FESTIVE FUN ON THE FIELD

Boxing Day in Brigg used to see a mixed hockey match played at the Recreation Ground, usually umpired by the late, great Len Marshall, from Wrawby. I recall playing in some fun encounters, from about 1984.
I was reminded of the great days of grass hockey - prior to the arrival of synthetic pitches - when I saw stalwart Brigg players Keith Smith and Mike Burbidge on Christmas Eve, while having a drink in the Black Bull.
Keith, who went on to become a well-respected and successful manager of the first team, had the more mundane role of fourth team captain when I first started playing for Brigg's lowest XI. One Friday we suffered a heavy overnight snowfall and Keith called us all down to Brigg Rec the following morning, with shovels, to clear the pitch of snow. The game went ahead, but we lost. Keith liked to win and, despite playing deep in defence, had a fine goalscoring record from penalty corners, in tandem with inside-forward Val Jeffrey. So much so that it was dubbed the Smith-Jeffrey Short Corner Routine.
Short Corner was the name of the very topical monthly magazine, produced year in, year out by the aforementioned Len Marshall. I have kept a few down the decades. The cover was green (Brigg's club colours) and the contents included everything from match reports to snippets of information about funny incidents on the field, plus Len's personal observations while relaxing, brandy in hand, at our Queen Arms HQ.
This enjoyable evening period was dubbed " Après hockey" by Len, adapting the French phrase Après ski (going out, having drinks, dancing, and generally socialising after skiing - popular in the Alps).
We didn't play on any mountains like the Alps, but Len, who enjoyed the great outdoors through Scouting, always looked forward to Brigg's matches in West Yorkshire against Ben Rhydding, whose ground was in the shadow of elevated Ilkley Moor, famous as the inspiration for the Yorkshire "county anthem" On Ilkla Moor Baht 'at.
Short Corner was produced by Len in his own bungalow, using duplicating machine technology which seemed antiquated even then. But it was the content, rather than the layout, which mattered. And the pages of every issue were devoured with interest. Once leagues replaced friendlies and the arrival of Astroturf made it possible for a club to stage three or four matches every Saturday, from mid-morning to early evening, the social side of the game came under real threat. In the days when everyone played friendlies on grass, all the Brigg teams would meet up for a few drinks between 5pm and 9pm. However, once leagues and staggered start times arrived, players in different teams sometimes never saw each other for weeks, if at all. Especially as Brigg had no synthetic pitch and had to hire facilities at Quibell Park, Scunthorpe, and Yarborough School, Lincoln.
Len's Short Corner newsletter helped to bond together the teams and players within the club.