Football Programmes Centre

farmersboy · Joined: 25 Jul 2010 Posts: 131 Location: Northampton

I'm off to Walsall this Saturday and apparently any food being taken into the ground will be confiscated. Apparently the area around the Bescott Stadium is a bit of a wasteland for food.

I get round the no tops on bottles rule, by secreting a few spare tops about my person. If I strap a few sarnies around my body I may get mistaken for a suicide bomber. It will be a long day travelling by train and bus for me, any ideas?

Flaming Pie · Joined: 26 Nov 2016 Posts: 974

Farmersboy, this is crazy. If l take the grandkids to Tranmere l always take a plastic bag of drinks , crisps , cakes , pies and other healthy stuff! l think a way around the Walsall embargo is to wear a very large top hat packed with goodies.They would not suspect a thing on the gate!

mdjw_41 · Joined: 21 Aug 2009 Posts: 520 Location: York

I've never heard of anything like that, though our food only ever extends to a small packet of sweets! Most grounds barely even look in a bag or do a proper search so I'm sure you'll be fine. Just spread them out a bit around bags and people!

littlewiggy · Joined: 07 Apr 2013 Posts: 1810 Location: Newport

Flaming Pie wrote:

Farmersboy, this is crazy. If l take the grandkids to Tranmere l always take a plastic bag of drinks , crisps , cakes , pies and other healthy stuff! l think a way around the Walsall embargo is to wear a very large top hat packed with goodies.They would not suspect a thing on the gate!

Great idea from Pie.

Tell them you're Dave Hill from Slade and the unfeasibly large top hat won't be given a second thought at the gate.

Plus you can smuggle in a couple of cans of light ale inside the platforms on your boots.
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Flaming Pie · Joined: 26 Nov 2016 Posts: 974

Wiggy, do you remember Vic Reeves and Bob Mortimer doing those Slade sketches? They always had them drinking cuppa soups! I recall going to some Gaelic football games at Croke Park , Dublin when l was a kid in the 1960s. There were blokes throwing fruit into the crowd.People would throw the money back at them. Can’t remember any sweets or pies being purchased, just apples and oranges. They must have been very health conscious!

littlewiggy · Joined: 07 Apr 2013 Posts: 1810 Location: Newport

American stadiums have got it right Pie, they walk around the perimeter shooting hot dogs at you from a massive gun.

Do you remember the round pies they sold in the Park End at Everton in the 1980s? Those buggers were harder than granite and made perfect missiles to throw at the Bin Man. Nobody was daft enough to try and eat one.
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Dorking · Joined: 05 Feb 2010 Posts: 2510

At Palace you aren't allowed to bring in HOT food, but all other food is okay. You can also bring in small bottles of drink (non-alcohol) as long as it is still sealed.

leaguefootballmag · Joined: 03 Jun 2015 Posts: 38

Same no hot food rule at stadium:mk, hot drink are ok though

sbs1trg · Joined: 26 Jul 2015 Posts: 35

If you want to see o’clock up for the train home, there is (or at least was) a huge Morrison’s less than 5 mins walk from the ground.

bigdavethemaddog · Joined: 28 May 2013 Posts: 165

i can never understand why you arent allowed tops on plastic bottles but old folk are allowed to take flasks in. If i threw a flask at somebody it would cause much more damage than a plastic bottle.

Dorking · Joined: 05 Feb 2010 Posts: 2510

It's only old folk that take flasks and effectively they turn a blind eye to it, an an old chap isn't going to lose a £20 flask in a fit of pique

The lid thing is interesting as different clubs have different rules

there are 2 lines of thinking with the lids -

- if the bottle has a lid then it goes further when thrown as the contents stay in rather than fly out

- if a bottle with a lid is trodden on, you are more likely to go flying than if it has no lid and squashes/crumples

At Palace however they go the other way and allow bottles to be brought in only if they have lids and are still sealed - more about being sure the contents are only pop and not alcohol

littlewiggy · Joined: 07 Apr 2013 Posts: 1810 Location: Newport

Dorking used to stand with the louts on the Arthur Waite terrace. Back in those halcyon days he had no problem getting into the Arfur with his filed-edged tanners, flight of darts, home-made slingshot, and a pocket full of ball bearings.

Very Happy

PS. Joshing apart, I'm pretty sure if you were to say you were a chronic diabetic or something like, it would be against your basic human rights to prevent you entering the ground with sarnies & snacks.
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Pete’s Picture Palace · Posted: Fri Mar 30, 2018 10:23 am Post subject:

Can I just say that I'm only 62 and been going since I was 6 - but from memory I have NEVER taken food into a ground?

littlewiggy · Joined: 07 Apr 2013 Posts: 1810 Location: Newport

Pete’s Picture Palace wrote:

Can I just say that I'm only 62 and been going since I was 6 - but from memory I have NEVER taken food into a ground?

Same here Pete. The only thing I've ever taken into a ground is ale money and my nerdy specs.
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Tynie Topics · Joined: 26 Nov 2009 Posts: 3572

Reminds me of a Hearts v Queens Park match in season 1982/83, was a midweek game and I was a mere lad, but my neighbour used to take me and he was 17/18 at the time and working.

He picks me up straight from his work with his mate and head to Tynecastle, via a Chinese takeaway for their dinner, which subsequently is laid out on the benches in the old enclosure (3 or 4 tubs) and we all tuck in. There was only 5,000 at the game so plenty of room for a spread, although the enclosure did hold in the smell a bit Laughing

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ToffeeDan · Joined: 21 Nov 2008 Posts: 2148 Location: Wirral

The utter gash food at Hilton prices.. who in their right mind pays £2.30 for luke warm tea, £5 for p*ss tasting beer, £4 for a pie (all available for around £6 total outside).

Anyway Tescos meal deal (pasta or plain non-cheese sarnie, drink and chocolate for the lad (diet, ok).. or Morrison's £3 meal deal..

But they do get angsty about bringing bottles in.. and, when you're 5-2 down to Arsenal at home an (empty) plastic bottle could easily go flying onto the ground in anger.

farmersboy · Joined: 25 Jul 2010 Posts: 131 Location: Northampton

The food inside most grounds is overpriced and s***e. As I won't get home till about 9 o'clock and won't have much time between trains its mostly for the journey home.

Many years ago before a match in Shrewsbury, while walking round the town, I bought a nice jar of home made jam to take home. it was not until I got to the ground that I realised there might be a problem. I told the stewards that I did not intend to throw it but however if one of the players ended up with jam dripping off him then it would be me. They let it through!

Dorking · Joined: 05 Feb 2010 Posts: 2510

12 noon, 12.30 and 5.30 kick offs are an utter pain if you have small children with you - the game cuts right across meal time. Many a time with these kick offs it has been a case of fill his pockets with sandwiches, chocolate bars and crisps (they can't search kids!)

5.30 particularly - eating before going in is too early. Wait until after the game and its too late and they are starving!