As well as the Trust Quiz, Wednesday also saw the launch of the Trust Beermat.
The Beermat is a new initiative that the Trust have come out with this season, as a way of raising the profile of the Trust around town, and also attract new members, and it is believed they are the first Football Supporters’ Trust to launch a beer mat.
They were launched on Wednesday evening before the Trust’s Quiz Night in the Flying Horse, and they welcomed along one of the Trustees of the British Beermat Collectors’ Society along for the launch. It helped that said Trustee, Geoff Kindon, is already a Trust member, and a face recognisable to many a Dale supporter. It’s hoped that the beermats will be a seen at and around the pubs on a matchday throughout the next season.
We received a messge from Geoff Kindon as we launched the beermat:
Some people ask why we collect beermats. Probably because we have more storage space than stamp collectors. Actually the hobby was very prevalent in the 1960’s , more so than today, i.e. amongst those of the lawful drinking age at a time when many cities, towns and even villages had their own breweries. There was the Rochdale and Manor Brewery on Molesworth Street which was taken over by Sam Smiths circa 1948.
Rochdale and Manor Brewery did issue mats but I have never been able to obtain a copy. During the 1950’s and 1960’s many other breweries were taken over by competitors and subsequently closed down. However, the advent of the microbrewery in recent years has reversed the trend from the mid 1900’s. Many of the long established breweries now appreciate that we have been able to keep archival records of the mats which they issued many years ago.
As a Society part of our mission is to raise money for Charity. In the past three years we have given £ 3000 each to Prostate Cancer UK, the British Heart Foundation, Cancer Research and this year we have already given £ 1000 to the British Red Cross. In past years other beneficiaries have included Guide Dogs for the Blind, the Marie Curie Foundation and the West Midlands Air Ambulance Service. All from bits of printed cardboard.
I am very pleased that the Dale Trust have taken the decision to produce a mat and hope that it encourages and prompts other supporters to join. Plus it adds another mat to my collection.
Good luck with your project.
Geoff Kindon
Joint Trustee, the British Beermat Collectors Society
