Boleyn Over!

This evening, May 10th 2016*, West Ham play their final game at The Boleyn Ground, more commonly known to most football fans as Upton Park, before moving to their new home at the Olympic Stadium in Stratford, four miles down the road. As the football aficionados among you all know, The Hammers have been playing at Upton Park for well over 100 years now so, irrespective of any progress, money or success that the move and the future will bring, it is the end of an era for the majority of their dyed-in-the-wool supporters. No matter what fate awaits the club in its new home, things will never be the same for these fans again.

I watched a video this morning on The Guardian website about how the move will affect the lives of the local folk in the east area of London where West Ham have resided since 1904, and who have followed the team all their lives. It's a pretty moving piece and I recommend you have a look because I think it offers a stark and universal reminder of what it is like to have a core part of your heritage taken away from you - something we in this town might also know a thing or two about. It probably underlines as well the easily forgotten fact that success and winning can often be an unworthy replacement for what being part of a strong community, bound by a common passion, can bestow on each one of us. It's indeed a sad day. Come on you Irons, all!

More soon ...



* and on May 10th, 1980!

PS. West Ham subsequently won their last game at the Boleyn beating Man Utd 3-2, thus setting themselves up for a spot in the Europa League if they took a point from their last game. And did they get that point? Did they f*%k! Lost to Stoke on the last day of the season! Forever blowin' bubbles!