Dulwich Hamlet FC: A Tribute

Duncan Chapman - Dulwich Hamlet FC

www.dulwichhamletfc.london @DulwichHamletFC | info@dhst.org.uk | 07951 640099 @dhstorg

On Wednesday 6 October, Dulwich Hamlet Supporters’ Trust Board member and Football Club Director, Duncan Chapman passed away. A fixture on the terraces for so many years, elected to the Trust Board 2017. It’s hard to overstate how fortunate we, the Club and every supporter of Dulwich Hamlet – were to have him. Duncan’s time on the board coincided when the team was forced to play away from East Dulwich, his contribution to the survival of the club during this period was enormous. The esteem in which he was held, following his long career in

Parliament, opened doors for the club and the Trust, exemplified by the debate led by Helen Hayes MP in the House of Commons 16/3/18. September 2018, still in exile and with no prospect to return, the club faced imminent insolvency.

Now Joint-Chair, Duncan was an instrumental member of a small group, alongside Club Chair, to broker dialogue between stadium owners and Council that might enable the Club to return. Never seeking the limelight and during this difficult and intensely pressurised period, his contribution behind the scenes was invaluable. Against the odds, and at the 11th hour, a return home was agreed. His calm head under pressure, wise counsel, astuteness and commitment to collaborative working, enabled the Trust to forge a close working relationship with the Club. This was critical in kickstarting a series of investments and improvements in working relationships, leading to our investment of £100,000 and a 29% shareholding in the

Club. Something Duncan was rightly extremely proud of – at the heart of everything he did was his steadfast commitment to ensure the Club’s continued existence for our community, now and for future generations. Continuing to take responsibility for liaising with the Council, local MPs and government in relation to the planning application for the new stadium, in 2020 he became the first member of the Club’s board of directors to be nominated by the Trust. Not satisfied with this, Duncan spent many a match and non-match day completing safety assessments, working tirelessly on the planning proposals and, as he said himself, dealing with the recurrent blockages in Champion

Hill’s antediluvian plumbing systems. It’s hard to believe that such a generous, kind friend has left us. Wise counsel to many, ale aficionado, curry lover, away day specialist, too often coach monitor, caring and giving to the last – Duncan, we will miss you desperately. You have gone too soon.

We will never forget you. DHST Board October 2021 T hree years ago this week I burst into the ‘Two Chairmen’ in Westminster having run from the meeting in Whitehall in which we secured our return home to Champion Hill from exile in Tooting. I had left Duncan Chapman and Tom Cullen after telling them I would be back in an hour, just enough time for them to sink a quick lunch-time pint to settle the nerves. I am not sure how many pints that turned into as one hour became four and the meeting became a marathon rather than a sprint but at least we could blame the beer for some of the jumping, hugging and tears of three grown men crashing like pink and blue waves in a grey sea of Government suits. Seeing their faces when they saw the smile on mine as I came through

Duncan Chapman - Dulwich Hamlet FC

the door and knowing how much that victory meant to two people who had led that fight for far longer than me will forever be one of my happiest memories. On Wednesday we woke to the devastating news that we had lost Duncan, our dear friend and Club director. I always struggle to decide whether I find it worse losing someone when you know it is coming than when death is unexpected, but I do know that the hole it leaves is always the same. With Duncan that hole for many people associated with Dulwich Hamlet is one they will feel they won’t ever be able to climb out of. We may have known this day was coming and on occasion we may even have thought we were prepared, but nothing protects you from that jolt when you hear the news. There are many people who have been far closer to Duncan for far longer than me and so I will leave it to them to tell a fuller story of his family, his life and career in their own time and their own way. However, I can speak first-hand about how and why Duncan belongs firmly and definitively in the category of ‘people without whom we would have lost our beautiful club’. Before we were thrust together in 2018 in the last-ditch effort to save the Club from disappearing, Duncan and I had been ‘friends of friends’. We would say hello at the Club, the pub, Labour Party events or the occasional cricket game but we certainly weren’t close enough to know what each of us were getting into when teaming up to try to return the Club to Champion Hill. I think it’s fair to say I got the better end of the deal as Duncan turned out to have the perfect set of skills to offset my flaws when it came to sensitive negotiations. I lost count of the number of times he would say ‘I’m not sure it’s quite that bad Ben’ as he would read carefully between the lines of some comment by a politician from which I had already jumped to the most dramatic possible conclusion. I may have set the fires to return us home, but Duncan made sure it was a controlled burn that would save the Club, not an inferno that would engulf it. The day we announced we were coming home and our first game on Boxing Day will both live long in our collective memory but those of us involved day to day between those two moments also know that Duncan was critical to that first game even happening. Walking back into a derelict stadium is one thing but ensuring it is in a state to safely host a capacity homecoming game is a whole other ball game. I still don’t know how he managed it, but Duncan rapidly became an expert in every area of safety and sports stadia management and once again, his calming approach made possible what often seemed an impossibility to me. If you were here on Boxing Day 2018 you were only here because Duncan made it happen. Duncan also knew that the homecoming was just the start and not the end of the story and so went on to ensure we also took the first steps towards our long-term future by helping to finally secure a planning committee meeting date for our new stadium. Finishing that story is now our responsibility and while I am sure we will have more bumps in the road ahead I would encourage us to always try to remember, even on the darkest days, ‘I’m not sure it’s quite that bad Ben’.

Club Chair Ben Clasper, published in the man’s match day programme v Billericay Town 9/10/21.

Friday 12 November: LMP at the Crystal Palace Tango Café

7:30pm-9pm. Tango! Argentine composer Astor Piazzolla reinvented the genre of his homeland into ‘tango neuvo’, and in his centenary year, London Mozart Players and tango dancer Leroy Tango Cat, bring Piazzolla’s Latin infused rhythms and melodies to their ‘Tango Café’ at St John’s, Upper Norwood – for one night only! Join the London Mozart Players at SE19’s cosy and atmospheric pop up Tango Café for a night of hot and cool music that will have you reaching for your dance shoes, and a dancing partner!

St John the Evangelist, Upper Norwood, Sylvan Road, SE19 2RX.

Saturday 13 November: LK Christmas Artisan Craft & Gift Fayre – Christmas Market

11am-4pm. A time to have a fabulous Christmas Shop in a wonderful location right in the heart of Dulwich Village. Over 40 amazing individual stalls showcasing their wonderful craft and bespoke gifts. An event for the whole family, from a treat for the children to something special for a loved one you will find it all under one roof. Free Entry https://www.lkpopupfayres.com St Barnabas Parish Hall, 23 Dulwich Village, SE21 7BT

Monday 15 November: EC Local Meeting: Dulwich

6pm-8pm. (Registration from 5.30pm). The Best Networking Event in Dulwich! Join your fellow Dulwich business owners for our Entrepreneurs Circle Local Meeting. https://eclocal.co.uk/ Dulwich/join/. If you are already member you can register here: https://eclocal.co.uk/Dulwich/

Thursday 18 November: Online Wine & Cheese Tasting in aid of local charity

7pm-8pm. Local charity, Link Age Southwark have partnered with GreatWineOnline to bring you an exclusive online wine and cheese tasting event in aid of the charity's work to support older people and people living with dementia. Join them for this fun and informative tasting experience, where you'll be guided by the GWO experts in the comfort of your home. It's the perfect opportunity to get your friends and family together and begin the festive celebrations early! For full details go to

https://www.linkagesouthwark.org/.

Tuesday 23 November: Lev Parikian: A British Year Through Japan's 72 Seasons

7pm-8pm. Join Lev Parikian - bird-watcher, nature writer and conductor- as he discusses his wonderful new book, Light Rains Sometimes Fall: A British Year through Japan’s 72 Seasons. Don't miss this fascinating event that will make you see the British year afresh and experience a new way of connecting with nature. Dulwich Books, 6 Croxted Road, SE21 8SW.

www.dulwichbooks.co.uk.

Wednesday 24 November: Cooking with Scissors

6.45pm-8pm. An opportunity for local business professionals to meet, make new contacts and gain new business. The last Wednesday of every month. Free Admission. To find out more or register your interest visit:

www.cookingwithscissors.co.uk.

The Lordship Pub, Lordship Lane, SE22 8HA.

Thursday 25 November: The Fell by Sarah Moss

7:30pm-8:30pm. At dusk on a November evening in 2020 a woman slips out of her garden gate and turns up the hill. Kate is in the middle of a two-week quarantine period, but she just can’t take it anymore – the closeness of the air in her small house, the confinement. And anyway, the moor will be deserted at this time. Nobody need ever know. Bell House, 27 College Road, SE21 7BG. www.bellhouse.co.uk.

Thursday 25 November: Charter School North Dulwich Christmas Fair

5.30pm-8.30pm. The Charter School North Dulwich Christmas Fair is back. Bigger, better and more beautiful than before. Entry is only £1 and all proceeds will go to supporting our wonderful community school. Charter School, Red Post Hill SE24 9JH

Friday 26 November: Martin Simpson, Liam Cooper, Creeping Jane

7pm-11pm. Martin Simpson is universally acclaimed as one of the finest ever acoustic and slide guitar players. Whether interpreting traditional material or singing his own powerful self-penned songs, Martin is a remarkable storyteller: captivating and profoundly moving. Liam Cooper is a South London based folk singer, performing his own unique arrangements of traditional songs from England, Ireland and elsewhere, with guitar and mandola accompaniment. Creeping Jane are Nygel Packett and Sue Whitehead, who started The Goose Is Out! in 2008, have been running it ever since, and now sing together. The Ivy House, 40 Stuart Road, Nunhead, SE15 3BE. #ivy_house

http://thegooseisout.com/find-us/

Saturday 27th November: Christmas Market at The Iconic Lambeth Town Hall

11 to 5pm. Expect to find Brands like Rock and Ruby; Tansey Designs; Brixton Gin; Lazy Scientist Sauces; Bed straw and Madder and more. Keep up to speed with all our events on our instagram page @designersevents2021. The Assembly Halls, Acre Lane, Brixton SW2 9SA.

Saturday 27 November: The Workshop Sale

10am-4pm. Designer/Maker workshop sale – up to 70% off a beautiful seletion of handcrafted gift ideas, samples, seconds and ends of ranges at bargain prices. Christ Church Centre Dulwich, 263 Barry Road, East Dulwich, SE22 0JT. Admission Free. www.theworkshopsale.co.uk.

Saturday 27th November: Dulwich College Christmas Fair 2021

11.30am-4pm. The Master, Staff and Friends of Dulwich College are delighted to announce that the College will once again be hosting the Christmas Fair. Our regular visitors and stallholders will know what an enjoyable day this will be. This event generates great publicity through local press, online and advertising. The College typically welcomes about 2000 visitors, there are approximately 160 stalls, selling fantastic and diverse products to meet everyone’s taste. www.dccf.org.uk