A long-time tradition bringing together former North Shore United players, officials and supporters has been revived.
The ‘Friday Cuppa Club’ began in the 1970s as a way for Shore enthusiasts to get together for a weekly coffee and to chew the fat about all things football.
Now, after a break of many years, the ‘Friday Cuppa Club’ is underway again with about 25 people calling in at Allen Hill Stadium for a morning coffee and chat.
Main photo: Current members of the Friday Cuppa Club catch up at the Shore clubrooms.
Stalwart Tony Buckingham, one of those to help revive the club a couple of months ago, recalls it started in the mid-1970s when United moved to Dacre Park in Devonport, now called Allen Hill Stadium after the club’s late president.
In fact, Hill was one of the early members of the Friday Cuppa Club, popping in when taking his household reel mower to the stadium to give the pitch a final trim ahead of the weekend’s matches.
Jim Hart, who had retired from his job at the Naval Base, was the original member of the cuppa club, often working at the clubrooms on Fridays, and he was joined by fellow retiree Bill Towers.
First team manager Bert De Ronde, Brian Loader and broadcaster Alan Richards became part of the group.
By the 1990s, Alan Carrick would combine his Friday routine as a volunteer, getting changing rooms ready for the weekend, with a morning chat.
With many of the original cuppa crew no longer with us, the current group are enjoying their get-togethers and encourage any other football enthusiasts with North Shore connections to call in.
They meet at 10am, on Fridays, at Allen Hill Stadium.
(Note: This week’s gathering will be at the later-than-usual time of 11am).
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