HAPPY 51st BIRTHDAY TO ME -- 30th APRIL 1969 - 2020

I have made it an annual resolution to ensure that I am never working on my birthday and once again have the whole week booked off to enjoy myself. That was of course before we encountered this pandemic Covid-19 so now what to do with all that time? Well today (Thursday 30th April) I would have paid an overdue visit to the crematorium and spend some time having a 'chat' with Mum and Dad, but sadly as it stands we cannot even do this. I appreciate this is important and something no one has really experienced on this scale but the amount of time spent at home and working remotely is very difficult especially on the mental heath aspect of things. So as I'll not be going anywhere this time I have cancelled the week off that was arranged and will have to work it instead. The plan will be to take a week off later in the year (hopefully) and do something special then, meeting my Brother Graham and other members of the family and all the friends that I miss too. 


In the meantime we'll just have a quiet one safe at home, probably open a bottle of something nice and raise a glass to wish you all a lovely day too. 

Happy Birthday to me. 

AFC WIMBLEDON REMAINING FIXTURES ... IF/WHEN LEAGUE ONE CONTINUES

AFC Wimbledon's last completed fixture was the 0-0 draw at home against Bolton Wanderers on Saturday 7th March. All English Leagues were suspended after then and will remain so until at least the end of April at the earliest. While my personal view is that we are not even close to resuming sport the season should be completed at some point even though if we called it a day now we'd be safe for another season, but that's not the point really. With the Government about to confirm that lock-down will remain in place for at least another three weeks.

Our CEO, Joe Palmer, updated the fans earlier in the month about a number of matters which included the New Plough Lane Stadium construction and had this to say about the discussions with the Football League body; 
The Football League has written to every club expressing its determination to complete the season, even if that means games being played throughout June, July and possibly beyond. Should this be the case, Chelsea have agreed in principle to let the club play its remaining fixtures of the 2019/20 season at Kingsmeadow. Should fans be allowed to attend – and, of course, we all want that – then current season tickets will still be valid. If the matches must be played behind closed doors, the current proposal from the League is to ensure all matches are streamed live for fans to watch from their homes.
The League estimates we will need a period of 56 days to complete the season and is advising that the recommencement of training sessions should not commence until May 16 “at the earliest”. Clearly this date may well be pushed back, depending on how the UK responds to the current epidemic. On the playing side, many of you will know that individual player contracts usually expire on June 30. Whilst discussions are still taking place with the various footballing stakeholders, it looks that in principle clubs will be able to extend those contracts on the same terms until the finalisation of the season, but we still await further approval.

If/When we get the green light to restart(?) here are the outstanding games that need to be completed and will determine our League One status, original dates are shown as we'd expect games to continue in this order, although probably being played behind closed doors, and probably two games a week to bring the season to a conclusion. 

Saturday 14th March
vs Doncaster Rovers (Away)

Saturday 21st March
vs Tranmere Rovers (Home)

Tuesday 24th March
vs Rochdale (Away)

Saturday 28th March
vs Lincoln City (Away)

Friday 10th April

vs Sunderland (Home)

Monday 13th April

vs Wycombe Wanderers (Away)

Saturday 18th April

vs Milton Keynes Dons (Home)

Saturday 25th April

vs Shrewsbury Town (Away)

Sunday 3rd May

vs Coventry City (Home)

And while we await a response from the English Football League here's where we actually sit and have done for the last month in League One;
League One Table 'Drop Zone' @20th March 2020

AFC WIMBLEDON'S NEW HOME AT PLOUGH LANE IS TAKING SHAPE

Plough Lane Site

Has been very quiet of late and frustrating to not see any football, or get down to Kingsmeadow to watch the Dons continue to scrap for League One survival. 
Even though there's no football action there's plenty happening off the field of play for supporters of AFC Wimbledon with the new ground being developed close to our spiritual home on Plough Lane. This picture (above right) was the scene about two years ago with the demolition of the old greyhound stadium well underway before the preliminary work on something that would start to resemble a football stadium could begin. We've had a few updates from the club about the work that is ongoing and this included a statement released from our CEO Joe Palmer, who had this to say;
"I'd like to update you on some of the key issues and decisions affecting our club during these unprecedented and worrying times. Naturally, many of you want to know what is happening with the new stadium build – and when we will finally be able to move into Plough Lane. As it stands, construction work has still been progressing on our new home, following government guidance relating to the wider importance of continuing construction works, if done in accordance with the social distancing guidelines wherever possible. The roof covering is completed and cladding has been completed for the ground floor. The pitch foundations are well in place and should be fully ready by July, as planned. Finally, I am aware that many of you want to know where we will be playing at the start of the new season, ahead of our new stadium being ready. Again, this is impossible to answer definitively at this stage, especially when we don’t yet know when the season will start or when we’ll be able to play in front of crowds. Needless to say, we have identified several options to meet various outcomes and will be able to update you at such time that the future becomes clearer. 
Stay safe - Joe."

Stadium Construction from above with roof work underway

Now a few pictures of the construction with the main stand taking shape, and the pitch area is being worked upon, there's no denying our new home is really taking shape and we're well on course for our emotional return to Plough Lane;

While there are no games for us to watch at the moment, we thought it would be good timing to show you some of the latest pictures from Plough Lane!  Here are some recent pictures from the new stadium site, taken in the last few weeks, showing the work in progress, including a message to keep off the pitch! Even allowing for the current social distancing rules the construction is still continuing and good progress continues to be made on site.

The pitch continues to be laid, the roof is on apart from a couple of final panels, and the ground floor has now been cladded. 

While the club have indicated that quite understandably the work will surely encounter some delays due to the nature of the working practices and the reduction in available supplies but further news will be made once that discussion with the building contractors and finance has been approved.

The Plough Lane Bond
AFC Wimbledon is on the verge of returning to Plough Lane. The new stadium is scheduled for completion this autumn. With these Bonds, you can achieve a financial return while loaning money to AFC Wimbledon and the Dons Trust to get the stadium completed in time for the 2020-21 season and preserve the fan-owned status of the club. We have raised over £5m towards the £11m total funding still required but the scheme remains open. The more we raise, the better the financial position the club will be in with regard to any further commercial lending required. 
The Bond deadline is now the 14th May 2020. 

EASTER WEEKEND [AKA FOUR DAYS STAYING HOME]

A very different Easter break this year, usually we all look forward to four days off work and for many they'll have been going away. All cancelled now under the current lock down and stay home guidance of course, but we will still have a little look at what we could have been doing and use that as an incentive to plan something fun for when all this might finally be over (whenever that might be). 

Plans were in place to get away to the Isle of Wight over Easter, visiting amongst other places their Heritage Steam Railway based at Haven Street (above) and all being well meeting with my friend Steffi, but that's all put back for another day now sadly. There would also have been plenty of sport on over Easter normally with the All Weather Championship finals at Lingfield Park on Good Friday a feature that I would have enjoyed together with football action for AFC Wimbledon. There doesn't appear much chance of either happening again soon, though horse racing 'might' continue behind closed doors though no date is set for a resumption only that nothing will change until May 1st at the earliest. 

So what might I be able to do other than stay indoors for four days 😞. Guess after a bit of a clean and tidy up (which is long overdue) we'll have some of the model trains out for a clean, test and lubrication. Shall also take the opportunity to record them into a spreadsheet for each scale I have and take some pictures and notes to update other sites in time.
Next update is likely to feature one of these;

 

PONTEFRACT HORSE RACING SYSTEM -- 2020 SEASON -- POSTPONED FOR NOW

PONTEFRACT SEASON 2020.
Well I wasn't expecting this but of course events around the world have changed considerably in the past few months and there is now no Horse Racing until 30th April at the earliest. Most likely however it will be a lot longer than that.

This is an Official Statement from Pontefract Racecourse regarding Coronavirus. 'The information below is correct at 1pm on Tuesday 17th March and will be updated as and when further information is available and/or updated advice is received.' At Pontefract Racecourse the safety and welfare of our visitors, racegoers, participants and team is paramount. We are keeping up to date with the latest information and advice from the Government and the British Horseracing Authority and have a team ready to implement recommended actions.

The British Horseracing Authority has indicated that racing will be cancelled from Wednesday 18th March until the end of April. When will the first meeting at Pontefract take place? At the moment, the first scheduled raceday at Pontefract after the racing ban will be on Friday Evening 22nd May.

So as a result of the current crisis we will certainly lose the following meetings;
TUESDAY 7th APRIL - Season Opener
MONDAY 20th APRIL - Pensioner's Free Day
WEDNESDAY 29th APRIL - National Horseracing College Charity Day

Pontefract Racecourse will continue to follow advice from World Health Organisation (WHO) and Public Health England.  As racing approaches any additional measures that are recommended will be implemented.

Whenever our next meeting is going to be we will be covering it here, hope we shall see you sometime this year.

AN UPDATE FOR APRIL 2020 ... STILL ISOLATED AT HOME

Welcome, yes it's been a bit strange and difficult for the last few weeks so wanted to just write about where we are today, how things might look in the weeks and months ahead. Here we are it's April, spring is sprung and the clocks have moved on an hour. The biggest change for us is that I'm now working at home, as are most of us outside of shop staff and the NHS who are all doing an outstanding job keeping us all going during this time. 

The Football season is in limbo so unable to see AFC Wimbledon play or whether we will survive this season in League One as we'd been fighting relegation for a while once again although when everything was suspended we were at least just above the drop zone. The new stadium development on Plough Lane though is still progressing and we will update that later in a separate post. Easter will be next week and usually a four day weekend of sporting action, including the All Weather Championship finale at Lingfield which is of course off, as is all horse racing till end of April at the earliest. This will also mean that my annual birthday meeting at Ascot will not take place and with that the focal point of my week off at the end of April for my 51st birthday. I personally don't expect horse racing to return for sometime, the same can be said of any sport really so my plans will have to change. While we continue on lock down though for the foreseeable future we are expecting Royal Ascot to soon be the next high profile casualty especially with the LTA cancelling Wimbledon Tennis too which would have been due to be held shortly afterwards.

Please remain calm, don't panic, we can see this out if we act responsibly, and then we'll see if we have anything left to enjoy this year or not.

NFL DRAFT 2020 TO GO AHEAD

The NFL draft for 2020 is still due to go ahead as scheduled from 23-25 April but players, fans and media will not be present because of the coronavirus pandemic. In previous seasons around half million fans turn up to meet players and find out who their teams will sign up. Instead this years draft will be held in a television studio, with players interviewed via video conference. The draft was due to take place in Las Vegas and the NFL had already cancelled all public events.  NFL commissioner Roger Goodell said it "can serve a very positive purpose for our clubs, our fans, and the country". He added: "There is no assurance that we can select a different date and be confident that conditions will be significantly more favourable than they are today."

The NFL draft is one of the biggest events in the United States' sporting calendar, with all 32 teams recruiting talent from the American collegiate system amid wall-to-wall media coverage. In a memo sent to franchises, Goodell said: "We will not be bringing prospects and their families to the draft, and the draft itself will be conducted and televised in a way that reflects current conditions. All clubs should now be doing the necessary planning to conduct draft operations in a location outside of your facility, with a limited number of people present, and with sufficient technology resources to allow you to communicate internally, with other clubs, and with draft headquarters."
Two Quarterbacks already on the move are of course Tom Brady (right) who has joined the Tampa Bay Buccaneers after twenty years with the New England Patriots and six Superbowl titles in the bag. Also on the move is Cam Newton who has been released by Carolina Panthers after nine years with them. Newton, 30, was named the NFL's most valuable player for 2015 after leading the Panthers to Super Bowl 50 where they lost to the Denver Broncos. He has struggled with shoulder and foot injuries in recent seasons, playing just two games in 2019. "Cam has meant a lot to this organisation and the Carolinas," general manager Marty Hurney said in a statement. "Everyone saw his performances on the field. I had the privilege of seeing how hard he worked off the field, and his commitment to this team when no one was watching. "He willed this team to victory on many occasions and will always be considered one of the greatest players in the history of this franchise." Carolina are believed to be ready to announce the signing of Teddy Bridgewater, who is a free agent after being the league's highest-paid back-up quarterback last season with the New Orleans Saints. Where Cam Newton goes next is unclear at this time.