It’s that time of year again, when the members of the Blue Diamond Club take their Christmas sweaters and t-shirts out of the wardrobe, dust them off and squeeze into them once more; it’s time one or two of us splashed out on new ones, methinks, as a few of them looked as though they had been stretched to breaking point!
We have, of course, spent a few Christmas Lunch dates at the County Ground or, to give it it’s full title, the Seat Unique Stadium, home of Gloucestershire County Cricket Club and a venue once graced by former Rovers/Gloucestershire cricketers Harold Jarman, Barrie Meyer, Ron Nicholls and going back as far as Wally Hammond; Apologies if I’ve missed anyone, but I have to admit to not being a huge fan of trying to hit a ball as far as I can with a block of wood that has a handle (I know, Philistine!).
Anyway, I digress. With the news that England were on course to lose the Third Test in Australia, I pulled into the car park just off Gloucester Road just as the heavens opened, leaving me to make a dash to the pavilion, just as those cricketers of old used to do when Rain Stopped Play (RSP).
As always, I was greeted at the main entrance by the bust of WG Grace, who looked as though he wished he were in Australia rather than looking out on a very wet cricket square in Bristol.
There was time for a quick coffee before play commenced, though looking out of the window, it seemed, in all probability, that kick off (do they use that term in cricket?) might be delayed.
And so it proved as guests and players mingled in the reception area, looking out of the window for rays of sunshine; a waste of time!
Skipper Tony Mills and his vice captain, Mo Bell, decided it would definitely be RSP for a good few hours and so set up their trusty laptop; not to watch the lowlights from Australia, I hasten to add, but to set up a carol service to bring the afternoon’s event to a close – more of that unmitigated disaster later!
Once everyone had arrived and the skipper telephoned his good friend ‘Blowers’ (Henry Blofeld) to see what he had to think about the Test Match (he is reported to have been gutted!) before he said WG (Grace). Once that was done and dusted, the waiting staff were under starter's orders to make fast deliveries of the food on offer.
A quick look out of the window as the first course of tomato soup arrived revealed puddles forming on the outfield, and a few ducks were enjoying the (Seat) Unique chance of a quick swim with no danger of being struck by a stray cricket ball. I don’t think there were quite as many ducks as there has been in Australia, though!
The run rate was slow during that first course, but increased with the arrival of course number two, which consisted of chicken, roast potatoes and veg with lashings of gravy. Although we were in a venue known for its cricketing history, the talk was more of football and whether or not Steve Evans was the man to turn Rovers’ fortunes around.
As the puddles on the outfield increased in size and a funfair pulled into the car park for a laser light festival a couple of days later, the first course came to a close. Time for the skipper to make a few announcements, and he belatedly introduced our guests for the afternoon, Ritchie Bates, the Director of Commerce and Revenue from just up the road at The Mem and Charlotte Churchill, founder of Operation Community Hamper (OCH).
He also mentioned that a few of his team would be selling raffle tickets prior to course number three and that proceeds would be donated to OCH. He then returned to attack his profiteroles with his fork, while some of us took it up on ourselves to sell tickets for this very deserving cause.
Once that was done, the skipper, along with his vice captain, decided, after a brief discussion at the entrance to the pavilion (probably after consulting WG), that it was RSP and that guests and players might as well relax, enjoy a drink or three and listen to our guests. Oh, and they also said that the drawing of raffle prizes would be saved until stumps were drawn, at the end of the carol service.
First guest speaker to arrive at the metaphorical crease was Ritchie Bates, who admitted that he had met Rovers boss Evans for the first time that morning and had managed to spill coffee all over the new gaffer. He thanked everyone for their continued support, though, before declaring his innings and trotting off back to The Mem.
Next in to bat was Charlotte, who gave a powerful and, at times, emotional speech about the work of her charity, OCH. She also gave us some insight into the people she and her army of volunteers help. This year, they have given out a whopping 1,280 Christmas Hampers, which is amazing when you consider that when she established this incredible project in 2020, just 19 Hampers were handed out.
As mentioned, it was a powerful speech and was clearly appreciated by those in attendance. The skipper, who had something in his eye and a lump in his throat following Charlotte’s talk, composed himself to reveal that the raffle had raised the sum of £550 for OCH, and he later announced that the total would be made up to £1,000.
There are many charities vying for funds, not only at Christmas but at all times of the year, but if you are only able to support one, I would urge you to consider donating to OCH. Whilst it’s not a Bristol Rovers charity, many of the volunteers are Gasheads through and through and help this charity all year round. I salute them and their founder for the incredible work they do. To find out more, please visit https://www.operationcommunityhamper.co.uk
That almost brought proceedings to an end, though I did promise an update on the carol service, which, sad to say, didn’t meet its usual high standards, possibly because our regular umpire, Roger Brinsford, was missing from proceedings. The skipper seemed preoccupied with events in Australia and the fact that rain had prevented him from taking his place at a very wet crease!
True, he had brought his ageing laptop to the party. True, also, that he managed to get the words of Good King Wenceslas and the Twelve Days of Christmas up on screen, but he failed miserably when it came to getting any sound to accompany the vocal efforts of all in attendance.
He did seek assistance from the crowd. Well, a couple of the waitresses, but they retired to the pavilion having failed to get a peep out of the laptop. And so, our intrepid leader decided everyone could sing along without music and, as far as the Twelve Days of Christmas were concerned, there wouldn’t be a problem. Wrong!
We were to follow the usual format; table one would stand and sing the first verse, table two would follow with the second verse and so on. Essentially, people at each table would stand when it was time to sing their verse. I have to admit, it doesn’t sound the same without music, and, with the exception of table five, who belted out ‘Five Gold Rings’ at every opportunity, the lack of musical accompaniment showed up the need for vocal training before an attempt is made to ‘sing’ at next year’s Christmas bash.
The excitement of the carol singing over, it was time to hand out the raffle prizes, and there were a lot of them. This task was carried out by vice captain Mo, while the skipper supervised the drawing of the tickets.
To finish on a serious note, the lunch was another huge success; it never ceases to amaze me that 90 or so people always raise in excess of £500 for the charity of the day. Their generosity knows no bounds, and it’s always good to meet up with friends, old and new, three or four times a year to chat about all things Rovers and enjoy a pleasant few hours amongst like-minded people.
To all who have attended any of the Blue Diamond Lunches in 2025, I wish you all a very Merry Christmas and look forward to seeing you all in the New Year.
