This week I thought I would take a different approach to the weekly notes and share with you a diary of a week in the life as Chairman of Chesham United, it may come as a surprise to anyone that thinks it is all about sipping champagne in the boardroom on a matchday.
Thursday 26th. At desk for one hour checking and replying to emails and bank accounts; at club by 9.00am to sort kit room. Sorted quiz for the programme. Started the Notes from the Chair for checking before tomorrow. Banked club money. Home 12.20pm for lunch and then off to Bookers for bar supplies and to get other items and food for Monday’s game. Back at 4pm all goods stored away in freezer and bar. Home to change then called back to the club at 6pm to unlock kit room for training. Went through kit room and cleared it out ready for Kit Aid visit next week: 4 sets of kit, Jackets, warm up shirts etc all given. Arrived home 9.45pm.
Friday 27th. One hour on bank account and emails catch-up from last night. At the club by 9.15am to load all the playing kit, warm-up tops, tracksuits, Sub bibs, into Hamper; balls, sub board, physio bags and bibs forward up training. Noticed Tumble Dryer at the end of its life! Checked and agreed notes from Chair and View from the Board for Monday’s programme. Distributed further emails to management and board re car parking scenarios this weekend. Confirmed with teams what kit I was carrying in my car. Purchased two second hand Tumble dryers as ours is no good.
Saturday 28th Checked all accounts and emails whilst listening to sounds of the Sixties. Best Radio show of the week! Answered two text messages. Left home 10.30am to pick up Roger for the journey to Gosport. Stuck on M25, so aborted M25 eventually and went across country to M3 arriving in Gosport late at 1.25pm without the training cones! Got a cup of tea and a basic sandwich from the hospitality on offer at half time. Game finished as a 0-3 loss, big physical battle. Left ground at 5.45pm without kit as that was being taken on the coach. Home 8.10pm to a very hungry Cat and myself as I did not fancy the food on offer after the game- nothing! Certainly prefer what we offer here at Chesham on matchdays!
Sunday 29th. At the club 8am to wash the kit and find James Newbury had done it for me. Some into faulty tumble dryer, shirts hung up, warm-up shirts hung up, shorts and socks into tumble dryer. Some socks re-washed as stain still in them from the grass. Put all other equipment off loaded from coach away in Kit room. Home for 9am. 11am Roger picked me up in a van to collect the two second-hand condenser dryers. Loaded both into Kit washroom and removed all of one out as kit in it at the end of cycle still wet. Loaded both to dry kit and found extension lead useless so manipulated and swapped plugs from washing machines. Home at 1.15pm to watch the football and Grand Prix! All poor value that afternoon.
Monday 30th At the club 8am to get food out of freezer and prepared for match day entertainment. Into washroom and paired all socks and moved all washed and dried kit into changing room. Set out all kit on pegs ready for the players. Got the music machine ready. Had a cup of Tea with Ray who was preparing the boardroom for hospitality. Home 10.30am. Back to the club all spick and span ready for the days match. Grabbed a Tea and meeting with a very willing helper discussing on how to move the club forward was a great meeting with lots of ideas to develop. Set up condiment table. Welcomed the opposing officials and match officials to our ground and then read the team sheet with so many injuries massive number of players absent. Physio gave me 15 mins of massage and treatment on my back injury from falling at the club on Wednesday looking for balls!
At half-time into the kitchen and turned-on cooking equipment and cooked all the sausages ready for the after-match meal and stored them in the bain-marie. Just before the end back to the kitchen to cook vegetables for the boardroom meal and the 9kg of chips to go with the sausages and bread roll for each person. Gave food in trays to be served in boardroom and carried on cooking for the players. Served all the players their food and had 2 sausages and 1 portion of chips left over which I gave to the Girls working the Bar, then packed away all in the kitchen, had massive help to wash and dry all dishes plates etc. Finally washed down the sides and floor and shut up the Kitchen. Sat down for a long chat in the Clubhouse with a pint of Soda and Lime after being told James had put the kit wash on for me, lovely lad. After one hour I went into kit room and found one machine had completed its cycle so put into one dryer and left it all till the morning. All chippies shut in Chesham Monday Night so home for a cold supper as too late to cook. Was a great crowd at the game, best Bank holiday one for many a year.
Tuesday 31st Sorting out finances and lots of club and work emails and didn’t get there till 9.30am. to cut a way through the brambles that had overgrown so much that the footpath the Academy use to train on the school pitch was totally blocked. So, use my new electric hedge trimmer to cut it back and out of then way. Roger came down in the afternoon with his strimmer to complete the task. Helped clean half the ground collecting all the rubbish. The supporters are beginning to put rubbish into the right bins to help us recycle our rubbish and save massive amounts on our rubbish collection and becoming greener. Sad to note that person’s unknown to us had been bringing glass bottles of Bier Moretti to drink in the ground which is completely illegal and against football ground regulations. If it was one of our supporters, please stop now or we will have to check bags on entry into the ground! If you see someone doing this, please report them. You are NOT ALLOWED TO BRING ALCOHOL INTO THE GROUND.
Thanks to Charlie this task was completed by 10.45am whilst Ray was fixing the physio bench in the away changing rooms which the opposition broke! Four sets of kit with various other items handed over to Kit aid. Chesham Utd was a founder member of this when Alan Calder was Chairman. Now many teams worldwide wear Chesham United Colours and sponsors names. Then, into washroom to tumble dry and hang up items already dried into the kit room ready for the next match. Home by 12.30pm! Spent various times through the day sorting out new kit man interview for tomorrow along with a coach interviewing him. Spoke with both managers and other board members about various items and looked to find reasons for any system failures to make sure nothing goes wrong again. Martin W printed off player passes and season tickets outstanding. Always be prepared or as we said in RN and reserves “Ready, Aye Ready”. Finished last club business at 8.10pm after doing the quiz for the programme for possible FA Cup replay.
Wednesday 1st September.
Checked all accounts and emails. Sent a few replies at 7am for thirty minutes. Then had to sort out house emergency with water leaks and electrics with water intrusion with sparks flying out! Meeting coach “Murph” at 10.30am preparing for 11am kit man interview. Lovely interview with a lovely man who is going to trial run it with me this weekend. Moved all shirts from washroom into kit room and prepared Kit Bag for Academy for their game on Thursday Evening. Then onto the bank, to bank club’s takings from the weekend, home 12.45pm. 3.30pm go to Watford to pick up new sweets order for Clubhouse Bar, and then to Amersham for new fire door for the new Bar. Take to club and arrive home 6pm.
This coming week we have a board and management meeting, I must remember to put on the agenda “Delegation and Recruiting Volunteers”. FA Cup action this weekend, I look forward to seeing many of you at Uxbridge, thank you for your support.
