Allen welcomed everyone to the monthly meeting which 170 members attended.
Barbara started the meeting by updating everyone with the planned outings. She will email further details to members who have shown an interest in the outings in due course. After the success of the outing to the panto last December, she has planned to go again this December and it is already full. Even more people than last year are going this time.
Barbara then talked about our members’ meeting in March when we will be celebrating the Senior Tigers Club’s 25th anniversary. The morning will start at 10 and tea and coffee will be served until 11. There will be a buffet lunch at £10 ahead. The bar will be open between 11.30 am and 1 pm with card payments only. During the morning members will have the chance to view the Wall of Fame. There will be special guests in the afternoon. For those members not attending in the morning, they will be able to begin to arrive at 1 pm when raffle tickets and afternoon tea and coffee will be available to purchase as usual.
To finish Barbara announced that she is taking names for the End of Season Meal at the March meeting.
Pat talked about the table tennis weekly sessions which have now been going on for 2 years. The group started with just 4 members and they now regularly have 18 taking part. As well as the Wednesday session they are going to trial for a month, having a session on a Monday too. They play at Haltemprice Sports Centre and both sessions will start at 2 pm. They usually have 2 tables and play doubles. The cost is £3 per session. The group go out for a meal twice a year. If anyone is interested in joining this group they should speak to Pat.
On behalf of Brendon Smurthwaite, Barbara reminded everyone to go pop along to the Central Library in Hull to see the History of Hull City exhibition which celebrates the 120th anniversary of the football club. The exhibition runs until the end of June.`
We had 2 guest speakers this month, Steven Alzate and Mason Burstow. They were late arriving as officials had arrived at the football club to perform a random drug test and unfortunately, Steven was picked for the test. Steven told us they had taken a sample of his hair to test and jokingly said he now has a bald patch which Richard said there are plenty of bald patches here today. This made us laugh.
Steven told us that he started playing football at age 9 for Fulham Academy then he moved to Leyton Orients under 13s as it was nearer to home. He likes living up here because of the peace and quiet. But goes down to London to see family and friends and a bit more action whenever time allows. Because his parents are Colombian he has played for the Colombian national team and said it is one of the best feelings playing for your country. Now he has more minutes playing under his belt he hopes he will play more for them.
Mason who, like Steven is from London, has lived away from home since he was 18 and said that London was rush, rush, rush and very different to up here. Mason started off playing Sunday League football at 16 and then played for the under-18s at Charlton Athletic. He then joined Chelsea at 21. He has represented England under-20s and said it’s what you dream of.
There were several questions asked by our members and here are a few.
Q. Does the state of the pitch affect your game?
A. Mason said it is a factor. Steven said the training grounds are better than at the MKM Stadium.
Q. Richard asked Mason about his recently missed penalty against Doncaster.
A. Mason said it was the first one he had missed. It’s a lottery when you take them but is always happy to take them
Q. Steven was asked, why do you always play with gloves on?
A. He said because it’s winter, which made us laugh.
Q. Who is the joker in the changing room?
A. It was Ryan Giles who has now left the club. Both said that Lewis Coyle likes to hide your things in the changing room.
Q. What do you think of the Hull accent?
A. Both laughed and said Lewis Coyle doesn’t always understand us.
Q. What is it like playing with Amrabat?
A. Both said he’s a joker.
They listen to music in the changing for motivation and Steven is the DJ. As they are a multicultural team he said he plays a cross-section of music.
Finally, they have 16 games left of the season and both said they are not thinking of relegation. They are taking it day by day and building for next season.
Pat, on behalf of the Senior Tigers, thanked Steven and Mason for coming and said we would watch their careers with great interest.
Mason made the draw for our raffle which raised £294. A big thank you must go to Dr Hendow, one of our members for the raffle prize which was a mix of groceries which the winner loved.
Shirley Cormack
Members Listening to the Interview The Interview
Vote of Thanks from Pat Richard with Steven Alzate and Mason Burstow
