.  I took another couple of clips as the party atmosphere grew to my left and the right side dispersed in disappointment.  The last one has Northampton's final chance for a consolation followed shortly by the final whistle.  Final score 3-0
The programme
Something random
For readers not paying attention to my Twitter feed, the reason for my absence from the groundhopping world for a month or so is a change of job.  I made a leap back into a full-time teaching position as Director of Science at a large comprehensive school in Hertfordshire, and so the work-life balance has been disturbed and has not yet reached a new position of equilibrium.  Ofsted turned up on my eighth day!  I will be back in the summer with a readjusted blog, probably with more tangents as I try to make sense of the world of education in England once again.  I have some stories to tell.
Hopping for Moorfields Update
188 goals in 54 matches and the 12th three-goal game of the season.  The day of reckoning is not too far away, sponsors – my enforced recent break means that the final value of each penny-a-goal pledge will be around the £2 mark.
Mars Bar Watch 2013
An utterly outrageous £1.20 for a standard 58g bar in the concession kiosks on Wembley Way.  I think they rioted for less provocation than this in 1789 in Paris, or was that marzipan? I’m not sure.  Earlier this week the Shell service station on Breakspear Way in Hemel Hempstead was running a special offer of 3 standard bars for £1.50.  Capitalism, eh?  Shell must be getting a backhander from the independent dentists.
What Next?
Off to Wembley again for Yeovil Town v Brentford on Sunday!