elephant in the room

[farmersboy]

I know we are all sick of the coronavirus news but maybe it's time to talk about it on this forum. First of all what an empty day Saturday was. My Pompey mug, which I only use on match days, lies unused at the back of the cupboard, my Wembley weekend, for the famous Leasing.com Trophy, gone for a burton.
I suspect by the weekend all non-league football will be cancelled.

Still on the bright side, there will be a hunt for a selection of 'last ever' and 'never were' programmes, from clubs that go out of business.
I hope everybody looks after themselves and their loved ones.
One bright moment, I managed to score some toilet rolls from the co-op in Market Harborough and I have a good supply of malt whisky from previous Christmases. So anyone passing my way is welcome to come in for a whisky and a s**t.

[mdjw_41]

Indeed, stay safe everyone and look after those closest to you.

It is a strange situation not having any sport to look forward to and completely different to the 7-8 weeks of "free" time that we normally have between the end of the season and pre-season.

From running the sale of football memorabilia via eBay, I actually thought that with everyone at home, sales may increase but it's had quite the opposite effect and sales are very slow at the moment. Maybe people are saving their money for the essentials with all this uncertainty. That being said, for me, any new free time will see my clearing out the garage of old memorabilia and stock programmes. There isn't anything too "exciting" but a huge selection from thr 60's onwards covering most clubs when I can get to all the boxes. That being said please let me know if there are specific items you need or if you're interested in any larger bulk items from certain clubs and I'll gladly keep all lists printed out and look through for anything anyone requires. Please PM me your needs or email me via [email protected]

[colchestersid]

I am finally getting round in the evenings to typing up my handwritten programme lists - my oldest lists go back almost 40 years so quite an exercise in nostalgia

When the schools close I'll have to home school my 6 y/o son for however long it takes - fortunately I can take a sabbatical from work to do that but feel very sorry for those who aren't going to have that option. I also look after my 90 year old dad whilst my wife works night shifts in a care home - going to be a challenging few months ahead

In answer to the previous post, I'll not be listing anything on ebay until this is over, I think a lot of people will find it hard to justify spending money on programmes at the moment...

[manchesterunitedman1]

colchestersid wrote:

I am finally getting round in the evenings to typing up my handwritten programme lists - my oldest lists go back almost 40 years so quite an exercise in nostalgia When the schools close I'll have to home school my 6 y/o son for however long it takes - fortunately I can take a sabbatical from work to do that but feel very sorry for those who aren't going to have that option. I also look after my 90 year old dad whilst my wife works night shifts in a care home - going to be a challenging few months ahead In answer to the previous post, I'll not be listing anything on ebay until this is over, I think a lot of people will find it hard to justify spending money on programmes at the moment...

I understand your last remarks, I have to say in such serious and strange times, life does go on and it can be a very effective diversion to have a tiny bit of normality with all the doom, death and gloom and we have not even scratched the surface-as they used to say on "Hill Street Blues"
"Stay safe everybody out there!"

This is an unprecedented scenario and yes maybe you will be right, but I hear that some Auctions[non football] scheduled for this week are taking place-bidding either by phone or the net and I would expect any footy auctions would be held "behind closed doors" who knows what the future holds, perhaps as this madness simply continues, in time the picture will be clearer but I think that is going to be quite some time as EVERYONE is in the dark including the Government.

Wonder If Corbyn cannot believe it that he was not involved in this and Boris wishes he was not, one dodged a bullet and the other one in time may wish he took one!
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[Dorking]

I watched Dorking Wanderers in the National League South last weekend, one of very few games still on - I also have a season ticket there (as well as Palace) so it was a handy back up, and the crowd was about 30% bigger than it normally would have been. Lots of people came who didn't support either side, but just wanted to watch a game.

It was noticeable how many of the seats with stickers saying 'season ticket reserved' were empty - most of our seat season ticket holders are elderly fans, so a lot of these stayed away.

On a personal level, all the time football is off, I will save quite a lot of money - last weekend I should have gone to Bournemouth away, and on Saturday in 3 days time I was going to Liverpool v Palace away for the weekend. Would have been quite a game with them likely lifting the trophy.

Lost the money for my Liverpool hotel, but saved on what I would have spent on petrol, programme, and all the badges!

Had refunds on England tickets for the two home friendlies at Wembley at the end of March, and have kept the tickets as 'never happened' ones.

Paid for a parking space for Villa away in April, which prob won't happen.

Overall though, football is something I think about all the time, cramming as many games In as possible is normal in my life. So I lost a bit of my routine, my normality.

But whether I am up on this ticket or down on that hotel is neither here or there in the bigger scheme of things. People are losing family members at an alarming rate. That is what is important.

I still have a stack of tickets and two season tickets if games do resume this season. And tickets for 5 matches booked for Euro 2020, which will happen next year now.

I find myself looking on ebay a lot more, boredom playing a part, my bidding/purchasing not massively different.

I also bought (on ebay) a match badge for a game that hasn't happened yet, and possibly might not happen



and even if it does happen, it might not be game 19 of 19! Time will tell.

I will be working from home for a couple of months from Monday, which will be interesting - hopefully I stay focussed, and hopefully I still have enough work to do.

All the best chaps.

[Pete’s Picture Palace]

I'm probably not the only bloke on here who knows Wolves' greatest fan, Tony on the Isle of Man, but I was talking to him the other day and he's in the process of getting back his money on 14 flights he'd booked with Flybe, which were taking him back & forth to the mainland and all parts of Europe. Imagine how busy he's been this year and how many hours travelling, and how many £££ spent.

Then came this virus and he suddenly has no travelling to do, no matches to see, like all of us. And he's praying he gets all that money back from the bust airline.

I'm 64 and my partner is over 70 so I'm just about self-isolating now for her sake, a daily 200-yard walk to the corner shop for newspaper and milk and a weekly drive (instead of bus) to the bakery which is opposite the Post Office. That's my lot. I hate to say it but our neglected garden might get one hell of a pounding any time soon.

I wish everyone here the very best of health and luck, because we're all going to need that.

[Auchinleckian]

Pete’s Picture Palace wrote:

I'm probably not the only bloke on here who knows Wolves' greatest fan, Tony on the Isle of Man, but I was talking to him the other day and he's in the process of getting back his money on 14 flights he'd booked with Flybe, which were taking him back & forth to the mainland and all parts of Europe. Imagine how busy he's been this year and how many hours travelling, and how many £££ spent. Then came this virus and he suddenly has no travelling to do, no matches to see, like all of us. And he's praying he gets all that money back from the bust airline. I'm 64 and my partner is over 70 so I'm just about self-isolating now for her sake, a daily 200-yard walk to the corner shop for newspaper and milk and a weekly drive (instead of bus) to the bakery which is opposite the Post Office. That's my lot. I hate to say it but our neglected garden might get one hell of a pounding any time soon. I wish everyone here the very best of health and luck, because we're all going to need that.

Rewilding, Pete, rewilding...