Your Favourite Bits of The Falmer Campaign

[Barrel of Fun]

Posting Ned through a door, only to see him mauled by a 12" high Jack Russell.







Ps I did post another one through the kitchen window before accusations get thrown about.

 

[Col P]

The Yes Yes one was fun, covering the city with green balloons under the cover of dark. Hanging a huge banner over the motorway at midnight about three years ago was fun as well, especially when the police turned up to arrest us cos they thought we were pikies/students/terrorists, shook our hands when they realised the cause and promptly left us to do as we pleased.

i enjoyed the yes yes campain put loads of ballons up around mile oak early the whole town was covered

 

[Screaming J]

Being a long way from home I could only help out at distance but the best bits for me were:-

1) The Millenium stadium
2) Yes, yes the result and the campaigning. I remember being at Rotherham and everyone wearing the T shirts - in fact I've got mine on now. Wearing something tonight that has 'yes' in bloody big letters seems apt
3) Record in the top 20. What (in retrospect) a brilliant idea. I must admit I had my doubts when the idea first was proposed; but.....
4) All the stuff we did to get Prescotts attention, valentine cards, postcards, flowers etc.
5) Norman Baker implying Prescott was bribed by club hospitality - only to be told this amounted to a Meat Pie and a glass of water!

 

[Tom Hark Preston Park]

I thought the free champagne from Dick Knight was a nice touch, last time we got a decision. But there's been loads; the marches, especially the one where DK jogged on along the front and commandeered a police car to make a speech. The daft evening at the K&Q where some of NSc's finest were holding large flowers aloft for no obvious reason (I LURVE that that photo - anybody able to post it). The One F In Falmer fanzine, and all the good and brave people who made National Falmer Day spread the message throughout the land. The roar of the greasepaint. The smell of the crowd. Paul Samrah grabbing the mic at Gordon Brown's gig at the Dome, the late Robin Cook signing my poster 'good Luck with the stadium'. And The seagulls Party. A force for electoral good. Lord B putting mere mortal opponents to the sword with logic and good humour. Roz capturing it all in the finest digital images. Oh, and the bloke with the comb and paper who put 'Tom Hark' (for it is he ) into the top twenty. Someone should write a book about it. They really should. Tho maybe not Richie Morris, tho, eh?

 

[Kenhead]

The first at Crawley when I found out that Robbie Pethick couldn’t spell genius; the second was Wycombe and showed what football fans were all about!

 

[Beach Hut]

The day of Grimsby away when a gang of us "bad fans" were on the bridge at Falmer listening to the game on the radios and the Argus covered it.

I mat Martin (OAP Dodge) and it was his idea the whole day, Sams Dad, Safeway, LB, Trigger, Roz, Trotster to name but a few.

Cold and Damp but Derek Chapman and wife bought warm tomato soup for us all - a really nice touch and convinced me we were all in this together.

 

[Lord Bracknell]

Another wacky thing I enjoyed personally was getting THOUSANDS of words into the matchday programme about the second Public Inquiry.

What other football club would think it worth taking up valuable programme space to discuss disputes about the interpretation of national Planning Policy Statements, while (at the same time) comparing the football club's chief executive with Ethel the Aardvark?

 

[clapham_gull]

The "Fathers For Justice For Falmer" protester that turned up on the Labour Conference march.

Selfishly - I'm quite happy that Dick and Mark are holding MY banner in the many pictures published of the Wycombe protest.

 

[Lady Whistledown]

The Wycombe sit in.

Entirely for the moment when someone started up the chant (to the tune of "we are the Palace haters") of

"We want Falmer and we want Falmer
We want Falmer and we want Falmer
We want Falmer and we want Falmer..."

...only for the last line to peter out as it dawned on everyone, some quicker than others, that

"We are the Falmer.....wanters"

didn't quite sound right

 

[JJ McClure]

The Wycombe sit in.

Entirely for the moment when someone started up the chant (to the tune of "we are the Palace haters") of

"We want Falmer and we want Falmer
We want Falmer and we want Falmer
We want Falmer and we want Falmer..."

...only for the last line to peter out as it dawned on everyone, some quicker than others, that

"We are the Falmer.....wanters"

didn't quite sound right

That was quality
It's strange to say that I enjoyed doing a sit in, but it's moments like the one at Wycombe and all the other marches and protests on the seafront that make you feel part of something important.

 

[NMH]

Singing on a record that reached number 17 was pretty good.

We should all make a record for when Falmer opens, do a choir version of Mary Banilow's "I Made It Through The Rain", replete with scarves and lots of swaying.
It'll be (sniff) lovely

 

[Perry's Tracksuit Bottoms]

Doing my bit for the Yes Yes campaign was my favourite bit because it all felt so positive at the time - everything beyond that was a bit of a depressing slog...

 

[Napper]

Posting numerous letters + signing petitions etc on behalf of all my mates......didnt do any of the stuff mentioned above

 

[Lady Bracknell]

The day of Grimsby away when a gang of us "bad fans" were on the bridge at Falmer listening to the game on the radios and the Argus covered it.

I mat Martin (OAP Dodge) and it was his idea the whole day, Sams Dad, Safeway, LB, Trigger, Roz, Trotster to name but a few.

Cold and Damp but Derek Chapman and wife bought warm tomato soup for us all - a really nice touch and convinced me we were all in this together.

And Derek Chapman's soup was CLASS!

But for a really great jape, I still relish the events earlier on that same day when we went "underground" at the Swan. For sheer comedy, the sight of me and Trigger prowling round the back of the pub to check whether Safeway and Trotster (who were in there pretending to be "ordinary" customers) had managed to put a Falmer poster up in the bog windows really couldn't be beaten!



But best of all, was the landlord joining us on the bridge over the A27 and probably not realising the impression of support to the campaign he was giving!! I don't think he'd seen me y'see....

 

[Brighton Breezy]

They really should. Tho maybe not Richie Morris, tho, eh?

Very funny.

Highlights for me:

- Delivering the valentines card to Prescott in Hull and the old Labour guy who accepted it on his behalf admitting he was off playing golf - much to the annoyance of the younger Labour press guy overseeing the visit.

- On a personal note it was great getting to write a couple of articles for 442 about it.

- Soaking Lynam and Des owning the radio reporter there who asked if he was going to keep the poncho by saying 'come back when you have a proper question.'

All in all though the most enjoyable part was probably meeting a lot of people, both from NSC and 'the real world', who had such a passion and commitment to securing the future of this club.

Sounds girly I know.