HANGING IN HAILSHAM

 

Printed in the National League South game v Hungerford Town Saturday 5th February 2022  We drew 2-2 in front of 703

Let’s be honest, when most people hear the words Slough they probably don’t expect sunshine and flowers when they get off the train, but Hailsham. I had visions of grandeur for this small Sussex market town – instead I weaved my way through industrial units and a giant KFC. There’s even a church in an industrial unit. I passed a stream full of beer cans and went through a metal railed alley before I found myself at The Beaconsfield.

It seems I’d come at the back end and missed the rather more picturesque High Street and the regular market. That’s because I had come by bus from Polegate train station thanks to Hailsham being another place whose railway fell victim of Beechings cuts. Even at the time British Rail admitted that the town was growing and other public transport wouldn’t be able to cope. But to the sound of detonators on the line and Auld Lang Syne sung by a large crowd it was gone. The old train track is now a cycle-footpath with one local telling me “The good thing about the railway track closing is now all the middle class people can argue about who has ownership of the space, which is now called the Cuckoo track, and advertised as a nature trail. Dog walkers, horse riders and cyclists all hate each other and think they have right of way and are very important. It's like road rage but on a track.” Roads around this area of Sussex have continually enlarged to cope for the insatiable appetite of cars with villages and towns being ruined by bypasses and carparks just to shave a few seconds off a journey. Until they get clogged up and the road building process starts over again.

My first ever visit to The Beaconsfield was made much easier by their twitter directions – in stark contrast to York who just ignored our pleas on social media to find Rebels-on-tour essentials like the nearest pubs. There was no food so I headed back in the trading estate to grab a pastie from a petrol station, which should really have been the title of a Smiths song.

Hailsham industrial heritage is reflected in the clubs nickname The Stringers, with rope making one of its main industries and used not just to tie up beanpoles but round peoples necks for public hangings in Britain and across the world.

Languishing near the bottom of Southern Combination Division One, the Stringers were welcoming Shoreham whose play off push to the Premiership had stalled recently and who needed a win.

In the cold clubhouse I warmed myself up with a coffee, while Shorehams chairman asked about the right potatoes to grow to supply their kitchen with home grown organic chips. Theses are the sort of conversations I want at football! With a vision like this it’s no surprise they are winning awards for making changes that reduce their carbon football studs print – and it’s one of the only grounds you can get a veggie burger. But organically grown chips, grown and served at the ground – that’s got to be quite literally, a groundbreaking first.

The teams warmed up in the adjacent park and it was hard to play much football on the pitch with players slipping and sliding, some straight into the referees book.

Now I know it’s customary to blame the officials for everything; i'm sure the closure of the Hailsham railway line was somehow the refs fault. The recent viral video of Whitehawk vs Three Bridges encapsulated this perfectly. The ref showed 5 red cards for some industrial tackling but there was even more agricultural shooting from the Hawks. But guess who got the blame for their loss on social media? So hats off to todays ref Owen Radley with lots of good advantage, bookings and sin bins for diving and back chat.

A defensive slip in the mud and Hailsham were in, but a mix up right at the end of half time let Shoreham level. Second half was different with Shoreham playing as nice as football as you can eventually running out 4-3 winners. Another Shoreham goalfest in front of 91 people. 

Hailshams main charitable partners are Sunflowers - a mental health and well being community group. The clubs chair definitely seems to have a sensible vision for the club. Writing in the local paper, he said: "When asked if i think the first half of or season has been a success, I would ask - how are we defining success? For some clubs, success is nothing less than winning tittles, winning cups - for others, success is improving on last season - and for some, success is simply getting a team out." The club currently have 100 youngsters playing under their name and have ambitious plans to upgrade the ground - but will need to find quarter of a million to do it. They want to pull down the old clubhouse 'before it collapses' and replace with new changing rooms, showers, offices and public toilets, with the loos being open to using the rec opposite the ground. 

I'm sure most of us are sick to the back teeth listening to managers in charge of billionaire clubs moaning. They don’t want to play in the League Cup, FA Cup, more than one game a fortnight. You sometimes wonder if they actually want to play football at all. Over Christmas Sloughs part time players played three games in eight days despite injuries and covid. And fans love festive football with people flocking to games – I’m not sure I’ve ever known non league to be so popular. There’s always a warm welcome at places like Hailsham who make do with what they’ve got but who could always welcome more supporters through the turnstiles – and more volunteers.

Just like thousands of clubs up and down the country, Hailsham might not set the footballing world alight but they are part of the social glue that communities need to prosper and thrive.