The Elephant in the Rookery

As viewed from the Rookery, when the whole thing kicks off, it looks to me as if the SEJ are right up for it bouncing about all over the place. The GT rather less so. But maybe that's just my angle of view. Half way between the 1881 and the centre of the Rookery, 1/3 of the way up.

So far, the discussion on the contribution the 1881 make has centred almost entirely around their aural contribution. But there's their visual contribution too.

The magnificent display of flags at k.o. in the Rookery (often spreading further afield) is entirely down to them. They distribute them, go back to the bunker, watch the match, collect them in again and go back to the bunker with them. The various enormous 'over the crowd' banners are also down to them and they similarly take them out and bring them back in again.

As I understand it, having spoken to Roy Moore about it, they were responsible for the commissioning of the semi-final and final flags on behalf of the club last season. Contractors not only made but also distributed those too though. Single use flags, so no need to collect them in again. Those jobs followed on from the disaster of our previous semi-final against Palarse when the club didn't involve the 1881 and I was personally involved in distributing the stupid little flags that would have been more appropriate sticking out of an ice-cream cone or a cocktail glass. No match at all for the Holmesdale boys' 'big blocks of colour.' So, following on from that embarrassment, the club made the sensible decision last season to involve the 1881 (those lads know about flag stuff) at the forefront of our two efforts. You've still got to wave the things though and our collective decision to do so on 85 mins in the final was magnificent. We didn't even break stride when their sixth went in. Big blocks of colour would seem to be the norm now at Wembley.

I think/know that the club do financially subsidise the flags effort the 1881 make. Not just at Wembley (which the club paid for entirely) but stuff that happens at the Vic. too. And so they should. But much of the finances also come from personal contributions the 1881 make, personal contributions from our wider support base and, now, profits from the Bunker Bar.

So, I hope we can all agree that, on the visual side of things, the 1881 do a terrific job.

If there's anyone from the 1881 watching, who thinks I've got anything wrong here re. financing or Wembley, then please correct me.

 

Shame the move centrally didn't seem to work and feel sorry for those who gave up there seats for the move to happen only to be relocated to seats in poorer position.
A difficult one to solve. Crystal Palace decided as a club to forcibly move people and inviting a select '500' to move into places vacated. That caused uproar and discontent with thousands of comments on their forums. A voluntary scheme doesn't seem to have worked .
As an older supporter now I like to sit and quite happy with a position right at the front of South East corner in the rookery. I probably like many will sing along but don't want to stand whole game and also don't particularly like the constant droning on of songs. I reminisce for the whole days when songs were spontaneous and normally in response to something happening on the pitch rather than an artificially singing for the sake of it. What's wrong with a come on you horns to get things going.
Only see a solution of a reset of all seats in the rookery, I get that done supporters have had season tickets for many years but no one has a right to be in the same place for ever. In the past at the Vic road end you had the in place ages before the game to get a good spot, same again with unreserved seating when new Vic road stand first opened.
Overall Roy Moore does a great job and the displays, flag waving etc bring much good to the Watford match day experience.

 

Well obviously the Millenials will win when all their Dads are dead. A bit of patricide could speed things up a bit.

 

No room for pi55ed old blokes then?

 

No. But I wasn't best pleased to begin with (I didn't entirely choose my own seat) due to what I saw as 'excessive negativity' from someone adjacent to me. However, we all get on fine now. Three Roadies, two who knew each other previously and one other are now six very active members of their own WhatsApp group. A roving band of WFC minstrels.

 

Interesting. So 'Mr Excessive Negativity' is just a character you act in our play then. All the world's a stage and all the men and women merely players and all that malarkey ... They have their exits and their entrances and one man in his time plays many parts (moog?) is probably true on here as well then. And there was me thinking you were for real!

I can honestly say though that what you see is what you get with CleyHorn on here as in real life, albeit toned down a bit from a previous incarnation. Travelling incognito for a bit due to needs must is a very different thing from being thespian on a permanent basis.

 

Gen Z (under 23s) r basically the ones who will have to save the planet from environmental meltdown, navigate mass unemployment due to automation/AI, deal with China becoming the most powerful country in the world and work out how to stay human when u have technology implanted inside u. Piece of piss!

 

I really hope they also eliminate text message speak.

 

r ?
u ?

 

Some bloody gen Z, millenium, centennial hip speak.....

 

Yes. While we are at it, what's wrong with starting all posts "Dear Forum Members" and finishing "Yours sincerely/faithfully" as appropriate ?

 

Not happy with absence of quotation marks or the spacing before the question marks.

 

Of course that would necessarily be “Yours faithfully”. “Yours sincerely” requires a name, such as “Dear Mr. Moog”.
Or perhaps “Dear Messrs. Moog”.

 

It's the old "received" usage chestnut (again).

 

Exactly. So a general post would be "faithfully" and a specific reply to an individuals post would be "sincerely" hence the "as appropriate".

 

Any Watford fan who doesnt appreciate the immense contribution the 1881 make to the club needs their head examined quite frankly. I'm not 1881 so my opinion is objective.

 

Calling themselves Gen Z doesn’t leave much room for anyone to follow, except perhaps Gen full stop.

 

Yeah...they've even got their own theme tune:

 

It'll be on to emojis after z. Generation

 

Don't sit on the fence. Is it 'sincerely' or 'faithfully'?
Plus...Should I add esquire to each person I address (obviously not IBB or Skyla or Happy Hornet)?

 

Why not? Just as long as you don’t commit the faux pas of putting ‘Mr.’ before the name.

 

Eh?

 

No full stop.

Full stop only when the last letter of the abbreviation is not the last letter of the full word.

As any Millennial will tell you.

 

Excellent point.

We’ll never be the loudest but we are becoming a little bit known for the flags.

In fact, since May 18, we’re famous for it.

 

Gen AA, as per the Rookery seat rows

 

I must admit, the way the crowd went from singing the coach's name to booing him off and throwing abuse at him yesterday was as quick a turnaround as I've ever seen.

 

Another great effort by the 1881.