Good afternoon one and all and welcome to The Vale for this afternoon’s League games against Harrow Borough & Carshalton Athletic. We trust you and your
fellow fans have a pleasant stay here with us in the heart of Middlesex and also have time to share a drink with the supporters in the clubhouse after the game.
Over the long and depressing days of the summer when all you have to watch on a Saturday is pointless internationals, the current British tennis hopeful fall at the final hurdle or some has been ex-sportsman chew on a worm whilst in the jungle… I decided to put my time to good use and spent most of it working my way through a considerable pile of football related books (many of which were plucked from the megastore shelves).
Unlike Mrs E I have never been a great reader. Whilst she knocks off a book every few days I struggle to knock off more than two or three a year. She loves a good love story… I love a good pint hence my depressing total (God only knows how I ever passed English GCSE). This summer I read as much as I could relating to the Stones. Amongst the list was Bromley Boys (highly recommended), Off the Bench, Grounds for Divorce (featuring Bappo & the Stones), Footballs Strangest Matches (A bit of light train reading), Don’t Mention the Score (The history of English football), Changing Ends (featuring our FA Cup game vs Rotherham) and many more from footballers who have some link to the club, management or fans. I could not get enough Wealdstone info. Don’t mention the score was particularly interesting and very easy to read. Charting the history of the England team’s great failures at almost every turn from very beginnings right up to the modern game I came across one very interesting fact. In the early 1900’s it was common for the English team to be made up of a mixture of professionals / public School Old Boys who simply played for fun and Amateurs who toiled down a pit for 20 hours a day before heading off to training. During this period it was extremely common for the professionals to refused to change in the same room, eat in the same restaurants, stay in the same hotels and even travel on the same trains to away games as their less privilege team mates, even though many of the amateurs were the stars of the team. The ‘them and us’ mentality was alive and kicking even then in football. It is somewhat ironic that if I ever saw the likes of John Terry on the same train as me I would make sure I went out my way to have him thrown off. Give me a non-league footballer all day long. At least they live in the real world. (ps it’s a really good book).
The other good thing about this book is it has numerous little ‘gobbits’ of information (aka pointless pub facts). Two that spring to mind are – What is the only football league club whose name you cannot colour in any of the letters? & 2. Who was the last player to score for England with a moustache (Goatees / Wayne Rooney bum fluff not accepted)? The first correct answer to be given to us in the megastore during the Boro game (or Carshalton if Boro is off) can walk home with a wonderful prize. I will reveal the answer via our twitter feed so get following if you want to know.
Off the Bench – We are now almost complete sold out of Gordon Bartlett’s book Off the Bench. I think we have three copies left so if you have not brought one yet the chances are you might be too late. It is unlikely we will be getting another edition printed, but if you interested then pop into the megastore and ask and hope no one has brought a copy before you. The last few copies are available for a very reasonable £12 (not bad when you think it was an independent publishing and a very small print run).
Behind the Season (2009-10) – If you have not already heard we have the copies of the next NEW Wealdstone FC book ‘Behind the Season: A Scrapbook of the Season 2009-10’. Based on the diaries our beloved manager this book charts the ups and downs of our fantastic season from three years ago. The book is A4 in size and features pictures, newspaper cuttings and is guaranteed to be a great read. It is available at the Megastore or online at the following web address and remember all profits go to the playing budget. http://www.wfcmegastore.co.uk/en/books/863-behind-the-season.html
2012 Wealdstone Calendar – If you don’t already know Steve Foster has once again done his magic and produced yet another ground breaking calendar. It uses actions shots from the last year and features well known faces such as Ginge, Mr P Worby and others. Some real lookers in there to adorn your office workplace or kitchen wall… As usual it is reasonably priced. You pay for the first ten months and we give you the next 2 months totally free… all for a very reasonable price of £5. Pictures and details can be found at http://www.wfcmegastore.co.uk/en/stationery-/872-2011-wealdstone-calendar.html
New Order of Shirts – Fingers crossed we should be in possession of another batch of Home & Away Wealdstone shirts. If you have pre-ordered one or two then feel free to come and collect them. If you don’t have time to pay us a visit don’t forget you can buy online as per normal.
Megastore Online News – By the time you read these notes the worst of the Xmas shopping experience will be over. Whilst Christmas is a great time for the club shop in that we send loads of packages out all over the country and abroad, I will not miss visiting London Bridge post office everyday leading up to Chrimbo. The queue is unbelievable. If you or your family / friends brought anything online I hope it arrived safe and sound, and put a smile on your face on Xmas morning
Last time I was asked to pen some notes I believe we had just past the 6,000 mark for hits / visits on the Megastore website. Well a few months on and we are now just passed the 44,000 (yes thousands). Not bad considering we are only advertising via Wealdstone websites and word of mouth. I have been asked about the link to the megastore online via the Official Wealdstone FC site. This can be found on the main club website right in the middle of the home page. It is a lovely picture of Miss Parker, Miss Spendlove & Miss Morris modelling our new kits. Just click on the picture and it takes you to the mother of all online shops.
The Twits – As you probably know Wealdstone is well endowed when it comes to Twitter contributors. A large proportion of our players regularly keep the world updated as to their mood, and on top of that we also have numerous fans who will keep you updated with news and views, as well as live updates of events as they happen during the game. Just so you are aware we to at the Megastore are on twitter under the name @Wfcmegastore. For all the latest news and product releases feel free to join the growing number of followers.
One final point with regard to Twitter, in the next few weeks we hope to add a live feed to the megastore website so if you are sitting at home in front of your computer on a matchday or you don’t have a twitter account then all you need to do is visit the home page of www.wfcmegastore.co.uk and all the updates from the game along with our chairman’s, @Bananas_WFC, @Russpa33, @MrJollyEsquire and many more can be followed in real time. You don’t need to log in to Twitter, so watch this webspace.
Programme Hunters – Not only to we offer a huge range of Wealdstone programmes via our downloadable spread sheet that contains home and away programmes from 1950’s to present day, but we have also recently added a large number of football league clubs programmes. At present we have an extensive list of Arsenal, Chelsea, Fulham, Watford to name a few dating back to the 1960’s. We have tried to briefly describe the condition but please be aware the postage is FREE on all these items no matter how many you order. The prices do vary. I know there are people out there who collect such items as you often ask me what I have in stock, so please feel free to click away and buy buy buy.
Coming Soon – We hope to in the near future offer WFC Supporters Club members discounts on match day purchases and via the megastore website. In the New Year we hope to roll out some special membership keyrings which will entitle the holder to a discount on a range of products. So look out for info on how to collect you Super Discount keyring in the coming weeks.
Goodbye & goodnight – That brings to an end my 7th set of programme notes. Remember the shop will be open all Home games and some away games. Come on you Stones and don’t forget to bring your wallets.
Adam E (aka Stones Throw) & @Wfcmegastore on twitter
On behalf of the Megastore Team
