“Hello from a hot and steamy Dubai!!!” writes Ian Wellman who has used some down-time out there to select and send in his contribution to the Greatest XI series. Ian continues…
Good luck for the coming season for all the teams at Stoke. We at Valley End follow the results closely as you know, and hope that you enjoy further promotions to follow the successes of recent years.
Tributes to Rod Tappin continue to come in. Finchy has penned the following:
I was shocked too see news on the website of Rod’s death. I saw it on my phone while on the train yesterday morning and it took my thoughts right away from the commute back to those seemingly sunny days in the late seventies when all that mattered was girlfriends, bar games in the old clubhouse and how much cricket we could cram into each week.
After one former Stoke Chairman Chris Gudgeon penned some words about Rod Tappin on Monday, (http://www.stokecc.co.uk/2014/05/26/chris-gudgeon-leads-tributes-to-rod-tappin/), we have now received this tribute from another, Alan Wiseman, who writes:
I knew Rod well and played with him frequently – he was of the first generation after, so to speak, mine.
Tony Vandensteen popped in to Stoke at the weekend, but on this occasion he brought sad news of the passing of former Club Captain Rod Tappin after a battle with cancer.
Former Stoke Chairman Chris Gudgeon has taken time out to pen the following:
Rod was a great supporter and player with the club. An all-rounder, slow medium bowler of the Steve Finch type, and hard hitting right hand bat. His Mum Agnes, Horace were a family with very close ties with the club living in Winston Drive.
