Report From Racenight Held Recently
We are delighted to say that we have been chosen as the beneficiary of an event to take place on 8 April 2007 at 1.00pm. It is a charity football match being organised by fans of Heart Of Midlothian and Hibernian (I decided to give them their proper names !) who use the message boards Jambos Kickback and Hibs.net, and it is being played at Hibernian's Easter Road stadium.
This is the second match to be held between the fans. The first was in March 2006 at Tynecastle, which incidentally Hearts won 3-2, and it raised just over £8000 for The Edinburgh Sick Kids Hospital, which went towards the building and upkeep of a 'Parents Drop In Centre'. Due to the success of this years event, the organisers are hoping the 2007 event will be bigger and better.
We asked for a little background on how it all came about and this is what was published in the programme .......
One Day In September
Who was it that famously said, everyone has their fifteen minutes of fame? Well that same person could just as easily have said that everyone will have at least one little brainwave in them, In their lifetime.
And, one day in September (2005) I had mine.
A game between the finest XI players that could be mustered up between the supporters and members of Jambos Kickback and Hibs.Net.
My Initial thoughts were that this would be no more than a bounce game perhaps played at the San Siro of Saughton Park or an equally world famous venue.
Then came that brainwave .....
Hearts were building bridges with their fan base, and keen to foster relations. Could such a game possibly be staged at the hallowed turf of Tynecastle? There was only one way to find out, and an email was duly dispatched to Phil Anderton, Hearts CEO at that time.
Naturally, there were sceptics who said "There is no way that a club will ever agree to this, especially during the season". However the email was duly sent, and on September 27th of last year, Phil Anderton duly replied to endorse the idea. The fact that the 27th was my birthday made that email all the more sweet.
That seems all so long ago. Since then what began as a humble little idea, grew arms and legs, and pretty soon we were all pulling together to make an event that three great Edinburgh Institutions could be proud of, Hearts, Hibs and the Sick Children's Hospital.
A special mention must go to John Boag, facilities and security manager at Hearts, who pledged that this would go ahead, even when Phil Anderton and Hearts parted company.
I cannot empathise enough how hard all the players from both squads have worked to ensure that they were ready for this game. After all how many other times does a mere supporter get to grace the Gorgie turf, with an opportunity to get one over their oldest rivals, and for a noble cause to boot?
My gratitude goes out to both camps, for training and playing in some terrible winter conditions, and to both sets of coaches, for turning these raw talents, and lads who had never met before, into two teams that will hopefully produce an entertaining spectacle.
There are so many others that are worthy of praise therefore, they will all be mentioned elsewhere in this special programme.
All that is left to say is that I trust that everyone will have a great day, and that all the training, all the blood, sweat and tears, all of that will have been worth it.
Regards
Steve Jones.
Tickets for the game cost £5 and £3 for concessions. They are avaiable from the Edinburgh Charity Game website, and will of course be available on the day as well. We will also be keeping in touch with the organisers over the coming months and will keep this page updated with the plans.
Race Night
The race night took place on Saturday 3 March 2007 in The Orwell Lodge Hotel in Edinburgh. The night was "MC'd" by Scott Moncrieff, and credit must go to Scott and his wife Sharon, along with their helpers, for a really good evening. There were lots of raffle prizes, signed footballs and framed/signed shirts up for grabs. All in all, a good fun night, made all the better by the fact it raised £2,137, which will be added to the rest of the money raised and donated later.
.gif)
