Monthly Archives: November 2013
GCFC v Didcot Town

27/11/2013 City v Didcot Town FC. City ran out 2-1 losers after a spirited and physical match.
Jamie Thoroughgood scores.
Cinderford at home is the next game, come on the City!!!!
Shortwood United
I drove one of the Minibuses to the Shortwood United v Guildford City FC match yesterday. They have a lovely little set up there, a nice compact little stadium and nice facilities, however the journey to get there is really interesting, I am glad that I was driving a “little” 17 Seat Minibus, anything bigger would have been a problem, I wish that I had set up a dash camera to record it.
If you haven’t been there you really probably can’t imagine. But I can help, you know the end of the Italian Job, where the coach is barrelling through the Alps, well keep that in mind, reduce the width of the road to a car & a half wide. Great Fun, but when it came to leaving it was even more fun, pitch black, icey and headlights that have next to no spread so turning in blind into a blind corner, time after time.
Thanks to Methold Vehicle Hire, another Away trip negotiated without a problem (unlike some previous trips last season, with another Minibus supplier)
Football F*cks me Off
Ok, let’s get this straight, I am a Gooner, always have been always will, “We are top of the league, We are TOP OF THE LEAGUE!”. But as a functionary of the Guildford City Football Club (I take photos & drive one of the team buses) I am thoroughly pissed off with the standard of refereeing in this league (The Calor Division 1 South & West). Today the GCFC were cheated by some shocking refereeing decisions, including one goal that was so far off-side that even from the other end of the pitch I questioned it.
It seems that a lot of the “western” teams know all of the referees by name as well as Assistants and not only the 4th Officials but also seemed to have gone to their daughters weddings, and today the GCFC manager was refused permission to talk to the ref & his officials after the game.
GCFC having some brilliant players that seem to be persistently targeted by referees because of the “former” GCFC disciplinary record which really annoys me, if you know me, you’ll also know that I am annoyed by lots of other things, lying, cheating, corruption & being shit at your job are just a few, and over the last couple of months I have seen them all from “match officials” It’s wrong, it has to stop..
I am not going to call the referees and assistants corrupt, YET. BUT F*ck me what do GCFC have to do to get decisions to go their way. I’ve got a grand or two in the bank, maybe that will help.
Well played to all of the GCFC players today, you certainly wouldn’t believe that Shortwood had knocked out Aldershot and met Port Vale in the FA Cup. In particular Pat COX, Calvin Thomas, Omari Hibbert. Josh Clayman, Dom Ogun, Dean Thomas (I was surprised, well played!) Darren Stapleton (no more bookings please) and others deserve special mentions, Didcott on Wednesday, more of the same spirit please,…..
GCFC today

23/11/2013 Shortwood United v Guildford City. City ran out 4-0 losers after a spirited and physical match. City’s PAT COX battles
A second yellow for Darren Stapleton, kind of sealed the deal in the second half, but you have to say that if you are looking for positives out of a 4-0 drubbing, the main thing is that we made them work very hard, and at times they really didn’t look like a team that should give us a problem at home. Next up Didcott at home, 3 points please lads.
Shortwood United V GCFC
Should be fun, A two hour trip to Gloucestershire tomorrow to play the team that knocked out Aldershot Town and eventually lost to 4-0 to Port Vale in a good FA Cup run. After several team changes since the beginning of the season, it looks like City have a good solid core of players, assuming no fitness/injuries or disciplinary problems, they should start to climb the league table.
Guildford Christmas Lights
Met Police v GCFC
GCFC v Paulton Rovers

16/11/2013 15:20. Guildford City FC v Paulton Rovers. City ran out 3-1 losers against high flying Rovers.George Bowerman Celebrates City’s equaliser
The images will be available on line from about 2200hrs tonight.
From The Archive
Another visit to Archive
Well the camera kit has dried out
FA Cup Action
I don’t think that the Brentford keeper was required to make any actual saves, just plucked a couple of crosses out of the air. Otherwise until the last five minutes I think he had a problem keeping warm. However in the last 5-10 minutes Staines Town went close on a couple of occasions.
Disappointed to lose my 100% record
Having covered every match for Guildford City FC (both home and away) since the beginning of the season, I am disappointed to miss my first match, however today I am at Brentford v Staines Town in the FA Cup. As was pointed out I still cannot get away from teams in Red & White Stripes.
Should be fun though…. Pictures Soon.
Another Blast from the past
FA Cup Action This Weekend
Once more into the Archive
Yet another one from the Archive
From The Archive…Again
Yet Another from the Archive
Another image from the Archive, snow in Guildford in 2009. What are the odds on getting snow this year? Can’t imagine that it will be this deep again for a while.
Another From the Archive
Whoo Hooo
Just found out that I am covering the switching on of the Guildford Christmas lights, with Bonnie Langford…. & the cast of Cinderella & Santa’s Singing Elves.
Beats some of the previous celebrities that have turned the lights on in the past, I seem to recall doing Floella Benjamin some time back in the 1980s, and fairly sure that Molly Sugden did it also…..
Continuing The Archive Theme

Sara Crowe and Ann Bryson before they shot to fame as the Philidelphia Cheese Girls. Original Publicity photographs shot for their Cabaret Act the Flamin’ Hamsters.
They both went on to considerable success it TV comedy shows & Sara also went on to star in a Carry On film, admittedly it was one of the worst Carry On films ever made, although there was a memorable quote, but I can’t even remember what that was 🙂
Well that was different
After many years working for the national newspapers, this weekend was the first time that I have worked for a local paper. What a difference! Whereas for the nationals it was very rare that I would cover more than 2 jobs in a day, then it was a rush to wire the images as quickly as possible. Frequently “doorsteps” would involve standing around from stupid o’clock until late, usually with 10 minutes of frantic activity followed by a rush to move the photographs as quickly as possible. Because even if you are on a paid shift for a title, frequently the picture editors would use the first photograph to land on their desktop, (especially so if it came from Reuters or PA etc).
Anyway this weekend involved lots of jobs, and then a leisurely trawl through the images, and as long as they are on the FTP server by Monday morning all is good.
It is funny that the pictures that seem to be favoured by the local press do not seem to have changed much in the 25 years since I last did the usual “grip ‘n’ grins”, “cheque presentations”, “tree planting ceremonies”.
Good Fun anyway.
Now I am a Gooner, so f*ck off you scousers
I have been sorting out the archive

From PressPhotos-UK.com 12/04/2003. Cadet at RMA Sandhurst, passes out in front of Brigadier General Sir Michael Jackson Copyright Paul Burgman
When I arrived at RMA Sandhurst the guy in charge of PR was a Major Park-Weir (retired) said to me “If you follow my orders, everything will be fine”. Well I am not in the forces, and explained to Mr Park-Weir, that I don’t take orders. & even if I was I wouldn’t take orders from a Retired Major.
He really took umbrage at the fact that I called him Mister.
Anyway a Cadet passed out in front of the then Brigadier General Sir Michael Jackson, the most senior officer in the British Army at the time, and I think that I had the only frames, because all of the other photographers agreed with Mr Park-Weir that they would happily photograph an ex-professional Rugby Player & the first female officer to win a prestigious award. I knew I had the picture in the bag, so didn’t agree to a posed-up photo.
So I left, and wired, anyway, a friend of mine that works at the RMA, said that the shit hit the fan & that if Park-Wier knew the name of the photographer that put the picture out, I would be barred from any future passing out parades. He still doesn’t know who I am, and I have been back a few times, but this still remains the best picture that I have had out of the RMA Sandhurst.