Cheltenham at a Snapshot

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Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2010:08:12:06:01:56 by Ged.

Looks a cr*p old place, tired buildings, road noise, lack of decent architecture, no atmosphere, the scoreboard lacks information and why is Jesty looking at the camera when Shah is on 99? Rubbish bin behind the scoreboard is in need of emptying and that ice-cream van looks a bit suspect. The outfield is the wrong colour and why does S_M have a bottle of water in front of him?
If that place wins outground of the year again, there must be a stewards inquiry.

Green eyed monster!!!

It was lovely, in a different sort of way to Uxers! For one the ground staff don't talk or supply curry!!!


However the icecream was lovely (sorry Peter!) it was cornish stuff, soft, but yellow not white and VERY creamy!

Great photos... I love the ACE scoreboard one

Kimmy

AND vic, this place has got its own chapel...

So do I take it Kimmy from your posting you don't care for our communication or curry?
Ah but Dingy, did you get to see inside the chapel? Now that really is an experience.

Mmmmmmmmmm Curry...

A fine place to visit , the icecream was superb (unless you ended up wearing it) , the beer magnificent , the journey down comfortable as well , the company (as ever) superb.

A few lessons may be learnt for the way Middlesex "use" their outground sites I think but would our committee(s) be brave enough to take them on ?

As the Glous lass in the pic said to us , they make more out of the two weeks of the Cheltenham Festival some years than they do playing the whole season in Bristol .

Agree with all Mr D has put.
If the Middle are there next season,well worth the journey and direct to tent 1.

Another Beefy classic picture added at top. Agreed, good pictures but not the same charm as Uxbridge

Barmy Kev
I'm only here for the tele

No Vic..... What I meant was the ground might have been nice, but the ground staff didn't chat to us or fed us curry.... I seem to remember having the most wonderful curry at Uxers and you're always around for a chat!!!


kimmy

It is nice to see that the chapel or whatever it is called has two Stars of David.

I believe it to be an amazing achievement for a ground to be so highly-rated that supporters recommend that other people visit it, even if their team aren't playing. For me to recommend that a neutral should visit a ground, it would have to be good enough to make me feel euphoric.

I can't speak about attending Middlesex away matches as I seldom do so, but when I attend Watford away matches my favourite away days tend to be made by things such as a speedy and uncomplicated journey, a good result for Watford, a good seat at the match, a good atmosphere created by Watford's supporters, not feeling intimated by the other team's supporters and being treated well by the stewards. However, I can't see myself saying to someone that they should visit a ground even if their team aren't playing there.

On the one occasion I did attend a Middlesex away match this season, v Surrey at The Oval in the Twenty20 Cup, I was unable to give the ground a good report as my view was obstructed by people walking back and forth and I didn't really see much of the match.



Click here to read why I sensationally sacrificed the big bucks of Chelsea for the adventure of Watford

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(image on left not representative of how relative my support of Watford is to my support of Middlesex)

JW - if you don't want your view obscured by people disappearing to fill up their bladders and then again to empty them every 10mins - I recommend you sit (as I do) in the Family (no alchohol) Stand at the Oval.
You do get to watch the match completely uninterrupted....

Still don't what caused be the biggest shock - driving into the ground & parking within 30 yards of the pitch and not being charged ANYTHING!!
Or the fact we couldn't defend 299 ****** runs !!!

Diamond, we never stop learning and are never able to rest, so one would be interested to hear and possibly explore your thoughts on "using" outgrounds. My guess would be that marketing Cheltenham would be slightly easier than Uxb also that they have a larger staff to do so, but let us explore the possibilities.

Kev, you are an old smoothie.

Kimmy, only winding you up but please don't tell my bosses I stand around talking all day, they already question why in Harringey Racers phots, I'm never to be seen. Also the curry next year will be bigger and better, that i can promise.

Darren/Beefy great photos, good to read of people enjoying their visit to the cricket rather than the continuous carps of a few who are happy to wallow in their teams poor results.

True Vic , it was the marketing side I was most aware of , sell aa area to organisations , like local cricket clubs/rugby clubs etc ,let them have a marque with a pitchside viewing area , the right to sell beer and food to their "members" and charge them a fee for the duration of the Festival , plus of course the tentage hire and other supplies which would have to be laid on anyway can then be offset against these pitch rentals .

Some of the bigger clubs in the County would maybe see it as an oppertunity to earn some funds directly rather than have them drip feed from the MCCC system , it would also advertise them to the Middlesex public and might even garner them a few members themselves .

Public area bars and food outlets would (as at Cheltenham) be avaliable to the general public still so any loss of trade should be commensurate with increased turnover .

Diamond's thoughts about outgrounds is spot on.
All we need is more people going to these grounds supporting the 'middle'instead of whinging from their armchairs at home!

JW, you have made an understandable error. The building in the pics is not the chapel. AS the pics show this building, with the twin towers, was directly square of the wicket. It was billed as the Pavilion and, so a local told me, designed along the same lines as the railway station in Calcutta. The East India Co built the college.

The chapel is not in the pictures: it was at one end (to the right and hence the Chapel End) and looks like a small cathedral!!

I also noticed the window design.

Quote:

kenpr
Diamond's thoughts about outgrounds is spot on.
All we need is more people going to these grounds supporting the 'middle'instead of whinging from their armchairs at home!

I would have gone to Cheltenham, but as far as I am aware my Middlesex membership and my Oyster card are not valid for that.

Plus I agreed that I would go with my parents to Totteridge, because most other Sundays there are things such as Middlesex matches at Lord's (well actually there aren't any more for the rest of the season) or football on Sky.



Click here to read why I sensationally sacrificed the big bucks of Chelsea for the adventure of Watford

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(image on left not representative of how relative my support of Watford is to my support of Middlesex)



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2010:08:10:20:25:32 by Jonathan Winsky.

Interesting Diamond. Would you have any idea what Cheltenham/Gloucs charge potential clients for the tented areas?
The right to sell beer and food raises a couple of issues. Liquor licence and food hygiene standards, these would need to be sorted.
I would be interested to hear any views on how to improve the attendances at games - not my area of responsibility - as it is you the members and cricket watchers, who are the people we need to appeal to. Perhaps one evening we should all get together for a beer and bash some thoughts around.

My third visit to Chelters and the most enjoyable. The 'tent' arrangement as Diamond remarked was excellent value.

Run by 'Churchdown Club Ltd'(2003) it was a quid for the day 'temporary membership' or five quid for the complete festival.

This gave you access to seating and a burgher bar and 'real ale' where you soon recouped the quid in value.

A Chinese lady was knocking out basic burghers, to which you had a choice of slapping on either an egg, bacon or sausage on top. Price £2.90 and after two, I was full.

The 'real ale' was Doombar' I think, a couple of barrels. And was priced at three quid a pint.

Suffice to say, we drank all of the beer and ate all of the pies.

The Glaws fans in there: said they appreciated the fact that so many Middlesex fans had turned up in their club colours.

They said, that does'nt often happen, as oppo teams supporters, think it is just for locals.

As a bit of PR at the end: the hosts thanked us for our custom as we headed for the station, a couple of country miles away.

Quote:

Vic Demain
I would be interested to hear any views on how to improve the attendances at games - not my area of responsibility - as it is you the members and cricket watchers, who are the people we need to appeal to

Please disregard any opinions I raise on the subject of the various outgrounds on the county circuit as I never pay money or socialise when I attend cricket, and all I do is sit and concentrate on the cricket. At intervals I simply walk round the ground, unless perambulation is permitted.

I would support the continued use of Uxbridge purely because it is not a great distance from Wembley, and also because I know Middlesex are unable to play every match at Lord's.



Click here to read why I sensationally sacrificed the big bucks of Chelsea for the adventure of Watford

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(image on left not representative of how relative my support of Watford is to my support of Middlesex)

On the "commercial" side of the idea Vic I think Fletch might be your man for that , as for the licencing etc we may well find there are significant differences in what can be done at a school in Gloustershire with years of history as an outground and any of our outgrounds .

Still reckon it could be worth investigating though . It might be that as we come out of these austere times that one of the London breweries (preferably the one from Chiswick) could become involved .

SM,your thoughts are fully agreed with,and sums the whole day up fully.

Diamond, as always Fletch & Loz are at the very forefront of my mind and from what S_M states, my original conception of this practise was miles off the mark. So this would almost seem to be a private enterprise by the Churchdown club? Any member of the public is welcome to pay an extra £1 for the day and enjoy basic catering delights plus a good view?
Perhaps we could speak with Cheltenham/Gloucs and find out what such a package would cost, as I am struggling to see how it would be particularly cost effective during a Championship game without Strauss, Morgan & Finn playing. Different for a 40 overs bash on the last day of the festival but we will find out and explore all avenues.
JW long may you enjoy your visits but let me invite you to sample and embrace the full experience of a day at the cricket.

Middlesex members who enjoy watching the club play at outgrounds will be delighted to know that according to a South African website called Times Live, one of Middlesex's outgrounds is Shenley. I hope it is not true as Shenley is not particularly easy for me to get to, although I am sure there will be others who live near the ground and would be delighted if it is true.

Times Live must be considered as a reliable source as in March it was the website to whcih Makhaya Ntini infamously caused offence to Middlesex supporters by guffawing about the thought of him signing.



Click here to read why I sensationally sacrificed the big bucks of Chelsea for the adventure of Watford

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(image on left not representative of how relative my support of Watford is to my support of Middlesex)

Middlesex haven't played at Shenley for some years, but it has been used as an outground. Most recently, IIRC, the tour match v Zimbabwe.

It is a lovely ground. Countrified setting. Any out ground with a Cornfield End gets my vote. But sadly, no church.

One other point Vic from the Gloucestershire viewpoint.

In the pre match onfield chat in the T20 v Glaws on the Sunday at UXB.

The Gloucestershire skipper Alex Gidman,if memory serves me correctly, gave you and your team public support, when he stated on being asked how he felt about the game, 'that he liked 20/20 matches on outgrounds as he felt they have a better atmosphere'.

I guess the Gloucestershire boys are growing on you Vic. I would also concur with his view, having visited Bristol on many occasions, that Cheltenham, particularly for a Sunday afternoon CB40 game, provided a more enjoyable and informal atmosphere.

Should be bottled and kept.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2010:08:13:15:03:37 by Seaxe_Man.

Gloucs have long been my favourite County to host S_M as they were my introduction to pro cricket back in 2003, when Jonty Rhodes, Jack Russell & Craig Spearman featured against a Bucks side that included James Marshall, brother of Hamish. Add to that that Jon Batty now plays for them and another of my old boys, Robert Cunliffe was Gloucs.
Outgrounds can provide a far superior atmosphere to the stadiums, as everything including the play and players, is up close and personal.

Good to see the pix. On a rare visit I was at the match too,tacking it on to my summer holiday on the Oxford canal. A great day(apart from last two balls), with weather and atmosphere to match.So much better than the Guildford Festival which I went to last year to see the mighty Middle thrash Sorry.

Lower Mound has said he would like to attend Middlesex's Clydesdale Bank 40 match v Gloucestershire at Cheltenham on Sunday 22nd July 2012, as the Seaxe Club will be running coaches there. He said we could alternatively travel to the match v Worcestershire at New Road on Sunday 27th May, something I was keen to do so I could see Ben Scott, but Lower Mound seemed keener to go to Cheltenham.

Quote:

Jonathan Winsky
It is nice to see that the chapel or whatever it is called has two Stars of David

He told me that one of the reasons why he is keen to go to Cheltenham is because it used to have an association with Judaism. When he told me this, I remembered noticing in photos from Middlesex's visit to the town in 2010 that there were two Stars of David on a building next to the cricket ground, and so, to find this article, I typed Chetenham "Star of David" into Google. That search lead me to a site called jtrails.org.uk, and it taught me that the building in question is called Corinth House and indeed used to be linked with Judaism, which explains the Stars of David.

Beggar, thought this would be about the greatest show on turf.