Subbuteo in care homes
Admiral Court Care Home, Subbuteo and the Admiral kit
An invitation
Brian asked the Friends of Old Subbuteo if they would run a demonstration Subbuteo session at Admiral Court Care Home in Leigh-on-Sea.
The Friends of Old Subbuteo said "Yeesssss!", and it was game on! ?
Lee turned up after 3 hours kip from doing his night shift at the home ? kitted out in his England 1982 Admiral shirt to match the team he was playing with.
England were playing against Plymouth Argyle...!
The event drew a bit of a crowd, with many residents popping in to watch some of the action.
The game...
Steve (Plymouth Argyle) and Lee (England 1982) played out two halves, and at 2-2 after about an hour, the classic 'next goal wins' principle, from 'the-sun-is-going-down-and-it's-dinnertime' rulebook was enacted! ?
Lee's defence stood firm, ably supported by a 00-scale Mick Mills and Kenny Sansom, and after length of the pitch breakaway move, Paul Mariner scored the winning goal.
Some of the residents got involved in the game with Martin starring at the England goalie (Ray Clemence), and Lena making some quality offside decisions - once by raising her mince pie and once by raising her glass of wine. Both great decisions - no need for VAR!
Getting ready to play...
Match action...
Steve a bit late to attempt a save with his keeper... ?
Back at the Admiral court...26th Feb 2022
A return to Admirals Court after the winter lockdown, saw Shadnam playing a 'special teams' role, taking the throw-ins and corner kicks.
Truth be said - she came to Lee's rescue! Lee was playing Mansfield and was 2-0 down to Steve's Plymouth at halftime. The second half saw a spirited fightback, with Plymouth being pegged back to 2-2!
Steve and Lee then played an England (Lee) v Scotland (Steve) game, where the tartan army threatened to run amok!
The final score was England 0 Scotland 3!
A few interested spectators wandered through, and there was also a bit of air-hockey happening, that afternoon, with Brian showing some quality skills with the puck.
Subbuteo nostalgia at Fountains lodge care home
The request and the response
After some care home staff had seen the fantastic Subbuteo exhibition at the Amelia Scott centre, Friends of Old Subbuteo were asked to bring some Subbuteo memorabilia along.
Janet, who works at the home, had been chatting with some residents about Subbuteo. Many recalled the game, either playing it, or watching others play it, when they were young.
The request developed into a suggestion to bring a pitch as well as some of the old Subbuteo teams, accessories, catalogues and adverts.
So with the car loaded up, the Friends of Old Subbuteo, represented by David and Steve, crossed the Thames and headed to the birth place of Subbuteo.
After setting up in one of the lounges, a group of residents turned up, chatty and eager to see what was going on. There were some informal introductions and chatter as folks got used to the set-up.
After a few minutes, Janet welcomed the visitors and David introduced the session. He admitted to never having flicked a Subbuteo player, but for the purposes of today, he would let Steve teach him how to play.
Steve let David stew for a while, telling folks the story of how Subbuteo started and where it started. The demo game then commenced, and David who had duly prepared himself to be suitably embarrased, experienced a generous helping of beginners luck with his first flicks! 😀
Then, what do you know? After apologising earlier that morning for having to attend another meeting at short notice, Keith Buckwell suddenly appeared! 😃😎
The game stopped immediately as Keith was welcomed into the fold - and the next few minutes were all about Keith's involvement in designing Subbuteo accessories - which worked really well, as loads of them were on display! The grandstand, scoreboard, floodlights, fence surrounds, the trophies and the corner-kickers and throw-in figures - all designed by Keith! ...What a perfect entrance - If he hadn't have arrived a little out of puff and apologetic, one might have thought he'd been outside waiting for his cue!
David, like an old pro, took the opportunity to step down, with the announcement "Would anyone else like to have a go?"
No sooner was the invite offered, two of the residents got up and made their way to the playing surface. It's as if they'd been warming up, waiting for the call!
A penalty shoot-out was arranged, with the players completely engrossed in shooting and goalkeeping activity.
Other's got up to have a turn, and a staff member found they were unable to resist the urge to get involved.
Then, the players decide to try out shooting from other angles, and also using the corner-kicker as a free-kick taker! 😃
discovery of the day
The resident who scored the final goal of the day had lived in Langton Green for many years, and remembered the house on the corner (The Lodge). He was fascinated to learn he'd lived just round the corner to where Peter Adolph had devised the game of Subbuteo.
quote of the day
After hitting the bar at the third attempt...
"If I'd have actually played the game I might well have ended up redesigning that corner kicker!"
(Buckwell. K)