London Blades?

[Crouchy]

Mafia Reg.. once you’re in you dont leave..

Aye, but 12 years since I moved out

 

[Trigger Blade]

Be careful. They're a bunch of fucking reprobates. I know; I was one once.

Have you stopped being just the one, or both?

 

[South Bucks]

Be great to see a few more London Blades at Norwich, from what I read most on here just watch our games on telly.

 

[Ball_Sup (Phil)]

I'm not trying to hijack here. But.....
I have lived back in Sheffield since 1993. From 1981 to 1993, me & a small number of people I'm still in contact with travelled to a lot of United games together from London. Of course, in those days, we knew each other in our small group, but it was difficult to know if other small groups of "London Blades" were doing the same. (No Facebook, etc then).
I'd be slightly interested in an "oral history" of London Blades. Does anyone go way back? Anyone want to drop any names?

 

[TheFlashingBlade]

Be great to see a few more London Blades at Norwich, from what I read most on here just watch our games on telly.

Mrs FlashingBlade and I will be there.

Meanwhile, this Saturday. She does the Facebooking thing, so I assume she knows where the telly watchers will be watching the telly - did I hear Dulwich mentioned? Anyone watching anywhere more centrally (or more North Londonally) as we'll struggle to get to Dulwich in time?

 

[SouthEssexBlade]

I'm not trying to hijack here. But.....
I have lived back in Sheffield since 1993. From 1981 to 1993, me & a small number of people I'm still in contact with travelled to a lot of United games together from London. Of course, in those days, we knew each other in our small group, but it was difficult to know if other small groups of "London Blades" were doing the same. (No Facebook, etc then).
I'd be slightly interested in an "oral history" of London Blades. Does anyone go way back? Anyone want to drop any names?

Greenwich Blade and WalthamstowBlade have been around along time. I'm more recent from about 2006/7. It's a flexible, relaxed group with a bit of a reputation for drinking and arriving a bit late at games. London Owls are a formal bunch with meetings, committee, newsletter and all sorts of formality; this structure never really fitted with a group of capital based Blades wanting to booze, chat and watch United, so disorganised was the label. There have been moments though, The Fulham Monty is now legend amongst other notable gatherings. Others will fill in with names, but surprising numbers finish up abroad

 

[SouthEssexBlade]

Mrs FlashingBlade and I will be there.

Meanwhile, this Saturday. She does the Facebooking thing, so I assume she knows where the telly watchers will be watching the telly - did I hear Dulwich mentioned? Anyone watching anywhere more centrally (or more North Londonally) as we'll struggle to get to Dulwich in time?

Dulwich?? Which numpty came up with that one?

 

[South Bucks]

I'm not trying to hijack here. But.....
I have lived back in Sheffield since 1993. From 1981 to 1993, me & a small number of people I'm still in contact with travelled to a lot of United games together from London. Of course, in those days, we knew each other in our small group, but it was difficult to know if other small groups of "London Blades" were doing the same. (No Facebook, etc then).
I'd be slightly interested in an "oral history" of London Blades. Does anyone go way back? Anyone want to drop any names?

I go back to 1981 as being in a group of London Blades and we'd do 10 to 15 games a year, we were mainly on the west side of London and the south of England with good mates in Wales, Bristol, Southampton, Oxford etc who coordinated there and we still occasionally see.

Mini buses , weekends away, football competitions and matches against other supporters and all sorts of fun blades stuff. Still have my London Blades sweatshirt.

There were other groups around including Brighton and Belgravia blades and latterly Walthys mob but they rarely associated with us so we do our own thing although we're down from maybe a dozen to an occasional 3 to 5 now.

In the eighties a lady in admin at BDTBL, think it was Beryl Witney, would forward names on to me from any wishing to make contact in the south and my name was in the programme and flashing blade etc and I'd co ordinate but I had a big job with travelling so passed it on to others. Others who don't like S24SU cos of some of the awfully nasty right wing attitudes on it or have been hounded off so don't participate so we keep a low profile and no facebook bolloxs.

Think I've done about 10 this season by combinations of train and car with others but collectively us southern blades could do better sharing transport to keep costs down and with meet ups. We've posted which pubs we go to and lifts many times but no one new ever shows up so we just do our own thing these days.

 

[Silent Blade]

I'm not trying to hijack here. But.....
I have lived back in Sheffield since 1993. From 1981 to 1993, me & a small number of people I'm still in contact with travelled to a lot of United games together from London. Of course, in those days, we knew each other in our small group, but it was difficult to know if other small groups of "London Blades" were doing the same. (No Facebook, etc then).
I'd be slightly interested in an "oral history" of London Blades. Does anyone go way back? Anyone want to drop any names?

The first "London Blade" I met was Tony Mercer! Before the start of the Palace v Blades match in December 1971, my dad pointed to a man sat on a seat a few rows in front me and asked me to get his autograph. I went over to him and didn't recognize him thinking that he might be an ex-footballer. Tony cheerfully signed my match programme. Coming back to my seat I asked my dad "Who is he". "He is from the Black and White Minstrel Show" was the reply.

 

[Canterbury Blade]

Will be on the 0923 from Euston to Birmingham for the West Brom game. Yep I know it’s ages away but I got a train ticket to The Hawthorns for 11.50 today so thought others may want transport plunge early doors...

yes I know I will be there for 11 and it’s a 5 pm kick off... oh what shall I do... well those classic boozers near the coach station will be complimented by some snuff buying in The Wellington and then off to Hockley for the jewellery quarter offerings. If anyone else is on the train I’m the one wearing the red and white carnation..

UTB

 

[JJ Sefton]

I'm not trying to hijack here. But.....
I have lived back in Sheffield since 1993. From 1981 to 1993, me & a small number of people I'm still in contact with travelled to a lot of United games together from London. Of course, in those days, we knew each other in our small group, but it was difficult to know if other small groups of "London Blades" were doing the same. (No Facebook, etc then).
I'd be slightly interested in an "oral history" of London Blades. Does anyone go way back? Anyone want to drop any names?

I moved to London in 1985, when I was 5. Used to travel up with my mum and dad, leaving Friday night, to see games from 1988 onwards. As a teenager I managed to rope friends of mine into going to away games down south, but not very often. More often than not I went to games on my own. More often me and my mates would go and watch Enfield. I went to Highbury in 1999 with a pal of mine who was a season ticket holder. We got ripped off, as you'll recall, and I was on the home end for that, which wasn't much fun. I lived in Swansea from 1999 to 2002 and moved back to London. The season after, 2002-2003, I was in the pub most nights and we were constantly on TV so I used to watch games in Enfield with my mates. We were entertaining so it was easy to talk them into it.

In 2004 I saw a London Blades message board start up and they were having drinks at the Nell of Old Drury on Drury Lane so I went. The landlord was a Blade who was interviewed on the Life With the Blades VHS the club did in 1988. We thought we were doing him a favour, but he wasn't bothered having us around. At the interval of the play at the theatre across the road he turfed us out to accommodate his theatre trade. When the interval was over he said we could come back in, but we told him to fuck off.

When I started hanging around with them they'd been on the go since about 1997 and 'HQ' was The Harp on Chandos Place. A good pub, but odd choice for HQ. No colours, no singing, and they got rid of their one crappy TV in 2006. I remember them showing covereage of a papal election on BBC News and Radio_Blade kept making jokes. The landlady was an Irish lass and didn't appreciate that. Still, lots of memories of the place. Me and SE1Blade were once in there with Marcus, who a few here will remember, and he was battered, and went on some epic monologue about growing up in Sheffield in the 1970s. It was hilarious, like Paul Calf. I literally did fall off my stool laughing. There was a guy called Tony Agana's Left Foot who used to come along back them, surname was Proctor, I think. He rode a Lambretta and was always injured. Me, him, and another bloke used to do lines in the bogs of The Harp, which if you've been in there you'll know is some sort of logistical achievement. Then he stopped coming. A couple of years later I heard he'd committed suicide in Australia.

I remember a cricket match someone sorted against the London Owls. Their website was dead slick, they had elected positions, AGMs... we had a flag that cost £5 and kept getting left in pubs. They bottled the cricket match and the pool match we offered them instead.

We were always looking round for a place to watch games on TV. I remember The Comedy by Piccadilly Circus was the longest lasting. We first went in there for Leicester at home in August 2006 and were still going there a couple of years later. There was a great top room where you wouldn't get bothered. Some of the celebrations in there I'll never forget.

One of the best days out was Orient in the Cup in 2009. Loads came up to Walthamstow, including from Sheffield, for drinks before. Then the match got cancelled so we ended up doing a pub crawl round my manor. Charlton in the Cup a few years ago was fun as well.

I'm out of it all now, and maybe this is wrong, but I think its changed. Years ago it was a sort of ex-pats group for homesick Sheffielders. People get less homesick these days because you can be halfway up Maccu Pichu and still see what someone you last saw 10 years ago had for breakfast thanks to Facebook. Any road, some great memories.

 

[JJ Sefton]

Here's summat I found online years ago...

5.10.4 For a number of ‘expat’ Sheffield United supporters the streets of London are as familiar a locale as that of London Road. Having moved to the Capital for all number of reasons, many still return to Sheffield regularly for home games whilst others rely on the few away matches that United play aginst teams in the south in order to see their team live. A more important aspect for many of the ‘London Blades’ is being able to have regular contact with other Sheffield United supporters.

5.10.5 ‘Viewpoints’ is the name of the Sheffield United internet forum that the London Blades tend to use to chat to one another about everything from football to music, politics and soap operas. It is not used exclusively by London Blades, with other exiled fans and one or two still in Sheffield ever-present, but a certain hard-core element appear to live in the metropolis. Viewpoints emerged from the SUISA (Sheffield United Independent Shareholders Association) website and tends to attract a more mature user than the Club run ‘Blades United’ forum whose users are referred to on ‘Viewpoints’ as ‘paperboys’ due to the general lack of intellectual comment.

5.10.6 ‘Viewpoints’ has offered those fans based in London with access to the internet a vital point of contact. One London Blade describes how he discovered he was not the only United supporter living so far from his home town.
I came across ‘Viewpoints’ when it was a part of SUISA whilst doing a
course on computer literacy. Obviously, the first thing I typed into any
[Internet] search engine was something like ‘Sheffield United...Blades...Chat’ and found a conversation between a couple of Blades living in London who’d been trying to arrange to meet up the weekend before. I replied to one of them saying that I’d just discovered the message and was wondering if they’d be meeting up again... They were trying to get a few London Blades together for an evening out and said I should keep checking the website.

5.10.7 The eventual rendezvous was organised for a Thursday night at the Pitcher & Piano near Trafalgar Square, a venue that was quite central and accessible for people in all parts of the city to get to. The London Blade in question: decided that no matter how bad it might be and what kind of people they turned out to be... I knew we’d have something to talk about - Sheffield
United - even if we had nothing else in common. In fact it was quite funny
‘cos I bumped into a couple of guys I used to go to school with.

106
5.10.8 For this supporter, friendships were formed that went beyond a common interest in Sheffield United as he invited other London Blades to music events and found himself agreeing to join a hunt saboteur mission that he thoroughly enjoyed and would never have gone to if he had not been with another Sheffield United supporter.

5.10.9 Regular get togethers are now organised through the Viewpoints website. These occur mainly in ‘The Harp’ a small pub just down the road from the original meeting place. In fact, this pub now has a regular clientele of Sheffield expats. The manager of the pub explained to the research team that she ‘was quite surprised the first time they all came in... but they’re never any bother,’. She seems happy to have the extra business at a time that would usually be fairly
quiet on a Saturday evening.

5.10.10 One of the London Blades remarked to the research team that the group is not as close-knit as they used to be a few years ago. He puts this down to the fact that, ‘[People’s] situations change… I’ve seen it happen in other groups… People leave to get married and that…‘. Key members of the group who were single with plenty of disposable income have been made redundant or have settled down, but a regular enough pattern has been developed that, as one
London Blade remarked, ‘on a match day people know they can find us in the Harp.’

http://www.substance.coop/files/Football%20and%20Its%20Communities%20-%20Interim%20Report%202%20SUFC.pdf

 

[JJ Sefton]

I moved to London in 1985, when I was 5. Used to travel up with my mum and dad, leaving Friday night, to see games from 1988 onwards. As a teenager I managed to rope friends of mine into going to away games down south, but not very often. More often than not I went to games on my own.

I used to see letters in Flashing Blade in the late 80s and early 90s from Blades in London asking if there were any others about who wanted to meet up.

 

[Wapping Blade]

Around 2000 (just checked the date in @Greenwich Blade’s book), the SUISA message board was up and running and Peter Salt (now living it up in ‘nam) put out an invite to London Blades to meet up.

I missed the first one in The City but met up one evening in a boozer in Fulham. I didn’t know anyone so listened out for accents and eventually recognised one chap I knew as a friend of one of my friend’s brother (Chiswick Blade).

Over the next few years we became quite a group that then dispersed as lives moved on.

I still meet up with Alty, Windy, Soho, Maidenhead, N6, Wimbledon, Woodford Green, Stroud Green, Ally Pally, Radio, Greenwich, Crouchy, Coily and probably many more forgotten!

 

[South Bucks]

"One of the best days out was Orient in the Cup in 2009. Loads came up to Walthamstow, including from Sheffield, for drinks before. Then the match got cancelled so we ended up doing a pub crawl round my manor." I remember it well WalthamstowBlade, think about 5 or 6 of our southern lot met up with you guys and we did a mega afternoon pub crawl around Walthy instead of the Orient game. Didn't Kyle Walker make his debut when it was replayed.

Thing I notice is all london/southern groups are using different communication channels, meet up places and transport. Some drive to games but rarely tell anyone else. Our lot use email and not facebook nor ever will and hardly ever this site and we rarely meet in London pubs other than on match days as most of us live too far from central london.

We could do with something better. UTB

 

[South Bucks]

Will be on the 0923 from Euston to Birmingham for the West Brom game. Yep I know it’s ages away but I got a train ticket to The Hawthorns for 11.50 today so thought others may want transport plunge early doors...

yes I know I will be there for 11 and it’s a 5 pm kick off... oh what shall I do... well those classic boozers near the coach station will be complimented by some snuff buying in The Wellington and then off to Hockley for the jewellery quarter offerings. If anyone else is on the train I’m the one wearing the red and white carnation..

UTB

Thanks for the heads up and the Wellington is a decent real ale boozer. For trains from London to Brum its worth knowing Chiltern Line is often doing advanced single tickets for £6.50, use em often as do other footy fans and coupled with a lift have been doing return trips to the Lane for <£20 return for years, just over 3 hours door to door.

 

[SouthEssexBlade]

I moved to London in 1985, when I was 5. Used to travel up with my mum and dad, leaving Friday night, to see games from 1988 onwards. As a teenager I managed to rope friends of mine into going to away games down south, but not very often. More often than not I went to games on my own. More often me and my mates would go and watch Enfield. I went to Highbury in 1999 with a pal of mine who was a season ticket holder. We got ripped off, as you'll recall, and I was on the home end for that, which wasn't much fun. I lived in Swansea from 1999 to 2002 and moved back to London. The season after, 2002-2003, I was in the pub most nights and we were constantly on TV so I used to watch games in Enfield with my mates. We were entertaining so it was easy to talk them into it.

In 2004 I saw a London Blades message board start up and they were having drinks at the Nell of Old Drury on Drury Lane so I went. The landlord was a Blade who was interviewed on the Life With the Blades VHS the club did in 1988. We thought we were doing him a favour, but he wasn't bothered having us around. At the interval of the play at the theatre across the road he turfed us out to accommodate his theatre trade. When the interval was over he said we could come back in, but we told him to fuck off.

When I started hanging around with them they'd been on the go since about 1997 and 'HQ' was The Harp on Chandos Place. A good pub, but odd choice for HQ. No colours, no singing, and they got rid of their one crappy TV in 2006. I remember them showing covereage of a papal election on BBC News and Radio_Blade kept making jokes. The landlady was an Irish lass and didn't appreciate that. Still, lots of memories of the place. Me and SE1Blade were once in there with Marcus, who a few here will remember, and he was battered, and went on some epic monologue about growing up in Sheffield in the 1970s. It was hilarious, like Paul Calf. I literally did fall off my stool laughing. There was a guy called Tony Agana's Left Foot who used to come along back them, surname was Proctor, I think. He rode a Lambretta and was always injured. Me, him, and another bloke used to do lines in the bogs of The Harp, which if you've been in there you'll know is some sort of logistical achievement. Then he stopped coming. A couple of years later I heard he'd committed suicide in Australia.

I remember a cricket match someone sorted against the London Owls. Their website was dead slick, they had elected positions, AGMs... we had a flag that cost £5 and kept getting left in pubs. They bottled the cricket match and the pool match we offered them instead.

We were always looking round for a place to watch games on TV. I remember The Comedy by Piccadilly Circus was the longest lasting. We first went in there for Leicester at home in August 2006 and were still going there a couple of years later. There was a great top room where you wouldn't get bothered. Some of the celebrations in there I'll never forget.

One of the best days out was Orient in the Cup in 2009. Loads came up to Walthamstow, including from Sheffield, for drinks before. Then the match got cancelled so we ended up doing a pub crawl round my manor. Charlton in the Cup a few years ago was fun as well.

I'm out of it all now, and maybe this is wrong, but I think its changed. Years ago it was a sort of ex-pats group for homesick Sheffielders. People get less homesick these days because you can be halfway up Maccu Pichu and still see what someone you last saw 10 years ago had for breakfast thanks to Facebook. Any road, some great memories.

Some good times knocking around there. As you say, compared to the other lot it's always been disparate factions of those out West and outlying areas and those who were central, east and south. There has always been a fluidity about it as well with people arriving in London, people leaving London (as I said, surprising numbers of you chuffs moving abroad) making it a bit more difficult to communicate with all as South Bucks mentioned above. There's also slightly different requirements within those based in London. There are those like Greenwich Blade et al who are travelling to most games and looking to link up for that, but then there are others who, because of various commitments, can't go to games but want to meet up with other Blades to watch on TV in a pub somewhere when it's on. Different requirements at different times, which constantly change make it the chaos it sometimes has been. And as you say, media availability anywhere has diluted the experience somewhat in recent times.

Didn't Kyle Walker make his debut when it was replayed.

We don't talk about that game on here, on account of Foxy thinking something hilarious happened. He needs no encouragement.

 

[JJ Sefton]

Some good times knocking around there. As you say, compared to the other lot it's always been disparate factions of those out West and outlying areas and those who were central, east and south. There has always been a fluidity about it as well with people arriving in London, people leaving London (as I said, surprising numbers of you chuffs moving abroad) making it a bit more difficult to communicate with all as South Bucks mentioned above. There's also slightly different requirements within those based in London. There are those like Greenwich Blade et al who are travelling to most games and looking to link up for that, but then there are others who, because of various commitments, can't go to games but want to meet up with other Blades to watch on TV in a pub somewhere when it's on. Different requirements at different times, which constantly change make it the chaos it sometimes has been. And as you say, media availability anywhere has diluted the experience somewhat in recent times.

There used to be a $19 day return ticket from London to Sheffield with the journey up in First Class. That was going until the season after we got relegated in 2007, if I recall. After that got axed it became a lot more expensive to do that journey and that hit travel numbers. But, while that ticket existed, it was brilliant.

Premiership kick offs at 5:30pm were a problem too. I think we stopped going to The Comedy when we went in there to watch United play Stoke in about 2008. They had Liverpool vs Fulham on instead, which two people were watching. We pointed out the trade they'd lose if they didn't put us on but they said they had to put the Premiership game on. So we trudged about a bit looking for a place showing our game until we got to the Star & Garter on Poland Street. We won that game 1-0 and we went back there for the derby on a Sunday lunchtime when Kilgallon got sent off. About a hundred people turned up, which if you know that pub is quite a squeeze. Best turnout we ever had, shame about the result. We didn't go back to that pub.

 

[SouthEssexBlade]

There used to be a $19 day return ticket from London to Sheffield with the journey up in First Class. That was going until the season after we got relegated in 2007, if I recall. After that got axed it became a lot more expensive to do that journey and that hit travel numbers. But, while that ticket existed, it was brilliant.

Premiership kick offs at 5:30pm were a problem too. I think we stopped going to The Comedy when we went in there to watch United play Stoke in about 2008. They had Liverpool vs Fulham on instead, which two people were watching. We pointed out the trade they'd lose if they didn't put us on but they said they had to put the Premiership game on. So we trudged about a bit looking for a place showing our game until we got to the Star & Garter on Poland Street. We won that game 1-0 and we went back there for the derby on a Sunday lunchtime when Kilgallon got sent off. About a hundred people turned up, which if you know that pub is quite a squeeze. Best turnout we ever had, shame about the result. We didn't go back to that pub.

I remember The Comedy, first place I encountered you all. I was also at the S&G for the derby game, it was rammed. I also remember a few games at The George opposite the courts of justice

 

[SW12 to S12 to S18]

I'm not trying to hijack here. But.....
I have lived back in Sheffield since 1993. From 1981 to 1993, me & a small number of people I'm still in contact with travelled to a lot of United games together from London. Of course, in those days, we knew each other in our small group, but it was difficult to know if other small groups of "London Blades" were doing the same. (No Facebook, etc then).
I'd be slightly interested in an "oral history" of London Blades. Does anyone go way back? Anyone want to drop any names?

Hi Phil,
Greenwich Blade might be a good source of info. I remember some very interesting stories from a previous chat site.

 

[Wapping Blade]

There used to be a $19 day return ticket from London to Sheffield with the journey up in First Class. That was going until the season after we got relegated in 2007, if I recall. After that got axed it became a lot more expensive to do that journey and that hit travel numbers. But, while that ticket existed, it was brilliant.

Premiership kick offs at 5:30pm were a problem too. I think we stopped going to The Comedy when we went in there to watch United play Stoke in about 2008. They had Liverpool vs Fulham on instead, which two people were watching. We pointed out the trade they'd lose if they didn't put us on but they said they had to put the Premiership game on. So we trudged about a bit looking for a place showing our game until we got to the Star & Garter on Poland Street. We won that game 1-0 and we went back there for the derby on a Sunday lunchtime when Kilgallon got sent off. About a hundred people turned up, which if you know that pub is quite a squeeze. Best turnout we ever had, shame about the result. We didn't go back to that pub.

Yep - 09:25/10:25 up from St P, Wimbledon Blade always late/running for the train, no beer until Luton, Soho Blade buying all the beer in the buffet on Platform 5 for the journey back after a particularly good win

 

[Maidenhead]

Hi Phil,
Greenwich Blade might be a good source of info. I remember some very interesting stories from a previous chat site.

Oxymoron alert.

Greenwich Blade and interesting in the same sentence?

Sorry mate

 

[SW12 to S12 to S18]

Here's summat I found online years ago...

5.10.4 For a number of ‘expat’ Sheffield United supporters the streets of London are as familiar a locale as that of London Road. Having moved to the Capital for all number of reasons, many still return to Sheffield regularly for home games whilst others rely on the few away matches that United play aginst teams in the south in order to see their team live. A more important aspect for many of the ‘London Blades’ is being able to have regular contact with other Sheffield United supporters.

5.10.5 ‘Viewpoints’ is the name of the Sheffield United internet forum that the London Blades tend to use to chat to one another about everything from football to music, politics and soap operas. It is not used exclusively by London Blades, with other exiled fans and one or two still in Sheffield ever-present, but a certain hard-core element appear to live in the metropolis. Viewpoints emerged from the SUISA (Sheffield United Independent Shareholders Association) website and tends to attract a more mature user than the Club run ‘Blades United’ forum whose users are referred to on ‘Viewpoints’ as ‘paperboys’ due to the general lack of intellectual comment.

5.10.6 ‘Viewpoints’ has offered those fans based in London with access to the internet a vital point of contact. One London Blade describes how he discovered he was not the only United supporter living so far from his home town.
I came across ‘Viewpoints’ when it was a part of SUISA whilst doing a
course on computer literacy. Obviously, the first thing I typed into any
[Internet] search engine was something like ‘Sheffield United...Blades...Chat’ and found a conversation between a couple of Blades living in London who’d been trying to arrange to meet up the weekend before. I replied to one of them saying that I’d just discovered the message and was wondering if they’d be meeting up again... They were trying to get a few London Blades together for an evening out and said I should keep checking the website.

5.10.7 The eventual rendezvous was organised for a Thursday night at the Pitcher & Piano near Trafalgar Square, a venue that was quite central and accessible for people in all parts of the city to get to. The London Blade in question: decided that no matter how bad it might be and what kind of people they turned out to be... I knew we’d have something to talk about - Sheffield
United - even if we had nothing else in common. In fact it was quite funny
‘cos I bumped into a couple of guys I used to go to school with.

106
5.10.8 For this supporter, friendships were formed that went beyond a common interest in Sheffield United as he invited other London Blades to music events and found himself agreeing to join a hunt saboteur mission that he thoroughly enjoyed and would never have gone to if he had not been with another Sheffield United supporter.

5.10.9 Regular get togethers are now organised through the Viewpoints website. These occur mainly in ‘The Harp’ a small pub just down the road from the original meeting place. In fact, this pub now has a regular clientele of Sheffield expats. The manager of the pub explained to the research team that she ‘was quite surprised the first time they all came in... but they’re never any bother,’. She seems happy to have the extra business at a time that would usually be fairly
quiet on a Saturday evening.

5.10.10 One of the London Blades remarked to the research team that the group is not as close-knit as they used to be a few years ago. He puts this down to the fact that, ‘[People’s] situations change… I’ve seen it happen in other groups… People leave to get married and that…‘. Key members of the group who were single with plenty of disposable income have been made redundant or have settled down, but a regular enough pattern has been developed that, as one
London Blade remarked, ‘on a match day people know they can find us in the Harp.’

http://www.substance.coop/files/Football%20and%20Its%20Communities%20-%20Interim%20Report%202%20SUFC.pdf

Thanks Walthamstow, Viewpoints is the site who’s name wouldn’t come to me. I always found that a very friendly site and almost felt as though I knew many of the members on there. Musical Blade was always very entertaining and although I’ve forgotten many of the regulars, some like yourself and Greenwich and I’m sure several others on here bring back many fond memories.

 

[JJ Sefton]

Thanks Walthamstow, Viewpoints is the site who’s name wouldn’t come to me. I always found that a very friendly site and almost felt as though I knew many of the members on there. Musical Blade was always very entertaining and although I’ve forgotten many of the regulars, some like yourself and Greenwich and I’m sure several others on here bring back many fond memories.

I never posted on Viewpoints. You had to pay to register and I sent off a cheque which was never cashed. Musical (Andy) now lives in New Zealand.

 

[JJ Sefton]

I remember The Comedy, first place I encountered you all. I was also at the S&G for the derby game, it was rammed. I also remember a few games at The George opposite the courts of justice

The George was a good venue for a bit. I remember being in there and Maxine Peake was filming some legal drama and took about 20 takes to say some line right while crossing the road. When she did we all cheered.

 

[South Bucks]

Interesting how there appears to have been a kind of parallel universe out there for decades.

When you guys were meeting in various London pubs years ago we often met on the Queen Mary ship pub moored by Waterloo bridge next to my old office and in staggering distance of the district line. Good turn outs sometimes.

When you guys were going up on the train from Pancras we were meeting up near Denham or Hillingdon tube and sharing cars up to the lane from there or scrounging for any train offers going.

Most I know never knew anything about the Fulham monty until afterwards cos we were not in those circles of communication but had our own fun and stories so no regrets.

Funny old world.

 

[JJ Sefton]

Interesting how there appears to have been a kind of parallel universe out there for decades.

When you guys were meeting in various London pubs years ago we often met on the Queen Mary ship pub moored by Waterloo bridge next to my old office and in staggering distance of the district line. Good turn outs sometimes.

When you guys were going up on the train from Pancras we were meeting up near Denham or Hillingdon tube and sharing cars up to the lane from there or scrounging for any train offers going.

Most I know never knew anything about the Fulham monty until afterwards cos we were not in those circles of communication but had our own fun and stories so no regrets.

Funny old world.

I remember once seeing a bloke cycling along Hoe Street in a 2002-2004 Blades shirt. I didn't recognise him and ran along after him but he got away.

 

[FriethBlade]

Good old Viewpoints....that seems like another lifetime now. I remember the meet in The City that Pete organised and the group that were what I thought was the original London Blades in the late 80s early 90s marshalled by phone...that's good old.landline...by P.A. (people around back then will know whom I'm talking about)

With people.moving around it then seemed to morph into a new generation with the likes of Musical, Radio, Wimbledon, Alty, Ally Pally, Warminster, Walthamstow, Greenwich, Wapping, Maidenhead, Soho, Coily et al (many present in the curry house picture in Greenwichs book) Apologies for ommissooms, the memory is going...unlike Walthamstow who seems to have a photographic one !

Marriage, kids and a move.to the country stopped me partaking although like others I still see plenty at some of the games I still make.

Stand out games.for.me include every QPR one including a particularly.memorable escapade involving.cabbage throwing in some.market after the game. Away matches at Brighton and Colchester...both cup replays I think. A few very dodgy Pompey visits and seeing Vinnie Jones make his debut down at Southampton. The highlight will always be the Fulham Monty despite the result on the day.

 

[SouthEssexBlade]

I never posted on Viewpoints. You had to pay to register and I sent off a cheque which was never cashed. Musical (Andy) now lives in New Zealand.

Andy, New Zealand. Yourself in the USA. Did Roadie head to Australia? (remember the MK trip in his bus) and I'm sure there were a few others went to foreign parts, Blackheath Blade went to Birmingham which is as good as.

 

[Canterbury Blade]

Thanks for the heads up and the Wellington is a decent real ale boozer. For trains from London to Brum its worth knowing Chiltern Line is often doing advanced single tickets for £6.50, use em often as do other footy fans and coupled with a lift have been doing return trips to the Lane for <£20 return for years, just over 3 hours door to door.

Am coming back that route at an amazing price of The Hawtorns to Canterbury including high speed for 11.50. A day return to Chatham costs more!