OSAmag87_library

T h e O l d S t a t i o n e r - N o 8 7
OSFC Season report 2017-2018
Another season has drawn to a close and the guarded optimism....
things can only get better etc, etc... expressed in the mid-season
report unfortunately failed to materialise.
As previously reported the 1st XI started the season promisingly,
then struggled for much of the winter before gaining 3 wins and
two draws in their final 5 games to finish 8th out of 10 in SAL
Senior Division 3. Although, slightly reassuringly, this was 11
points clear of the 9th placed side, Kew Association and the gap
between us and third spot was also only 11 points. Furthermore
two draws, early season and late season, against eventual
Champions, Carshalton showed that we can certainly be
competitive given the right commitment....hopefully things can
only get better etc etc next season!
As explained in the mid-season report, we unfortunately had to
drop our 2nd XI soon after the season started which meant that
we only ran a 1st XI and 3rd XI. The 3rd XI’s early season woes
continued for much of the campaign which saw them sadly
finish bottom of SAL Junior North Division 4, a goal difference
of -80 from 18 games tells its own story. Although credit should
be given to the hard core of five or six players who turned out
regularly despite the weekly struggles.
No doubt over the summer there will be discussions amongst the
Committee and senior players to determine how we proceed
from here. On a positive note it seems likely that one of the
younger, talented and enthusiastic members of the 1st XI, James
Keenan, will take over the captaincy next season and he is likely
to introduce some fresh faces to bolster the squad, which did
show plenty of promise in a number of games, particularly
towards the end of the season.
Although for many years we have been able to call upon an
experienced and capable Committee to administer the Club, our
problem has been for too long now, finding willing, able and
enthusiastic captains to run the sides below the 1st XI, which is in
many ways is an even more important aspect to a successful Club.
However as has been well documented, whilst a few clubs in
AFA/SAL football continue to thrive, many are experiencing the
same trials and tribulations that we are. We must all face up to
the fact that at our level of Saturday afternoon football we are
competing with a number other distractions. Televised Premier
League games on Saturday, less time consuming condensed
football in the form of Power League 5-a-side style competitions,
being just two examples that spring to mind.
Hopefully things can only get better in 2018/19!!
To finish on a more positive note, we will be holding our popular
Annual Ex-Players Re-union Day in early October 2018, please
pass on the word. We will confirm the exact date nearer the time,
so please look out for details of this and other information about
OSFC on our website www.oldstationersfc.co.uk
Ian Meyrick
ian.meyrick@gmail.com
Reunions
CLass of ’54 - THE SEARCH IS ON...
The intake of 1954 have held their annual reunion lunch at The
Cheshire Cheese in Little Essex Street for the last few years, but
it is now due for redevelopment and we have to find a new venue.
Mo and her friendly staff have always given us the top floor of
the pub for our exclusive use and we wish to find a pub which
would give us similar accommodation. Our requirements are:
• A room for our exclusive use
• Free choice from a good menu for each person
• No room charge, deposit or minimum spend.
In this way, we could just book the room and tell our class mates
when it was and there would be no financial commitment other
than each person pays his own bill. A task force of Roger
Engledow, Bob Harris, Roger Melling and me was set up to
search for the new venue. The only way to find an appropriate
venue was to visit some likely candidate pubs that Roger
Engledow had selected to see if they could provide us with what
we wanted. You may think that it was an excuse for a pub crawl
– you would be right.
The Parcel Yard
This was our first stop and is within Kings Cross railway station
so it is easy to get to. It is a grade 1 listed building and has lots
of interesting rooms to explore. It used to be the parcel yard and
associate buildings, but today it is a welcoming Fullers pub
although both the beer and food are a bit pricey. The old Waiting
Room is the main public area, but they have several rooms to
accommodate private parties. The First Class Lounge can take
up to 40 people seated and is where the class of 1967 hold their
reunions. The Station Master’s Office is a bit quirky, overlooks
platforms 0 – 7 (a trainspotters’ paradise) and can seat 30 people.
Both rooms would do, but they wanted a deposit, to provide a
buffet or set meal and a single bill to be settled at the end. Not
what we wanted.
Ye Olde Mitre
Our next stop was the Olde Mitre, another Fullers pub, in Ely
Place EC1N, just off Hatton Garden. It is difficult to find and
we walked past it the first time. The pub was built in 1546 for
the servants of the Bishops of Ely, and is famous for having a
cherry tree that Queen Elizabeth once danced around. The pub
was actually a part of Cambridge (Ely being in Cambridge) and
the publicans used to have to go to Ely for their licences. It has
a gruesome past, being near where William Wallace was hanged,
drawn and quartered at Smithfield, along with martyrs and
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