Canterbury, it’s not all about the hockey

Easter weekend saw UCLU Hockey Club and the London ‘Accies’ Academicals (alumni) take their talents down to Canterbury for the annual hockey festival.

We were involved in three days of hockey and camped for three nights. A wake up call at 9.30 in the morning, explaining that we have a game in half an hour is not the best news… especially after a heavy night and waking up on the cold floor of your tent (or someone else’s).

For most, food was not at the top of the priority list. The dilemma at breakfast was whether or not to join the majority for a Snakey B. Other available options were to join Nick Dyson for a double scotch, Randers for a Guinness, or James Voyle for some 'lovely spicy sauce'. The cuisine on offer was basically a large amount of hangover food! The amount of burgers, hot dogs and macaroni cheese being consumed is not something that I want to dwell upon.
 

The previous weekend saw temperatures higher in Scotland than in Spain and Italy. But who were we kidding thinking that it would last! The weather was not the best… but we each had our own ways of dealing with the low temperatures. Personally, I opted to wear a ski jacket. Others had a more unorthodox approach however. Nick Randall was spotted in the bathroom making sure that his nipples had sufficient amounts of Vaseline applied, shielding them from the cold! Some players on the substitute bench (most notably James Ashlin Heath) decided to drink a gin and tonic as their warm-up.

Surprisingly enough, there was actually a hockey tournament going on! One of the women’s teams managed to reach what was effectively the final of the round robin tournament. The Accies reached the semi-final against a young Canterbury hockey club side. Victory was denied by a completely wrong decision by one of the umpires. He gave a ‘ghost goal’ which left the players and fans baffled. The other officials watching the game were laughing; they couldn’t even believe it themselves!
 

Disappointment was short-lived however, as an order of 50 Morgan’s Spiced was placed at the bar. A member of staff had to cycle to the local off-licence as they didn’t stock enough of the ‘spicy sauce’. When he returned, an orderly queue formed and a chorus of ‘fifty spices sitting on the bar’ erupted. Needless to say, it wasn’t long before people ‘fancied one to eat’.

After arriving back at home and sobering up, ‘post-Canterbury blues’ set in. It dawned on me that I do actually have exams quite soon and it will be a long time before that level of silliness can be revisited…