Trentside Tales - Nottingham Forest F.C & Notts CCC
- Neil Harrison
The City Ground ahead of Billy's first game back in charge ..16/2/13 v Bolton​
looking down at the Hound Road Stand from Fox Road. Trent Bridge Cricket Ground
2 of my daughters, Sarah, Natalie (the Forest fanatic)& wife Cheryl at Blackpool away...the tower is the give away, I suspect!​
An England day at Trent Bridge, 2011 ​
​The 'old' Trent End, photo taken the day before it was demolished in 1994. 'Gone but not forgotten' ...our season ticket seats in here these days much more comfortable than the way we used to be crammed in, but the atmosphere at times was electric, very impressionable, certainly as a teenager, albeit at times for the wrong reasons perhaps!
GALLERY
Leaving present bought for me by my team to signify my 33 years plus service at NatWest/RBS!​
My grandson Adam on his first visit to Trent Bridge ... a future opening bat for Nottinghamshire .. & England!​ with Radcliffe Road Stand in background.
Left to Right​ - Forest mad daughter Natalie with me at Blackpool again (I have shed a few pounds since that picture!), Our season ticket seats, back row between the R & the E in the Trent End, En route to Trent Bridge for my stag doo - July 2011 and limo (Thank you & apologies to those who travelled by other means but it was a very happy day, Tom, Steve, Andy, Dad, Me, Antony & Pete on this picture.
More pictures of friends & family at Trent Bridge on my stag do (obviously the 2nd one in my life). Including : Ian, Antony, Dad, Chris, Kev, Pete, Richard, Steve, Arthur ... apologies if i have not listed one of you!
Left to right, TB again - Fox Rd Stand. Wife Cheryl with daughters on wedding day: Sarah, Bethany, Cheryl, Natalie & Kayleigh. 'My Girls'.
Right - Natalie, Sarah & Bethany​.
Left to right - Me & The Missus finally tie the knot aboard the Independence of the Seas, after about 9 years together. Mind you with 3 kids each, I am sure you can understand why! Only 4 at home now plus us 2 of course & I think 8 of us might have proved tricky!
Family pic on ship: Dad, Sam, Annette,Tabitha, Antony, Kayleigh, Cheryl, Me, Sarah, Joe, Natalie, June & Bethany. Final pic - The whole wedding party .
Couple of pics of C.G ahead of Ipswich game 5/3/13 & then behind the Bridgford End after the game walking from our Trent End seats, through the car park en route back to the car.
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Older fans like me will know that the famous 'Mist Rolling in from the Trent' can & has caused games to be abandoned. In our promotion season of 1976/77, some will remember thankfully it did v Southampton (trailing 0-1). We won the re-arranged game 2-1 & we went up that season!
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left to right - Me trying to pretend, I'm good at cricket with a baseball bat on one of Jersey's many lovely beaches.
Outside the fantastic Olympic Stadium - Aug 2012
& one of the missus at home.
I started seeing Cheryl in June 2002 (we had 'known' each other back in 1981!) The 1st game I took her to was Portsmouth (a) on the opening day of the 2002/03 season. We lost 0-2. For some reason she decided to stick with me and Forest! Not to mention Nottinghamshire CCC as well. Mind you, everyone loves Trent Bridge Cricket Ground... it's impossble not to!
Left to right - Message on scoreboard to daughter Natalie from myself, Cheryl & Lewis McGugan!​ Nats was 21 on 26/10/09. This though was ahead of the Newcastle game on 17/10/09, in front of 29,155. We won 1-0. I took her to her 1st game 26/12/96, a 0-4 home defeat against Man Utd. She has stuck with it ever since though I do keep apologising!
Pic with my daughters, at my best mates daughter's wedding Aug 2012.
Proud dad Steve looking the worse for wear at the same wedding after the speeches! We can be found in the Trent End Upper, back row between the R & the E... Tom (Steve's son), Natalie, Steve, Myself & Cheryl along with some other very nice people in that area.
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At Trent Bridge Cricket Ground for a Nottinghamshire CB 40 game with some of my team members, somewhere near the start of the 'restructure/at risk process at the Bank last year. Believe it or not, I did not get any gardening leave as my job of Area Manager did not allow it! That said, NatWest/RBS were a pretty good Company to work for in many many ways. I have no complaints.
A slideshow! of some of my team at Trent Bridge. Down the years I always used to organise a day at the T.B test for many of my work colleagues and friends. There was usually about 20 plus of us so plenty of fun was had by all. This would comprise of people who were still n my team, others that had previously been and even some who had left the Bank.
Great for morale but at times, it did cause me a few interesting discussions in certain quarters! Not to mention taking me about 6 months to recoup the ticket money from the odd person.
All very worthwhile mind and some very happy and fond memories, not that you always remember that much from such days out!
More Trent Bridge ... centre pic ... the old scoreboard ... gone but not forgotten!​
More of my old team at TB ... right .. 'Rocket' wondering what day it is or indeed where he is!
Nigel Doughty (10/6/57 to 4/2/12) - Sadly missed - RIP Centre pic - enjoying our league 1 promotion day, left - what a garden hedge! And right - tributes at the CG
Left - Sam, Cheryl, Joe & Kayleigh at the Reception. Right - Antony, Me & Dad.
left to right - Annette, Neil, Antony & Cheryl sat down. Middle - Neil & Andy Lee on ship .... Joe enjoying Royal Caribbean Food with impressed onlookers!
Left to Right - Joff marries Me & Cheryl on the Independence of the Seas - Andy & Neil without chopping Andy's head off this time - Tabi's Christening
Something to make you chuckle!
L to R - Niece Tabi, now 2 - One of the many beautiful beaches of Jersey - The Wonderful Independence of the Seas​
21/3/13 - Would have been Cloughie's 78th birthday today! RIP great man.
The Trent End - New ... ish & Old. Our seats are between the R & the E on the back row ... The old Trent End - taken the day before it was knocked down in 1994. Gone but not Forgotten! It's hard to believe that we used to pack approximaely as many into that terrace as there are seats in the 'new' one, around 7,500. (I think they reduced the terraced capacity after Hillsborough). Mind you it could be minus temperatures & you stayed warm on those terraces even if you never stood in the same spot for long. When full, I'm sure you can imagine what some used the posts holding the roof up for!
Cloughie & Notts & England Cricketer plus Forest fan Stuart Broad
Some Old CG pics - Trent End/Bridgford End/Trent End
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Left - Froze the screen watching the Cricket ...3rd Test NZ v England!
Middle - Forest fans in Munich 1979
Right - The Main Stand fire 1968
Old City Ground etc Pics - slideshow!
The Old East Stand with Bridgford End centre picture.
http://www.friendsreunited.co.uk/soccer-fa-cup-final-nottingham-forest-v-derby-county/Memory/ce2f9974-b34c-4f7f-9367-a009011f5b31 - 250 plus Forest Pics here -wonderfully nostalgic!
Our 1st Grandaughter, Rose Annabelle Asher arrived in the world 1pm 25/3/13, born at QMC Nottingham. Sincere Congratulations to Sarah & Pete & a brother for Adam. Oh & weighing in at 7lbs 13oz ...
Slideshow - Left to Right on 1st picture taken by Cheryl ahead of the Brighton game, 30th March 2013....Tom, Natalie, Steve & Me.
our back row Trent End seats....
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Other pics of myself in Trent End, Myself & Cheryl at Hull
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Also daughters, Natalie & Kayleigh
20/4/13 - Natalie and me ahead of Barnsley game... trentside.
The fantastic new scoreboard and action replay screen at Trent Bridge & me and Cheryl on a tour of Ajax ground.
left to right - Grandaughter Rose - Grandson Adam tucking in - My girls ... Natalie, Bethany & Sarah ...picture taken a long time ago ... Nats & Sarah still at primary school so 1997 approx.
Slide show including ... proud PaPa ... Nats, Cheryl & Sam at Cardiff (a) ... obviously I took the pics ... and Cheryl & me in Amsterdam ... the pancake is mine I have to confess!
L to R - I finally box up my Forest Programmes into proper plastic boxes. 1967/68 to date ... a few home gaps between 67/68 & 72/73 but none since 73/74. Also few other homes too plus many aways. Reckon about 1,800 and counting in total ...
Me fancying myself at Ajax press conference and then Cheryl & me at Hull.
L to R - Me & Andy at Millwall & then myself in the Trent End
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L to R on right hand pic - Tom, Natalie Steve & myself
Celebration time - L to R - Notts CCC County Champions 1981 - a great year that was for many reasons!
Just need to keep reminding myself from time to time really have retired from NatWest after 33 1/3 years service - hence the shirt​ my team bought me & Forest promoted at Peterborough 1994.
L to R - 'A Moment in Time' - Trevor Francis scores the winner in the 1979 European Cup Final in Munich ... 30/5/79
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Myself & lifelong friend Andrew Lee - Millwall (a) 27/4/13 - Pic taken by my wife Cheryl. Andy moved down to London & then Bishop Stortford over 30 years ago but he'll always consider he's a Nottinghamshire boy!
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The Magnificent Bernabeu Stadium, Madrid where the European Cup was retained 12 months later (28/5/80) courtesy of a John Robertson goal ... Wonderful Times
L to R - Me & Sarah 1987 - I was 26! (I'm 52 now)
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Me & Natalie - taken last year when I was 51 ... where have al the years gone?
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Impression of what a new Main Stand malook like at the CG (posted on my site yesterday - 14/6/13)​
Several Pics of Trent Bridge taken 21st June 2013 v Sussex in the YB40
Another Trent Bridge slideshow ...
Took selection of Pictures at Trent Bridge on Fri 21st June 2013 which are included in the above slideshows. Copied onto facebook and in the above link it's included a load more of various (new & old pics) so have a browse through.
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L to R - Adam - Nottinghamshire & England's opening batsmen of the future in his new Notts outlaws hat.
Getting ready for the Ashes to commence.
My hat is nowhere near as good as our Grandson Adam's!
L to R ... Where it all began. The mock newspaper obituary printed in the Sporting Times 29th August 1882.
Whilst the 'official' 1st Test Match between Australia & England took place in 1877 in Melbourne, the term 'Test Match' was used retrospectively. There had been tours as early as 1861/62 where the phrase had been used, but the key point about 1877 was that for the 1st time it was 11 v 11.
Trent Bridge in the Sunshine ...
Tickets at the ready for the 1st Ashes Test of 2013 ... 10th to 14th July at Trent Bridge.
Dug these out from loft - Off to & In Madrid 1980, aged just 19.... there are many more in the loft so just a quick selection here.
L to R. Picured with our 1979 trophy haul.
My first ever car purchased in 1981.
Pic of the 'original hat' - trust me, although my current one may look the same, it IS new. This is my original from 1981/82 time ... Sadly I do not look anything like as youtfull these days.
Whilst rooting around in the loft for the football pics, there must be hundreds if not thousands of pics up there. For the best part of 30 years, I regularly used to make albums of holidays, key events, day to day events etc etc... they range from my latter school days to only a few years ago. Things have changed a lot these days with camera/phone technology etc but I don't think they carry the same nostalgia. There are others which my parents will have given me too, so even older. One of these days, will have to get them down - should give plenty to laugh, cry smile about etc etc.
https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10201111542858106&set=pcb.10201111554018385&type=1&theater - Link to these is probably better than these photos... bit clearer.
Ready for 'The Ashes' ... all starts tomorrow at Trent Bridge ... 10th to 14th July 2013.
'The Hat' - then and now ... the left pic is about 1982, the right one is 2013 & for the final time it is NOT the same hat!
Left - Ashes Day 1 at TB ... Centre - Day 5 Ashes TB, Right - Ashes Day 4 TB
Slide show from the Trent Bridge Ashes Test ... 10th to 14th July 2013 - see link from home page to facebook for more.
L to R - BC tribute / My 1st Forest game - Match Programme / Mr & Mrs B.C on wedding day.
L to R - Ruth Wilson (who plays a brilliant part in Luther as Alice, with Jonathan Agnew of TMS) / Me and Cheryl again at T.B for Notts game / Our Grandson Adam in his cricket gear - he is going to play for Nottinghamshire & England one day!
22/8/13 - After 5 long years of dental treatment and a major operation on her jaw, our youngest daughter Bethany finaly had her braces removed today at the QMC in Nottingham. She is very happy and you look amazing princess xxx​
L to R - after the YB 40 Final at Lord's 21/9/13 ...​
Cheryl & Riki Wessels & medal
Cheryl & Stuart Broad & medal
Me with Michael Lumb, medal and Trophy!
Slideshow of the YB 40 Final - 21/9/13 - What a fantastic day!​
