Becoming an exile ? | Vital Football

Becoming an exile ?

shotshy

shotshy

Vital Champions League
Having reached the ripe old age of the big 60 recently, I've decided to start taking it a bit easier.

I've sold the holiday home in Malta and I'm putting the money towards a nice little place that I've seen in Croyde, North Devon.
I intend spending most and maybe all the year down there.

So, the big question.

How will I cope without my regular Gills fix?

I already subscribe to the IFollow for the away evening games and commentary.

How do other exiles cope ?
Is there anything else available that I don't know about?

Bristol is nearest but we've already played them away.

I'm praying that Exeter and Plymouth get promoted.
 
I'm in the Midlands, so getting to away matches is a bit easier for us. It does mean that when we do get to a game, the anticipation and excitement are all the greater! The rest of the time - thank God for social media...
 
Torquay Utd seem to be heading back toward the EFL, you never know.

Well shotshy, I have had to deal with a similar scenario. Having had many, many seasons of being a Kent based Gills die hard, including some when I went to every single away game as well as all the home games, moving up here to Lancashire was going to be a challenge. Initially, with there being so many EFL clubs in my new area, I thought i might invest in a ST to somewhere like PNE. I tried a couple of games there but I couldn`t even bring myself to stand up when all those around me celebrated a home goal !

As we all know, the Gills are in our hearts and you can`t just "jump ship". Instead of a new ST, I resolved to continue to get to as many Gills` games as I could. My railcard has come in very handy and I have a very supporting wife who enjoys our away-stay trips to areas where the Gills might just be playing a game ! I still get to most of the away games and manage several home games by using my railcard on a day return trip basis. It can still be a tad expensive however.

It has helped that I have "adopted" (not lent my footballing heart to, btw ) a reasonably local National League team - AFC Fylde and I do enjoy watching them whenever I can`t get to a Gills game. It`s been a real eye opener to watch the surprisingly high and competitive standard of the NL. Perhaps you might consider a non-league team in your new location ?

iFollow also helps a lot , especially now that midweek games are being shown live to UK subscribers. I didn`t go to Bristol due to iFollow and I might not go to Shrewsbury this month, for the same reason.

If you`re not too far from the M5 there will be a number of GFC away games that you could drive to in a fairly reasonable time - Cheltenham and Forrest Green both look good bets for promotion this season.

There will come a time when it all becomes a bit too much to travel around the country and I might have to stick to AFC Fylde or PNE - but i`d rather not think about that. UTG.

Good luck to you and your family and enjoy the West Country, it`s a lovely part of the UK.
 
It sounds to me like you two fellows are dealing with nice problems to have. One of my plans is to retire to the UK for part of the year and use following the Gills as the basis for weekends away discovering England. Grandchildren here are seriously interfering with that plan at the moment, however. Weekends in Sunderland, Ipswich and Doncaster are just not an impressive alternative for Grandma (or Granddad for that matter).
 
jokerman said:
It sounds to me like you two fellows are dealing with nice problems to have. One of my plans is to retire to the UK for part of the year and use following the Gills as the basis for weekends away discovering England. Grandchildren here are seriously interfering with that plan at the moment, however. Weekends in Sunderland, Ipswich and Doncaster are just not an impressive alternative for Grandma (or Granddad for that matter).
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Sounds like a good plan jokerman. In terms of discovering England, one of the advantages of being a lower league club is that, with a few exceptions (as you point out), many of the smaller towns we visit are either nice or close to somewhere that`s nice ! League Two, in particular, hosts a fair few clubs with tourist information offices in their towns - not Scunthorpe, though :scoot:
 
I'm an exile and I'll get to the local-ish away games (Peterborough, MK Dons, Burton etc) with everything else listened to on iFollow. I used to get back to Kent to watch home games several times a season, but a combination of cost, work, band and our abysmal home form means I've not seen us at Priestfield for a good couple of years I think.

I've filled the hole somewhat by taking my eldest daughter to watch Corby since the beginning of last season (she refers to Gary Mulligan as "the handsome one") but it's not really the same.
 
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Living oop north means a lot of relatively local away games. On the face of it, Devon is a bit remote but get a Senior Railcard - eligible at 60 - then places like Bristol [yes driveable], Cheltenham, Forest Green, Walsall, start to become reachable with relative ease and then there's always Swindon.
 
HerrLjunga said:
I'm an exile and I'll get to the local-ish away games (Peterborough, MK Dons, Burton etc) with everything else listened to on iFollow. I used to get back to Kent to watch home games several times a season, but a combination of cost, work, band and our abysmal home form means I've not seen us at Priestfield for a good couple of years I think.

I've filled the hole somewhat by taking my eldest daughter to watch Corby since the beginning of last season (she refers to Gary Mulligan as "the handsome one") but it's not really the same.
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We're all waiting for you to helicopter in to do the half time show. I can see it now -Royal Marine Bandsmen, girl guides and Gillingham's oldest support scattering as the down draft creates chaos.
 
Croyde Bay is one of my favourite beaches. With year round surfing and masses of golden sands you won't be bored. Add to that the close proximity to beautiful Exmoor and one of the best carverys for miles in nearby Braunton and you'll soon be compensated for the anguish of following a league one club with a bottom four budget.
And there's always this forum to have a jolly good moan on about Gills (or anything else).
 
shotshy said:
Having reached the ripe old age of the big 60 recently, I've decided to start taking it a bit easier.

I've sold the holiday home in Malta and I'm putting the money towards a nice little place that I've seen in Croyde, North Devon.
I intend spending most and maybe all the year down there.

So, the big question.

How will I cope without my regular Gills fix?

I already subscribe to the IFollow for the away evening games and commentary.

How do other exiles cope ?
Is there anything else available that I don't know about?

Bristol is nearest but we've already played them away.

I'm praying that Exeter and Plymouth get promoted.
Click to expand...
I am the same sort of age and Kent has very little appeal these days .The wife and I have agreed to move in the few years .We are thinking of heading west too .So it seems we might be in a simular situation in a few years .
 
Once you hve grandchildren and get to know them dreams of unfettered wandering and settling fade a bit. I like the idea of a dual centre retirement with one option being football friendly. I had the unplanned fortune to follow children and so grandchildren to Kent after retirement.

Access to doctors and care services should be easier in Kent as you lot decant to Devon.
 
jogills said:
Once you hve grandchildren and get to know them dreams of unfettered wandering and settling fade a bit. I like the idea of a dual centre retirement with one option being football friendly. I had the unplanned fortune to follow children and so grandchildren to Kent after retirement.

Access to doctors and care services should be easier in Kent as you lot decant to Devon.
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Living in [west] North Yorkshire, I come under the Morecambe Bay Trust [Lancaster, Kendal and Barrow]. For my second knee replacement, they asked when I'd like to have it done. My surgery in Bentham will see me same day/next day and always a triage doc on call.
 
Wayne.Kerr said:
Living in [west] North Yorkshire, I come under the Morecambe Bay Trust [Lancaster, Kendal and Barrow]. For my second knee replacement, they asked when I'd like to have it done. My surgery in Bentham will see me same day/next day and always a triage doc on call.
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Low or Higher (never High) Bentham?

I was born in the Royal Lancaster Infirmary opposite the lino factory.
 
LancsGordoRoad said:
Interesting question. I`d say 128 miles, but i`ve no idea why :shrug:

In searching out an answer I fall back on this one:

You've gone too far when you compromise holiness :help::car:
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Im in essex, takes about 35-40 minutes to get to gills. Probably quicker for me than some in kent. Yet i count myself as a bit of an exile. Not a full on exile like many of those on here. But going to games is much harder now because of where i live. Used to be able to just quickly dash through the tunnel in 10-15 minutes.
 
alphabet_king said:
Im in essex, takes about 35-40 minutes to get to gills. Probably quicker for me than some in kent. Yet i count myself as a bit of an exile. Not a full on exile like many of those on here. But going to games is much harder now because of where i live. Used to be able to just quickly dash through the tunnel in 10-15 minutes.
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Anyone able to "dash through the tunnel" these days is quite lucky. I think Rotherhithe`s question is not an easy one to answer; at the end of the day I think that we are each entitled to self-identify as Exile. If only the club would recognise the status - and reduce admission price by a fiver ... :santa:
 
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