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Well, what can be said. December can be described in one quite short and indeed rather repetitive sentence- rain, rain, rain, snow, rain!!
However, I can proudly say that I did manage to get one game in, another Division Three fixture in the Manchester League. I must confess that it was a rather non-descript fixture and actually quite dull, so I'm not going to bore you with the details! Instead, December saw my first meeting at my Associate society:
Part Three - The Land of Cakes!!
What do you get if you mix currents, brown sugar and some margarine together and place the mixture inside some puff pastry? The answer is not that you're society's young scribe has gone totally barmy and sent this article to Dave in the mistaken belief that he in fact publishes a cookery book, but instead it makes Eccles cakes (so my mum tells me!) and that is my exceedingly tedious link to the description of my first meeting with the Eccles and District Referees Society.
I had arranged, through the County RA Secretary Dave Crick, to become a member of the association so that I had a contact closer to 'home' in Manchester (rather than just having one 200 odd miles down the road!) and December was my first opportunity to visit my new colleagues.
Having arranged to be picked up from a tram station by members of the committee, i soon arrived at the Old Brown Cow Hotel, venue for the society meetings. Once initial introductions were concluded, I settled down with the society and the business side of the evening was concluded in what I'm sure was record time, under 10 minutes! Now it was time for the real substance of the evening, the Xmas quiz, and yes, some of the questions were as obscure as those that a certain J. Martin manages to dream up every year!!
Amid many jokes about 'Southern Invaders' ( I am the fifth 'Southerner' to join Eccles in recent times) and further jokes at my expense (something to do with tax payers' money and students!), it was revealed that I, the only new member of the society had won the monthly whisky draw- a marvellous achievement- although I must admit to being a little sceptical about the prospect of a 'fix' on the basis that I don't believe anybody actually saw the 'draw' take place!!
Regardless, the evening continued and the circulation of the Christmas food supplied by members of the society brought further jokes about the standard of student diets as my team proceeded to be early contenders for the wooden spoon. However, following an amazing turnaround, and the fantastic gambling skills of members of my team in a "Who Wants to be a Millionaire"-style final round, my team emerged as clear runners-up to the team headed by the society's President, one Neil Midgley!!
By the end of what I can only say was a thoroughly enjoyable evening, I returned home with my bottle of whisky and a bottle of wine (part of my prize for coming second in the quiz) and look forward to my next meeting, which shall be in February.
There is no doubt that this is what the RA should be about, fun and enjoyment but at the same time fulfilling the needs (in a refereeing sense) of its members. Let's not let the opportunity provided by the recent report into the future of the RA slip by, lets make sure it leads to an RA like this for every member and indeed, if possible, for every referee.
Anthony Moore.
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