Tuesday, August 16, 2022

UNBELIEVABLE, JEFF! BRIGG FOOTBALL MATCHES PLAYED HERE WITHOUT GOALPOSTS


Memories came flooding back when Brigg Blog made an unplanned visit to the Springbank area of the town at the weekend.
Children who grew up on this estate, or lived nearby in the 1960s and early 1970s, played countless games of football and cricket on the land pictured here.
It was earmarked for kids by Brigg Urban District Council - for which youngsters were grateful.
However, the close proximity to South View Avenue houses and some of the Woodbine Grove prefabs did not make it ideal, with stray cricket balls sometimes breaking front windows, damaging asbestos garage panels or striking parked cars.
Footballs also found their way into domestic gardens, to the annoyance of some tenants as kids sought to get their balls back.
The hedge seen here on Saturday was far from mature in the 1960s and 1970s and afforded minimal protection from straying balls.
Brigg UDC did not cut this grass very often (unlike today) and thick weeds were an issue, particularly during cricket matches on makeshift 'strips'.
Balls which struck sprouting plantains might fly high 'off a length' or shoot along the ground.
The adjoining Rec Ground (now open plan) was divided from the kids' area by a tall metal fence topped with barbed wire during the UDC era.
It's heartening to see today's mature hedge left untouched by the authorities, offering a haven for butterflies, birds and fauna.
Brigg Blog arrived here after attending Saturday's food & music festival and markets ADD LINK in the town centre.
The weather being hot, we decided to board the 12.30pm No. 91 shoppers' bus from Cary Lane and Hornsbys dropped us off on South View Avenue.
From there it was only a short walk to the Rec to watch Brigg Town Cricket Club's comfortable home win over Caistor 2nds.
LINK
Football goalposts were never provided by the UDC on the grass near South View Avenue.
However, frames are present today on Woodbine Park which occupies part of the former prefabs site.
Indeed, there are plans to replace both current sets of posts with new ones.
A football pitch of decent size for 'kick-abouts' has been available here for many years.
Local kids, decades ago, had to use jumpers and coats as temporary goalposts.
Unbelievable, Jeff!