Haverfordwest County welcomed the Neighbours to the Conygar Bridge Meadow Stadium as Barry Neighbour and his wife Linda were the latest pair of ‘Ground Hoppers’ to watch a match as the Bluebirds entertained Cwmbran Celtic in the Welsh League.
‘Ground Hoppers’ is the generic term used to describe that rare breed of football supporters who love to visit as many grounds in the UK as possible, buying a memento and ticking off another club visited.
Lots of driving to follow football
Barry and Linda are something of a rarity in the sense that most ground hoppers are male, single and travel on their own or in small groups, rather than as husband and wife like the Neighbours.
They hail from Sandhurst, in Berkshire and are regular supporters of Brentford AFC, who were away to Carlisle on the day they travelled down to Haverfordwest - so they watched Port Talbot beat Carmarthen on Friday evening and then reached the Conygar Bridge Meadow bright and early on Saturday.
Amazing tally of grounds visited
Ask Linda about her interest in football and she would admit that she hadn’t seen a football match before she met Mr Neighbour.
“That was in 1974 and we watched them Brentford play against Lincoln City – and I was hooked,” said Linda with a chuckle.
Barry played football as a youngster with his works team but since then his travels have taken him to an amazing total of over 1,500 clubs, with Old Trafford and the new Wembley inevitably amongst his favourite stadia. Of the top sides he only has to visit Sunderland and Wigan, plus around ten other clubs in the professional game in England, some of whom have switched grounds since he was last there, like Brighton, Rotherham and Morecambe.
High praise for a warm welcome
Both the neighbours were full of praise for their visit to Haverfordwest County.
“We have been made very welcome wherever we have gone across South Wales,” said Linda, “and particularly so in Haverfordwest, where Eddie (Bunston) spotted us and couldn’t do enough for us.”
“I think the ground is really well set-out,” added Barry, “and the pitch looks great. I can already smell the sausages and chips from the cafe and they will go down well with a cup of coffee,” he said with a chuckle!
Programmes galore
As well as hopping around football grounds, Barry collects programmes and has a huge collection from Brentford that go back as far as 1944. He also has big collections from smaller local clubs in Sandhurst Town and Workington Town, plus plenty of others that he sells on his specialist web site called barryneighboursportsprogrammes.com as a means of funding his regular trips around England and Wales.
“We have had a smashing time watching Haverfordwest County beat Cwmbran Celtic,” said Barry Neighbour as he and his wife Linda set off in their car for the long journey home, already planning next weekend’s trip for two very dedicated footballers of the game at all levels!
PHOTO:
Barry Neighbour and his wife Linda were the latest pair of ‘Ground Hoppers’ to watch a match as the Bluebirds entertained Cwmbran Celtic in the Welsh League.
PHOTO:
Barry Neighbour and his wife Linda were the latest pair of ‘Ground Hoppers’ to watch a match as the Bluebirds entertained Cwmbran Celtic in the Welsh League.