Court Celtic 40th Anniversary Tour

Well I've finally recovered from the Court Celtic 40th Anniversary Tour to Torquay so thought it might be an idea for a quick recap of how we all got on.

Friday

Friday was the day of travelling. For some bizarre reason Tom, Bully and Alex decided they'd leave ridiculously early to get to Torquay by 10am. More sensible people set off a bit later and caught the train and indulged in some drinking games. Graham discovered that buying disgusting drinks to make other people suffer doesn't always work out and you may end up consuming something not particularly pleasant yourself, e.g. chocolate beer. Mark made a right fuss about a measly bottle of wine (the equivalent of one large glass) and Luke was on another planet after coming straight from his night shift but still managed to keep going after getting the cards out.

After arriving at the Shirley Hotel to be greeted by the wonderful owners Debbie and Gary, we all congregated down at the harbour and met up with some of the old boys who had also driven but at a more reasonable time. The sun was out and the beer was flowing, the perfect start to Torquay. Needless to say this was a running theme for the tour and didn't stop until late in the day when everyone returned to freshen up and sober up (slightly) for the evening's entertainment.

That night the squad headed down to Woody's for some drinking games which basically involved doing stupid things and making Ally sick (another running theme). Out of nowhere Spencer turned up to boost the numbers and encourage everyone to carry on with trying to get alcohol poisoning. Somewhere along the way we ended up at Venue which was probably quite good although the memory is slightly hazy. What is clear is that Stu could barely stand, Cannon and Steve were acting like sex pests on the dance floor, Luke and Spencer both got chucked out after coming to Stu's rescue of which he knew very little about and everyone was very very drunk. A good night all round.

Saturday

Saturday didn't start off well for a lot of people. The sight at breakfast was not pretty and was something that was to be repeated over the next couple of mornings. Thankfully the excellent fry up helped to repair the feeble bodies of those that had a tiny bit too much to drink the night before.

Yet again we were blessed with glorious weather and after a bit more recovery and some new arrivals, Martin, Vaughn and Nick, we were ready for the first match against Abbotskerswell. To say our pre-match warm up was poor is a bit of an understatement. I'm not quite sure how we had enough footballs left for the following day considering the amount that ended up in the stream running alongside the pitch and various trees, bushes and hedges. The local wildlife was more endangered than the goal. However after all this, Court Celtic started reasonably well and were soon into an early lead but Abbotskerswell weren't there just to be gracious hosts. They came back strongly into the game and equalised after most of Court Celtic had gone AWOL and Stu's quite immense dive didn't quite win the penalty he was hoping for (although it did win a lot of laughs from the many supporters who had turned out). Unfortunately for Stu it was to be one of his last involvements in the game (and the tour as it turned out) after he snapped a muscle in his knee soon afterwards. The rest of the match is a bit of a blur mainly due to terrible hangovers and it being the hottest day of the year but there were some great (and not so great) moments. Steve had a bit of stormer at left back, deciding that he'd try and take on as many players as possible. Cannon scored a superb goal as per usual with another barnstorming run. Nick hit a peach of a shot off the underside of the crossbar but unfortunately Vaughn missed it with the camera as he was too involved with the game. Mark fell on his shoulder saving a shot that was going wide (one for the camera) and ended up going to hospital with Stu. Macca missed a couple of absolute sitters but was probably seeing double from the night before. And Graham's head got sunburnt (again).

After the game we were kindly invited back to the Court Farm Inn in Abbotskerswell for a BBQ and some beer to cool us down. It would have been nice to have stayed a bit longer but we had to get back to the hotel and drop some invalids off at the Hospital for a check up. That afternoon involved more drinking, a bit of Pro Evo with drinking games, more drinking and then a trip down to the centre of town to begin the night's fun and games. Some were suffering after the game and Friday night so made the decision to drink back at the hotel and watch MOTD. The others on the other hand got into all sorts of shennanigans, again in Woody's. I won't go into details other than to say the sex pests were only pests on the way home. There are some classy ladies in Torquay!

Sunday

Sunday was a bit like déjà vu, another group of bleary eyed footballers, another lovely breakfast and some more fantastic weather. Our hosts for Sunday's game were Newton United who play at Newton Abbott. Stu and Mark were both missing after their injuries the previous day and as a few of the old players had to get back we were a bit short of players. After leaving Cannon back at the hotel we eventually managed to get to the ground as a full team. Paul and Rice from Abbotskerswell kindly helped out and we were able to put out 11 bodies, albeit with a few minor changes.

As is tradition we chopped and changed the line up with our usual defenders, Luke and Chris, supporting the mighty Graham up front (who was once again to get sunburnt). Our forwards, being Spencer, Alex and Bully, played in defence with Tom between the sticks. Everyone else had a 'play where you want' directive which seemed to just about work. As with the previous day, the match was played in great spirits with some stunning goals to remember. Chris nicked one off the goal line after Bully thought he'd scored, Nick lobbed the keeper from kick off after Newton had scored a belter, Spencer scored an own goal (had to slip that one in), and even Graham put one in the net with a wonderfully timed run at the back post. I would leave it at that but I don't think many people will ever forget Graham going in for a diving header but completely misjudging it, an absolute classic which resulted in a booking for atrocious play. By the end of the game both teams had resorted to all out attack but Court Celtic just about managed to hold on to the win.

We once again made it back to the pub, this time the Union Inn, for some more quality food laid on by the hosts and a few drinks to cool down with. Unfortunately a few more members of the tour had to return to Birmingham after the game and the effects of the weekend were catching up on the remainder so spirits were a bit low. Thankfully Newton United stepped up to the plate and kindly took us down the road to the Cider Bar, a quite brilliant establishment where the atmosphere (and copious amounts of alcohol) soon kicked started everyone again. If you're ever in the area trip to the Cider Bar is highly recommended!

Back once again to Torquay we stopped off some food and then a quick walk back to the hotel which ended up turning in to a mini pub tour with a couple of goldfish bowls thrown in to spice things up. Once again the beers came out but this time along with some sake which didn't agree with everyone, well mainly Ally who was the permanent wearer of the sick shirt anyway.

After slightly longer than expected we headed down to the centre for another night out. Heading to a different pub to previous evenings we ended up in a chanting match with some Bristol City fans who looked quite confused when it was pointed out we were singing Court Celtic. They didn't really have a clue. After that we ended up heading to a nightclub but as is typical with a large group of drunks we all got split up. Steve however still had time to upset some locals who were thankfully chucked out for being morons but little did we know they were waiting outside after we retired from the dance floor. Basically Steve ended up with a bloody nose, one local lad ended up being arrested, and we got to meet a bunch of very friendly police officers who handled everything brilliantly. Not to leave the night on a downer we carried on with more fun and games and Bully got lucky with what can only be described as a beast. He sneakily deleted the evidence but it will live long in the memory.

Monday

Come Monday, the day of return, the batteries were running low so we hopped on a boat to Brixham. Now unlike normal people who by this time were absolutely destroyed from 3 days on tour Ally and Bully decided they continue the festivities with 10 shots in an hour at one of the local pubs. The journey pack on the boat was painful but the captain and fellow passengers showed some restraint in not throwing them overboard. It was a bit of an effort to get back to the hotel where Bully dozed off for a quick nap at his peril. A marker pen and a pair of scissors later were not enough to stir him but I doubt he'll fall asleep again outside his room.

That was just about it for the tour other than to say goodbye to our great hosts at the Shirley, get in the cars and catch the train. Everyone had a brilliant time, although maybe not Stu but what happened was pretty unfortunate, and will have some great memories of the lovely town of Torquay and the fantastic hospitality that we received from both Abbotskerswell and Newton United. Same time again next year!

This season marks the 40th anniversary of the formation of Court Celtic FC. As a celebration, past and present players will be touring Torquay and playing two teams from Newton Abbot.