News
If the Cowfolk are doing it, this is where it’s at…
Full club meeting
A Reminder that there is a full club meeting next Monday (29th Oct) 7pm at Easton Community Centre. Here is the draft agenda – thanks to everyone who has proposed items. Send any additional items to Sal, Jody or your rep asap. Note: Issues regarding the constitution will be discussed at the next meeting (Mon 26th Nov), following the cricket club AGM.
1. Finance:
a. The club now has a fair amount of money in the account – what do we do with it? How much do we need to keep in reserve?
b. Proposal to raise the amount of spending that can be authorised by the committee without calling a meeting, as the current £50 was set donkeys yonks ago.
2. Proposal to set up online voting for small yes/no decisions to avoid waiting for a meeting.
3. Netham Park pavilion opportunity (see September peashooter) – report on info gathered so far. Club to vote on whether to go ahead with preparing a potential bid should the pavilion come up for tender.
4. Proposal to buy a marquee for the club to use at various events – Pato and Jody to find out cost.
5. Reminder that we have a new welcome leaflet (available to download on the website), based on the current constitution wording, for teams to give to new members to introduce them to the clubs ethos – Vernie will print a load out. Any feedback on the leaflet welcome (to Sal FW).
6. Proposal to buy a load of reusable cups with the club logo on to use at fundraisers etc – Vernie to find out costings.
7. Proposal to rename the domain name for the website and mailing lists from @eastoncowfolk.org.uk to @eastoncowfolk.org.uk (or similar) to reflect gender diversity in the club.
And further dates for your diaries:
26 November – 6:30 PM Full Club Meeting – Constitution etc. (Easton Community Centre)
22 December – Christmas Party!!!!! (The Plough)
Cowgirls raise £200 for Hebron International Resource Network
We managed to raise £200 for Hebron International Resource Network on Tuesday evening by screening ‘Around the Wall’, a film and q+a about our tour to Palestine with Republica Internationale FC from Leeds and Frau Dörte Becker from Hamburg.
Q+A with members of Easton Cowgirls and Hamed Qawasmeh of HIRN
About the film:
In October 2017, Easton Cowgirls (Bristol), Republica FC (Leeds) and Frau Dörte Becker (Hamburg) travelled to the occupied West Bank of Palestine on a tour or friendship, solidarity and football.
This “Freedom Through Football” tour was the latest of a number of visits stretching back to 2007. Our trip gave us a unique insight into what life is like for Palestinians in the West Bank. What we saw – in the beautiful sports halls of Sareyyet Ramallah, the concrete pitches in Bethlehem and the dusty field in Um Al-Khair – was an incredible resilience to the daily aggressions of life under the occupation.
We are now ready to share their stories – our film aims to start a conversation, to share the stories we heard and experienced. We stand in solidarity with our friends in the West Bank and all over Palestine, fighting for their rights to play, and stay, in their homeland.
If you missed it this time around, another showing is going to be arranged at the Palestine Museum, date TBC.
Football in Um Al Khair
Easton Cowboys 45s debut
The big news is that the Easton Cowboys & Cowgirls newest team made its debut on Sunday. Men’s football old boys played its first match in the Bristol Corinthians League Stannah Stairlifts Division 2.
We played top of the table Wick Gerry Hatricks and lost handsomely (6-2), but never has defeat tasted so sweet. We played really well and in really good spirit and can be proud of ourselves against a quality team. And we surely won the post-match sausage and chip sarnie eating!
Please come and watch our next game on Sunday 18th November when we’re at home to Shipham (venue TBC). If you wanna play for us contact Peace.
Viva Easton Cowboys & Cowgirls!
Complete the Gender Recognition Act reform consultation
A few of us have been talking about setting up semi-regular non pub-based cowgirls get together to chat about training, the team, the wider club, ways we can become more politically and socially involved as individuals and a club and really just about anything!
So, as a way of getting started and cos the timing is right, I would like to suggest we get together this week to discuss and respond to the governments Gender Recognition Act (GRA) consultation, which closes at 11pm this Friday.
The GRA, passed in 2004, relates to how trans and non-binary people are legally recognised. It is now thought to be outdated and damaging to many trans and non-binary people. Stonewall have written a nice piece on why they think allies, not just trans and non-binary people, should have a say on the GRA consultation, and have included lots of guidance on why and how the GRA needs reforming.
If anyone would like to joining us to fill the consultation in either after training on Thursday (although then it would clash with pub time) or after work on Friday please use the contact form or get in touch with Sal.
P.S. Sorry for the late notice
P.P.S. Non-Cows welcome too
More info: https://www.stonewall.org.uk/gender-recognition-act
Casual league game 1 match report
Mooyakas soggy but happy after scoring 14 in their first game of the season
Saturday 6th October
Cowgirls Mooyakas 14 – 1 Bananas
Cowgirls Legendairies 1 – 3 Chicken Tikka Mo Salah
Match report by Wendy
The 2nd match day of the Casual League had arrived at last, and there was a hum of tense and super soggy excitement in the slippery October air. Throughout both Cow matches some of the balls were hard and tight, with Mooyakas squeezing them like lemons at a disco juice bar….and some were equally as loose and wet, with the Legendaries squeezing limes through gritted udders. No matter what the weather we wouldn’t be stopped. Even though a high percentage of us were clearly piss wet through.
Actually when heading the ball it wasn’t fun, it was more of a ‘Goodnight Vienna’ moment with the emoji face avec crosses on eyes.
Regardless… both teams ‘ploughed’ through like shaking wet puppies, ready to piss up a pregnant spectator’s leg at half time. Sorry Issy.
The marvellous Mooyakas took the fabulous Bananas out for a quick spin-rinse in their washing machine of doom. A soggy banana split that neither team will forget at a score of 14- 1. The bananas held their stalks high regardless.
The Legendairies also battled hard against Tikka Mo Salah’s dink, dink dink of pinball style passes…carving around corners like pumpkins on acid…and thus sadly lost 3-1…… TMS were good craic though and were stronger than an expresso martini after midnight, when you’re already down the swanny.
Anyway it was a formidable day of wonder and much joy was had by all. Farewell x
Bristol Womens Football Casual League is growing!
Easton Cowgirls have two teams in the Bristol Womens Football Casual League this season, which kicked off last month. The Casual League was formed in 2012 with just 5 teams (3 of them Cowgirls) and has since grown to 12 teams, a league cup and an annual tournament. It aims to provide a welcoming and inclusive space for women of all abilities to play football in a fun and less competitive environment than traditional 11-a-side leagues.
The Cowgirls (especially Zoe, Harry and Soooooz) have played a big part in making the Casual League the flipping amazing thing it is today and it’s something we’re extremely proud of. BWFCL brings together a hugely diverse group of women with a common love of the beautiful game (and having a right old laugh), and we believe has been a force for good in our community – encouraging more women to try or return to the game, promoting community cohesion and raising lots of money and awareness for various charities! We’ve also made lots of good new mates from the other teams, most of whom are as crazy as us!
We have won the league *almost* every season so far, but the competition is getting stronger! So if you’d like to come and support us, check out the fixture dates on the BWFCL website and get yourselves up to Brunel Academy. All the league games are played on 2 adjacent pitches on the same day and it’s a fun, kiddie-friendly atmosphere – often with cake! And of course we all troop down the the Plough afterwards for a post-game pint/pop/bag of crisps.
Cowgirls and Cowboys oppose the DFLA
A group of Cowgirls and Cowboys are heading to London on Saturday to join a protest against the far-right Democratic Football Lads Alliance, who use sexual violence as an excuse to promote Islamophobia. They will be proudly wearing their ECC kits and joining members of the Feminist Antifascists Bloc to stand up against the DFLA’s attempts to cause fear and division in our society.
Full info below from the event facebook page and read an article on the worrying recent rise of far-right activity here.
Endorsed by:
Women’s Strike Assembly – (London, Birmingham, Cardiff); Kurdish Student Union UK, Sisters Uncut (SE London, North London, Birmingham); Women’s March – London; Plan C – (London, Birmingham, Essex, Cambridge); The x:talk project, Sister not Cister UK, Disabled People Against the Cuts (DPAC), Glasgow Anti-fascist Collective, SolFed, Birmingham Anti-Fascists, Feminist Fightback, Lesbian and Gays Support the Migrants, Sisters of Frida, Easton Cowgirls Football Club (Bristol), Cleaner and Allied Independent Workers Union (CAIWU), SDLD50, Shipley Feminist Zealots, Asian Mums Network, Women United, Another Europe is Possible, 8 March Women’s Organisation(Iran-Afghanistan)-UK,
Brazilian Women Against Fascism – UK
Image: reproduced with kind permission by National Confederation of Labour Spain (CNT). Poster was produced for the Women’s Strike 2018
Proudly East London tournament
Update: it was a wet but fun weekend. Clapton CFC showed us how football should be played – with respect!
We’ve been invited to Clapton Ultras ‘Proudly East London Tournament’ on the August bank holiday weekend. We had an amazing time last year, the Cowgirls won the women’s tournament and had a great time at the party afterwards. I would also highly recommend going to the Clapton game on the Saturday! By far the best experience you will ever get at a football match – if you thought the cowfolk could chant you ‘ain’t seen nothing compared to these guys! Details below…
Clapton Ultras would like to invite you to the fourth edition of Proudly East London, our annual football tournament celebrating all the reasons that bigots hate us. This edition will be held in Walthamstow, in line with our completely unplanned tradition of holding it in a different East London borough each year.
There will also be events across the weekend with some also being organised by Clapton CFC, the newly launched refreshed club that is fully members owned, who will be playing at the ground behind the five aside pitches next season. Their match on the Saturday is currently the first match they will be playing on this ground, against another historic team who were the first to ever lift the FA Cup, and who went on to lift it another four times, matching Clapton’s tally of five FA Cup wins in the Amateur competition.
The schedule and a lot of details are yet to be finalised, and there may be more to come, but right now it’s looking a little something like this:
Friday 24th August
20:00 – The History of Walter Tull, with Phil Vasili and maybe more
Saturday 25th August
15:00 – Clapton CFC v Wanderers
Sunday 26th August
12:00-17:30 – Proudly East London, 5-a-side Football Tournament
20:00 – Afterparty
In solidarity,
Clapton Ultras