Bar na bas
Schoolboy⭐
I have hesitated to post this, but have decided to express some disappointment.
Not about the performance today, after all we still got a point, and there were games we played last season where we did not play well and lost by the odd goal. It is the first match of the season, after an incredibly stressful period for the management and players, not knowing if the club was going to make it to the start of the season, and it is not inconceivable that has had its effect. Who amongst has not known the effects of stress and anxiety on their performance at work, etc. We all hope that as that stress reduces and the players can just get on and enjoy their work, the football will flow freely, as it did at times last season.
No, my disappointment is for the 80 or so dedicated fans who turned up and gave of their time on Friday to help with the big clean up. People of all ages gave up a good few hours of their time. Loads of kids, attending with a parent or grandparent. Some people with limited mobility, including one dedicated man in his wheelchair. Sweeping stands, stairwells, and walkways which looked like they had not been swept for years; jet-washing seats and surfaces to clear them of the evidence of occupation by pigeons and foxes (that was truly quite unpleasant work); washing by hand all of the wooden seats and many of the plastic seats in areas; picking up litter. Justin did his bit cleaning seats in the north stand once he got back into the country. I was there for four hours, until I left as I needed to make sure my 89 year old mother with dementia was ok. But during my time there, I swept, bagged up what I had swept, and cleared up rubbish, going out of my way to pick up discarded sweet wrappers and empty bottles. I cleaned seats, including my season ticket seat and that of my cousin next to me, and the rest of that row as well, as I sit and chat with my neighbours. I even cleaned the seats of the guy and his son who every match last season, scoffed their burgers and dropped their rubbish under their seats. I felt proud of the efforts of the fans who turned up, there was a good atmosphere. And many people on shrimperzone and the Facebook page said a deserved well done to people who gave their time.
And so to matchday. It felt good to walk into the stand today and see areas looking a lot better than last season. And enter the fans, most of whom were not present for the clean-up. Maybe if they had been present, they would have had more of a sense of involvement and ownership of the effort, and less of a sense of entitlement that the ground should look good.
So, my disappointment was there when looking around the stand at the end of the match, and seeing the amount of rubbish left behind. Not just the tifo cards, but empty bottles, sweets wrappers, etc. If people want to have a drink and eat food, fine, but does it take much effort to actually take the rubbish away? Particularly when people have brought the food and drink in bags, just put it in the bag and dispose of it in the nearest bin.
I love walking in the countryside, and have walked much of the south west coast path in recent years, and recently walked Offa's Dyke in Wales. Walkers generally respect the countryside and I have seen very little rubbish on these walks, despite going for miles without seeing a bin. Why is that, do you think? It is because people put their rubbish in their rucksack or bag and carry it with them to dispose of responsibly. They care about their environment and the countryside which others will be passing through as well. Leaving rubbish all over the ground suggests to me the exact opposite, and also does not honour the people who worked so hard on Friday to get the ground ready. Also it takes staff time to clear up after the event. We know the club is short of money and resources. Let's do our bit to save staff time and resources, in as many ways as we can. Like the team today, we can do better.
Up the Shrimpers.
Not about the performance today, after all we still got a point, and there were games we played last season where we did not play well and lost by the odd goal. It is the first match of the season, after an incredibly stressful period for the management and players, not knowing if the club was going to make it to the start of the season, and it is not inconceivable that has had its effect. Who amongst has not known the effects of stress and anxiety on their performance at work, etc. We all hope that as that stress reduces and the players can just get on and enjoy their work, the football will flow freely, as it did at times last season.
No, my disappointment is for the 80 or so dedicated fans who turned up and gave of their time on Friday to help with the big clean up. People of all ages gave up a good few hours of their time. Loads of kids, attending with a parent or grandparent. Some people with limited mobility, including one dedicated man in his wheelchair. Sweeping stands, stairwells, and walkways which looked like they had not been swept for years; jet-washing seats and surfaces to clear them of the evidence of occupation by pigeons and foxes (that was truly quite unpleasant work); washing by hand all of the wooden seats and many of the plastic seats in areas; picking up litter. Justin did his bit cleaning seats in the north stand once he got back into the country. I was there for four hours, until I left as I needed to make sure my 89 year old mother with dementia was ok. But during my time there, I swept, bagged up what I had swept, and cleared up rubbish, going out of my way to pick up discarded sweet wrappers and empty bottles. I cleaned seats, including my season ticket seat and that of my cousin next to me, and the rest of that row as well, as I sit and chat with my neighbours. I even cleaned the seats of the guy and his son who every match last season, scoffed their burgers and dropped their rubbish under their seats. I felt proud of the efforts of the fans who turned up, there was a good atmosphere. And many people on shrimperzone and the Facebook page said a deserved well done to people who gave their time.
And so to matchday. It felt good to walk into the stand today and see areas looking a lot better than last season. And enter the fans, most of whom were not present for the clean-up. Maybe if they had been present, they would have had more of a sense of involvement and ownership of the effort, and less of a sense of entitlement that the ground should look good.
So, my disappointment was there when looking around the stand at the end of the match, and seeing the amount of rubbish left behind. Not just the tifo cards, but empty bottles, sweets wrappers, etc. If people want to have a drink and eat food, fine, but does it take much effort to actually take the rubbish away? Particularly when people have brought the food and drink in bags, just put it in the bag and dispose of it in the nearest bin.
I love walking in the countryside, and have walked much of the south west coast path in recent years, and recently walked Offa's Dyke in Wales. Walkers generally respect the countryside and I have seen very little rubbish on these walks, despite going for miles without seeing a bin. Why is that, do you think? It is because people put their rubbish in their rucksack or bag and carry it with them to dispose of responsibly. They care about their environment and the countryside which others will be passing through as well. Leaving rubbish all over the ground suggests to me the exact opposite, and also does not honour the people who worked so hard on Friday to get the ground ready. Also it takes staff time to clear up after the event. We know the club is short of money and resources. Let's do our bit to save staff time and resources, in as many ways as we can. Like the team today, we can do better.
Up the Shrimpers.
