NIGHTS LIKE THESE

 

Printed in the National League South game v Chelmsford City 21st October 2023  Finished 0-0 in front of 785

Well what a time to deliver the best game of Scotty Davies Slough Town managerial career. If I’m honest I never expected that, and wondered if we had blown it at their place; but that performance in the replay at Arbour Park was something else.

I’m not sure this FA Cup run has been good for anyones health. It’s certaintly not been for my fingernails or bank balance but waking up tired on a Wednesday morning is well worth it when you witness nights like that.

Thanks to Richard ‘Big Flag’ Kendall sponsoring the game I at least had a bit of pocket money left for the Salisbury replay. As one of his guests, it’s the first time I’ve been in the Arbour Park boardroom. Well, that’s not quite true, many a game my children and nepthews were mascots, but that was at Beaconsfield where the boardroom was more broom cupboard and the youngsters just ran through scoffing all the cakes and biscuits they could cram into their little mouths. Mind you my boardroom visit was short lived as I had to wash out the bin before the game.

It’s also the first time I’d met one of our new owners Ashley Smith. What a difference they have made, but rather than bringing a wrecking ball to the club, they have added their skills to compliment the people that were already part of the clubs fabric.

Like any sensible owner – not often found running football clubs - he told me they need to increase the crowds before we have a crack at promotion. This is the sort of level headed thinking we had from former chairman Steve Easterbrook, who also knew you can’t build a football club on sand but that it has to be financially sustainable. First round of the FA Cup against league opposition will certaintly help that, bringing in new supporters and sticking money in the bank.

Running a small charity I’m often asked by grant funders to explain our ‘outcomes’ – these are the sort of words that strike confusion into my brain. Wouldn’t it be better to write in clear English that everyone understands? What they are asking in a roundabout way is what difference have you made with our money. Telling them that without it we would have had to close, probably won’t cut it with some of them. They usually want bells and whistles and lavish praise.

There isn’t a parallel universe where I can see what would happen if our community garden didn't exist. But I can tell stories. One of those stories is about one of our volunteers, Keith who sadly died a couple of weeks back. Keith came to the garden one day and quietly got on with knocking our veg gardens into shape. Unlike some of our volunteers, he had an eye for a straight line, could use a hoe without chopping down the onions as well as the weeds.

When he first started volunteering he used to sit and eat lunch on his own. But slowly he started opening up about his former chaotic, alcoholic life and forging relationships with people. We started using more of his old work skills to turn his hand to other practicial jobs like sanding our cabin floor and fixing our oven brickwork.

When we got some funding to transform the space by our cabin, Keith was just the man to project manage it.

He led an army of learning disability volunteers as they tackled the weed mountain and moved mound after mound of chalk and soil by hand, slowly flattening the area, terracing it, building flower beds with precision and love and turning it into this amazing space. We now wonder how we ever managed without it. It had its debut at our open day where we give people who volunteer the chance to show off what they do to family, friends and visitors. Keith of course, wouldn’t be seen at events like that, prefering to quietly get on with jobs in the background. That new space also means we can accommodate school trips during workdays and we hosted a wedding there. When people visited him in hospital, Keith was rightly proud of the legacy he had left at the garden and we will plant a tree in his memory and rename it Keith's Corner.

But his legacy was more than just about a physical space. It was about the unintended consequences, the human interactions. He particular stuck up a working relationship with a young lad with downs syndrome, giving him the work ethic and skills he needed to boost his confidence to find other volunteer opportunities – maybe even a paid job in the long term. It was playful, banter with Keith saying that on a building site he wouldn’t be having a break every 15 minutes! It was thanks to Keith teaching him new skills, that the young man can now help when we need other building work done. But it worked both ways and their friendship was a joy to behold.

I know our small community garden can have a big impact on peoples lives. Especially those that have been ignored, discarded or dismissed - to realise their full potential, to make them feel part of something.

Football clubs can do the same. That’s why I like Volunteer of the Month, to recognise the people who quietly go about supporting our football club in so many unseen ways. Slough Town is blessed with many of them. One of them is Keith Phillips who told me he didn’t want the limelight but said using his skills also helped with his mental health. ‘I hate publicity/photo taking etc, I just want to help the club the best I can.’

Feeling part of something is what all of us need, whether that’s working at our community garden or cheering on the Rebels in some far flung outpost. Then you hit the jackpot – beating Ebbsfleet moneybags United in the FA Cup in style.

Who wouldn’t want to be part of nights like these.