Graham ‘The News’ Hound

Spring is in the air folks…  as it was in the steps of Kell Brook last Saturday night. What a fight! Another world class performance from the Sheffield Star…next stop a world title, and maybe even a highly anticipated match up against Amir Khan! Come on Kell - let’s bring the title back to the Steel City where it belongs!

And talking of champions, take a bow all you mothers out there. On behalf of the management, staff and greyhounds at the Stadium we hope you had a wonderful Mother’s Day…  and it was a privilege to host and entertain so many of you at Owlerton this year. 

But for those of you who were complaining about your 5am breakfasts in bed, and the overzealous Blue Peter antics involving scissors, glue and sticky back paper… take heed… mums in Eastern Europe have to endure a somewhat ‘different’ convention. 

Apparently it is a national tradition for children to sneak into their Mother’s rooms on Mothering Sunday and tie them up in bed (yep, you read that correctly)… and what’s more, the mums are only untied once they have revealed where the gifts for the children are hidden … uummm… not sure they’ve grasped the point of the day there…

Canines and costumes

Avid readers of the blog will remember the tale about our waiter Aden and his love of fancy dress… in particular, amphibian related ninja costumes. Although we mocked Aden at the time, it has now been brought to our attention that he is not alone in his love for fancy dress – in fact it has become something of a phenomenon around these parts of late. Now, we’re a big believer in pretty much anything goes when it comes to dress code here at the Stadium…  and boy do you lot take full advantage of that!  

Over the last month alone we have seen grown men adorned with headdresses, sashes, coconut bras and, in certain cases, body paint; our very own Where’s Wally; a full body morph suit casually strutting his stuff in the Panorama Bar … and a flock of shepherds complete with their own inflatable sheep! ‘Nowt as queer as folk’ as they say up here in the north… but if it’s all in the name of good fun, then it’s fine by us!

(For those of you that are in need of a laugh… don’t forget to check out the photos on our Facebook page… )

Fashion mis-happenings!

While we’re on the subject of ‘costumes’ there seems to be a somewhat strange trend taking off among Owlerton employees:  let’s call it ‘uniform splitting’ (aka: who ate all the pies…).

Rufus*, one of the waiters, recently recreated the much talked about ‘Olly Murs moment’ during his shift, when the seam of his trousers split open in, let’s just say, a most unfortunate place. Much like what happened to the cheeky Essex chappie when his trousers ripped open on the stage in Sheffield, the middle seam of Rufus’ trousers also left a gaping hole, which…er… necessitated some emergency haberdashery skills. Luckily for him - and those in the restaurant that night - the pins held up…

And let’s not forget Jemima*who managed to tear a hole in her shirt… but under the armpit..? A secret yoga enthusiast Jemima…?

*names changed to protect the dignity of those involved (but you know who you are!)

Techie dogs

Let’s face it… love it or loath it we’re all aboard the technology train these days.

In February, Emmerdale viewers clapped eyes (or should that be ears?) on the first advert designed specifically for dogs, and apparently pooches across the nation pricked up their ears and pawed the screens in their desperation to get their mitts on a bowl of Bakers dog food. The power of marketing, eh folks! (Personally, I was more preoccupied with what was going to happen with Laurel and Marlon…)

And did you hear about the latest invention when IT ‘entrepreneur’ Nat Morris and pet dog Toby unveiled the ‘Tweet treats’ contraption? On Tweet demand a dispenser releases food into a bowl… whatever next…?

Well… I’ll tell you what’s next if you’re asking… a laptop for dogs – yep, that’s right… and for those wanting to get your paws on it visit:  http://us.toshiba.com/petbook/

Remember, you saw it here first.

Apparently us canine ‘computer geeks’ can use a paw print reader for security and an inbuilt doggy camera for inter-canine conferencing all while nibbling on the 100% organic rawhide casing… they’ll be having us run the country next! Actually…

Graham ‘The News’ Hound

Here in the Steel City everyone’s talking about the cinema – no, not the Oscars that took place last week, but the infinitely more glamorous new IMAX cinema, which opens at Cineworld, Sheffield later this month.

And while the name Jon Carter has long been famous here at the Stadium, the folk at the IMAX are also putting the name on the map following the announcement that John Carter would be the first IMAX 3D movie to be shown at the new Sheffield cinema… with all name sakes qualifying for a free ticket! 

So, those wanting to join our very own JC on his free viewing, let us know (we don’t think he’ll take much persuading)! 

Owlerton on ice?

After Owlerton team’s attempts to give the X Factor contenders a run for their money I did somewhat jokingly ‘wonder’ about the possibility of putting a team forward for the Dancing on Ice title… and it seems that this could be more a reality that I had thought…

Not many know this, but our very own MD, John Gilburn, is a bit of a dab hand when it comes to ice-skating. It transpires that he first embarked on his ice-skating career at the tender age of 11-years-old (one, two, three… aawww) when he went on his first family skating trip… and, er, hated it. However, despite ‘shaky’ beginnings he persevered… and a star was born.

John went on to compete with the King and Queen of skating Torvill and Dean no less, and even taught the legendary Karen Barber to skate. Now more accustomed to settling down in front of the show on a Sunday night we’re trying to persuade him to don the blades again… anyone out there interested in a place in the ‘Team JG Skating Squad’… details about auditions to follow…   

Top dog at Owlerton

Life is not looking so ‘ruff’ for Stadium Steward Joe Goodison after he was named Owlerton Employee of the Year 2011. Proud Line Manager Matt Hamilton told the team that he thought Joe deserved to walk away with the title due to showing 100 per cent commitment, superb time keeping and all round enthusiasm – he certainly sounds like a ‘Top Dog’ to me! Congratulations Joe, and keep up the good work.

Trust in Helen’s Trust

We always have a great time at our charity events here at the Stadium and never more so than when the lovely Helen’s Trust ladies joined us on 21^st February. Helen’s Trust helps those with terminal illnesses to stay in the comfort of their home and the team raised over £2,000 to help people across Sheffield and Derbyshire.

We had a very generous bunch join us on the night and our auction prizes certainly caused a stir, which included a week’s holiday in Crete,  a meet and greet with television heart throb and Helen’s Trust Patron Dominic West, a stunning Richard Whittlestone print and a private tour of Chatworth House, hosted by the Duke himself. John’s threat that no one would be leaving the restaurant until a satisfactory bid had been put forward for the private tour of Chatsworth House certainly helped to secure the bid of the night!

The auctioneering skills of John Gilburn managed to cajole bids out of the crowd (another vocation you narrowly missed out on then John!). The week-long holiday in Crete got many hands in the air, but it was a very excitable young lady with rosy cheeks and a glint in her eye who walked away with the holiday, after placing the winning bid of a mere £200 –  what a bargain! The two empty wine bottles in front of her had nothing to do with her enthusiasm, we’re sure…

Numpty of the week

Stadium waiter Aden is always up for a laugh and never misses an opportunity to throw on some fancy dress… so, it was no surprise to hear that when asked if he wanted to paint his entire body green and go out on the town dressed as a ninja turtle, he jumped at the chance.

After a night of ‘fighting evil ‘on the mean streets of Sheffield alongside Donatello, Michelangelo and Leonardo, Aden was ready to shower off and return to normal.

He had, however, not quite anticipated how difficult it would be to get the paint off and after more showers than he could count, he admitted defeat. Turning up to work three days later, most of the Restaurant staff thought that the poor boy had been horribly ill, only to be told that the greenish hue hanging around him was actually the after-effects of a turtle-tastic night out!

More trouble than they’re worth those turtles Aden… stick to greyhounds!

Graham ‘The News’ Hound

Anyone else see the BAFTAs the other week? What an evening! A night of pure entertainment, recognising some of the best acting talent this country has to offer (not too unlike the recently enjoyed Owlerton Stadium Annual Party… but more on that later… our lot certainly know how to act up when they need to!).

With seven awards to its name, I think it’s fair to say that The Artist stole the night (again, a fair few artists of sorts here at the Stadium…) although my old stage school pal, Uggie, the 10 year old Jack Russell was the ultimate star of the movie in my eyes. Here’s looking at you, kid!

Let the good times roll at Owlerton!

You will have heard the phrase ‘work hard, play hard’ – and that’s certainly the case here at the Stadium!

Team Owlerton love to get stuck in with fun and games (when they get the chance) - and never more so than at this year’s annual staff party, when Karaoke was the name of the game!

In fairness, (some of) the singing was actually rather good… who knew we had so many budding starlets working here (thought of forming a Stadium choir, team…?)

It was Tote runner Marge who scooped the top prize in the competition with her show-stopping performance of ‘Hey Big Spender’, but it was a close call, with a tremendous performance from Restaurant Manager, Craig Allsop and Tote runner, Liz, securing second and third prize respectively.

That said, the next round of X-Factor auditions aren’t for all of them. Now, I don’t like to point fingers, but Annie… claiming ‘Hit Me Baby, One More Time’ is one of your favourite songs when you weren’t sure of the words was frankly, (to coin Mr Cowell’s phrase) ‘a bit of a disaster.’ Don’t worry Annie, we’re going to give ‘Dancing on Ice’ a run for its money next year (anyone here at the Stadium any good at ice skating…?). 

What’s in a name?

Owl-erton? Oh-lerton? Ol-erton? Recently, I have been hearing many-a-debate about the pronunciation of Owlerton. Thoughts on a postcard please.

Some say that the area was named after the forest of Alder trees in the area, and comes from the term ‘Alder-ton’, meaning the settlement of the Alders. However there’s a devoted set of folk on the Sheffield Forum site who swear blind that the pronunciation is Oh-lerton. Indeed one source (not of the ketchup variety…) suggested that the pronounciation is actually All-erton… and apparently that’s because Yorkshire folk are too lazy to pronounce anything else (er, thoughts, oh fellow-Sheffielder readers…? A bit cheeky if you ask me!)  Indeed Sheffield Wednesday aka ‘the Owls’ are nicknamed after the Owlerton area.

So, Owl-erton? Oh-lerton? Ol-erton? Well, if you ask me, as long as we’re all having a good time, who really gives a ‘hoot’ ? (Ha, ha… get it, hoot? OK… puns over with)

Exposed versus

The lovely crew from Exposed magazine contacted us recently to see if the Owlerton management were up for a challenge. Silly question I say!

For those not in the know, the magazine team take on a monthly ‘Exposed versus’ challenge - and this month challenged  Owlerton to who could make the most during a night of betting at the track. Managing Director, John Gilburn and General Manager, Dave Perry took to the challenge like ducks to water.

A valiant effort was made by all, and of course, only one team could win, but who it was exactly can’t be revealed until the magazine comes out later this month….

Numpty of the week

When it comes to spotting a wine glass in need of a top-up, an empty plate or someone in need of a dessert menu , our wait-staff are more keen-eyed than a champion word-searcher  - but when it comes to spotting the obvious…

You would have thought that after a year working at the Stadium, seeing our colourful logo emblazoned across leaflets, TV screens AND the Stadium itself, our staff would know it like the back of their hands. However, one of our lovely waitresses (who shall remain nameless…) was completely astounded when someone pointed out that the logo had dogs on it – something which came as a total surprise! Really….? Sigh.

Graham ‘The News’ Hound

As we enter February there can only be one thing on the mind… that crazy little thing called love. Saint Valentine’s Day has to be the only day of the year when we see more puppy dog eyes in the Restaurant than the kennels!

And let’s not forget ladies, 2012 is indeed a Leap Year, which means it’s your turn to get down on one knee and pop that all important question. We’ve had various wonderful and wacky marriage proposals at the Stadium over the years (one thoughtful chap even named one of the races ‘Will You Marry Me’)… I wonder if the women will be as creative as the men? And for those of you who may be in need of a venue for the Big Day…  well, look no further than Owlerton Greyhound Stadium. Now, come of folks, we do all love a good wedding!

That all said, it’s our beloved four legged friends that are top of the list when it comes to our love and affection… according to our latest poll on Facebook anyway. Dogs have been man’s best friend for over 30,000 years -  and I’m pretty sure there hasn’t been a single argument about washing up, cooking or even spending the evening at the pub in that time– case closed if you ask me…

What a Great time at the Greyhound Board of Great Britain Awards!

It is officially awards season, Coronation Street has already scooped the big one at the National Television Awards and George Clooney and Meryl Streep are being widely tipped for Golden Globe success. But here at the Stadium, it’s been all about the Greyhound Board of Great Britain Awards – think of them as the Greyhound Oscars!

The Owlerton team headed down to the ‘big smoke’ for the award ceremony earlier in January – and they didn’t come away disappointed. Sheffield trainers had a successful night with our very own Barrie Draper picking up two awards: one for Eden Star, crowned Newcomer of the Year and one for Capoley Ash, picking up Marathon Greyhound of the Year. Plus, we were all proud as punch to see Joanne Crimp, who works with our trainer Lisa Stephenson, named as Kennelhand of the Year. The job is one of the toughest in greyhound racing and kennelhands are widely regarded as some of the hardest working people in the industry… well, except for me of course!

Group together for Groupon!

According to the old saying, ‘there’s no rest for the wicked’ - and if that is true then our staff here at the Stadium must have been very, very bad! Following our busiest ever December, the team could have been forgiven for thinking they would see a quieter month in January – but that’s not been the case this January folks… in fact, we’ve seen another record-breaking month!  

Our amazing January Groupon deal caused quite a stir - with over 1,000 of you signing up (yep, that was 1,000). This saw the equivalent of 5,140 portions of hotdog and chips being sold in the space of one month – by my estimation, that’s enough to feed someone for four years… gulp!

Numpty of the week

Our lovely Head Chef Nick Middleton is great at cooking and very intelligent when it comes to sautéing, blanching and glazing. However when it comes to the simpler things in life…..he just seems to get it all wrong.

Take his last holiday as an example… Nick and his girlfriend Katie Ann recently took a trip to Tenerife and on travelling to the airport withdrew £500, tucking it safely away in Nick’s wallet before boarding the plane. Safely that is, until Nick dropped it down the side of the seat and then disembarked from the plane, none the wiser… and penniless. Error number one.

However, to help get over the trauma of their loss, the pair headed straight for the local MacDonalds but were horrified to discover they needed to queue for 35 minutes. In desperate need for some comfort food, the pair decided to wait in the hot sun…this was error number two. When they finally got to the counter, Katie Ann passed out from the heat. Not only did Nick put his back out trying to pick Katie up, but they didn’t even get their burgers (definite error number three!)

Not quite the romantic getaway they had in mind – better luck next time Nick (we would suggest investing in a man bag…

Graham ‘The News’ Hound

If the past week is anything to go by then 2012 will be the year of the come-back… Thierry Henry has made a fairytale return to Arsenal, scoring the winning goal in their FA Cup clash with Leeds United: and at 32 years young the French man’s still got that famous ‘Va Va Voom’. Not to be out done, another football legend, Paul Scholes also made a winning, if not altogether surprising, return to football in the latest Manchester derby. After retiring last year at the tender age of 37, Scholesy answered Sir Alex’s SOS call when the injury-hit red devils struggled to find their form. (You can forgive us for jumping to conclusions when we saw Eric Cantona trending on Twitter the other day, and David Beckham making an appearance in Manchester…)

We might have had an unusually dry winter so far (in the weather stakes at least), but last week’s dramatic rainfall more than made up for it! The rain was so heavy that we had to enlist some local life-guards in case the greyhounds required swimming lessons! Luckily they didn’t have to put their ‘doggy paddle’ to the test in the end… but we are intrigued as to how that race might have turned out… no doubt we are soon going to find that one of our greyhounds is called Flipper!!

Racing into 80 years of greyhounds at the Stadium!

Saturday 7th January marked the 80th anniversary of the first ever greyhound race at Owlerton Stadium. Up to that point, the Stadium had mainly been used for speedway… There are not many of us who will remember 1932 apart from our own old age pensioner Jon Carter, but it was a key year in the Stadium’s history, and one from which we have never looked back. All joking aside it was, in fact, Jon Carter’s Grandfather who owned the Brewery that took over Owlerton in 1932 and organised the first ever Greyhound race night – so it really is in his blood! Last Saturday we saw another Sheffield gem marking her own 80th birthday at the Stadium. Doreen Crossland celebrated with a slap up dinner in the restaurant - and then put all of the youngsters to shame by downing shots of jaegermeister. She did, however, have difficulty in finding the track for her race presentation!!

Life really does begin at 80, hey, Doreen?

Helen’s Trust kicks off the 2012 charity events!

Friends of Owlerton will be aware that we love nothing more than a good charity event, and this year is no different. We are kicking off 2012 with a Countryside Alliance event on 24th January, followed by a Race Day on 21st February in aid of Helen’s Trust, a Derbyshire charity which helps those with terminal illness to stay at home for the final stages of their lives.

There’s already a buzz of excitement around the auction for Helen’s Trust event – hardly surprising when you consider that there is a holiday in Crete, a private tour of Chatsworth and signed football shirts up for grabs. We’re already saving up…

December birthday vacuum

We saw our busiest December ever in 2011 - and you lot were certainly in the party spirit - hats off to those of you who put in several hours of serious booty shaking at our late night discos. Families, friends, work mates and clubs all booked in to celebrate the festive season with us - and Head Chef Nick’s stuffing went down a treat! Amidst all the revelry however, we did notice that the usual birthday parties were conspicuous only by their absence…..surely people still have birthdays in December?! Perhaps unbeknown to most of us something happens in March that kills off the romance? Post Valentine’s exhaustion perhaps?

Or perhaps some of you have postponed Birthday celebrations until January - and will be making the most of the gap in social diaries this month? Indeed January Birthday bookings seem to be booking up fast… so maybe December babies were simply waiting to make the most of our two for one offer?!

Numpty of the week

This week’s title does not go to a Stadium staff member, but a bumbling boyfriend who had somehow missed out on his girlfriend’s not-so-subtle hints on what she wanted for Christmas. After repeatedly requesting a stylish Barbour jacket, our Bars Assistant Manager tore into the wrapping paper on December 25th to find….a musical pillow. Another one for the charity shop then.

Graham ‘The News’ Hound

The ‘long awaited’ X Factor Final was the talking point of the weekend (…is it me, or does it feel like this series started LAST Christmas?) and the curse of the girl band was finally lifted as Little Mix clinched the title! But that wasn’t the biggest surprise of the past week – Manchester (the self-proclaimed capital of English football) will NOT be represented in the World’s biggest club competition, after both sides failed to qualify for the Champions League knock out stages! At this point I will resist from further comment, seeing as our very own MD is a steadfast Red Devil (… and for anybody looking to buy Mr Gilburn a Christmas gift this year, I am reliably informed that his fragrance of choice is ‘Channel No 5’!).

Corr blimey!

After a rip-roaringly successful performance at our Grand Comedy Howler event in October, funny man Jon Corr has been ticking the funny bones of Hallam FM listeners! Jon could be heard on the airwaves on Sunday when he raised more than a few giggles with his witticisms!

Jon may be scaling the dizzy heights of regional radio after his triumph but he’s not forgotten us back here at the Stadium. In fact, John will be returning to the Owlerton spotlight to entertain the crowds at our Nearly New Year’s Eve party on 30^th December!  If you’re coming along on the night though, be warned – Jon took the Comedy Howler crown after talking through the facts of life in a manner which made even MD John Gilburn choke on his hot roast pork sarnie… Corr’s not for the faint hearted!

Dog grotto

With figures showing that parents spend £2 billion on presents for their kids at Christmas, we are campaigning for 25^th December 2011 to be the day of the dog – so get ready to spoil your pooches! To launch our campaign, we will be hosting the UK’s first ever Santa’s Grotto exclusively for dogs – so bring your pups along to the Stadium on Tuesday 20^th December to give them a chance to meet the big man himself and receive a very special festive gift! You’d be barking to miss out!

We Just Want to Dance the Night Away!

December is party season, which can only mean one thing down here at the Stadium – the revival of our late night discos! The past week we’ve seen our customers dust off their dancing shoes and get into the party spirit, and let me tell you the dancing has been …..interesting to say the least!

Last Saturday was a prime example, we’re all very familiar with the ‘Ooops Upside Your Head’ dance aren’t we?? Well all of our customers certainly were, the whole of the Panorama Room literally fell to the floor as they did – what our MD described as – ‘the boat dance’. With the freakish weather we’ve been having lately, we could excuse them for getting some practice rowing in – after all it might be the only way to get around soon!

Festive fudge-ups!

It seems that some of our team are in need or a long lie down in a dark room…  

Waitress Jordan is probably a little too trusting for her own good…. When Waiter Lewis sent her to the bar for a ‘long stand’ she did indeed go to the bar to ask for one. Upon requesting it, and being told it was a wind up, she responded, ‘What’s a wind up and where can I find one?’…

And what’s more, the following shift a customer ‘lodged a complaint’ with Jordan for finding a shiny £1 coin in his Christmas pud. Conscientious Jordan duly scuttled off to the Restaurant Manager to inform him about the ‘incident’. It only clicked when she was pointing out the customer and saw the whole table chortling over their festive feast! One, two, three… aawww.

Jordan’s festive fudge-ups can only be topped by one of the Owlerton stewards who was sent to the bar last week to replenish the ice cube stocks with ‘ice making solution’. The team could hardly contain their laughter when he demanded ‘protective clothing’ until they realised that he had not realised that ‘ice making solution’ was simply tap water!

Honestly……….

Graham ‘The News’ Hound

Bananas growing in Cornwall, roses blooming in November… the warm weather has certainly sent the nation’s wildlife into confusion – although we’ve got to confess, we’ve enjoyed the unprecedented warmer climes here at the Stadium! Having said that, we wouldn’t say no to some more traditional festive weather - we’ve got the salt ready to spread in the track, the turkeys are  being delivered in the next few days and the culinary joys of the Christmas menus are going to start this Friday.  We guarantee that whatever the weather, Owlerton is going to be the hottest place to be over the next few weeks!

What a cracking time!

This year’s Firework Spectacular event was a sparkling success all round - we heard more ‘ooohs’ and ‘aaaahs’ than you hear from a crowd of proud parents at the school nativity play. There is in fact a cracking video of one of our displays on Facebook, so if you want to re-live the magic then check it out!

Jon Carter dances his way into retirement!

Although we were sad to hear that our much-loved Chairman of the Retired Greyhound Trust, Jon Carter, has decided to hang up his microphone, we were delighted to learn that he is leaving with a bang!

Jon announced his retirement at the celebrations on 3^rd November, where he was marking his 50^th anniversary of being associated with the Stadium, and where friends, family, past and present colleagues came along for an evening of fun and frolics. Jon took the opportunity to exhibit his extraordinary dancing skills with wife Annie on the dance-floor, wowing the crowds with moves never before seen in the north-west Sheffield area!

Jon was given a trip for two via Eurostar to the Arc de Triomphe horse race meeting next October, including a trip to the stables and a reserved marquee seat to watch the racing. What a send off – congratulations Jon! I can’t wait for my 50^th anniversary… although I’ve got some way to go yet – even if you do count the service in dog years…

17 tracks, £150,000 and BAGS of fun!

We had an eventful day last week when the BAGS Intertrack Championship came to Sheffield and our local trainers showed their mettle. The new 17-track competition, based on a round-robin (or should that be round-greyhound?) format, will see the top two tracks in each region qualifying for a festive Grand Final on 23^rd December in Wolverhampton.

The road to the Black Country passed through the Steel City last Thursday, and saw trainers Barrie Draper and Russ Warren lift Sheffield from the bottom of the table to third in the region with some racy performances from Farlow Holly and Kauto Jet. Good work, pups!

Owlerton’s Got Talent!

Executive Boxes manager Emma Holland has been nominated our star of the week after she let slip that she can write her name with her toes. We’re guessing that there must’ve been a reason Emma learnt she could do this… (any ideas folks…?) but can’t imagine what situation this might have been in! All Emma needs to do now is learn to write with her hands as well!

Graham ‘The News’ Hound

The clocks have gone back and the dark nights are drawing in, which can only mean one thing… winter has officially arrived! I don’t know about you, but the change of time did seem to confuse the old body clock… in fact, come the early hours of Sunday morning, while out for a night in Sheffield City Centre, I had visions of a giant greyhound on the roof of a limousine … but then I remembered…

Owlerton rides with the Big Dogs!

Heeeeeere’s Bunny! No your eyes did not deceive you this weekend – there was indeed a giant greyhound in town – her name is Bunny and she was visiting Sheffield as part of the South Yorkshire leg of her 2,500 mile tour of the country, during which she will visit 40 greyhound tracks!

At 50 times bigger than a life-size greyhound and weighing in at a massive 3 tonnes, Bunny made quite an impact as she toured the sights of our Steel City. After cruising into the city on Thursday, the Big Dog began her whirlwind trip across the region, stopping off at all the Sheffield landmarks including Forgemasters, Don Valley Stadium and the Crucible Theatre. Friday even saw her dropping in at Meadowhall Shopping Centre for a bit of retail therapy!

Camera-phones flashed up and down West Street on Friday and Saturday night as Bunny made her grand entrance to the amazement of the on-lookers!  South Yorkshire folk came from far and wide to pose with the limo while warbling along to ‘Who let the dogs out?’ And by popular demand we are hoping to see Bunny again in 2012… keep those eyes peeled folks!

‘Howlerton’ Stadium finds a new star!

We laughed, we winced, and we guffawed…  it could only be the Owlerton Grand Comedy Howler! Record numbers applied, many were shortlisted, but only a handful could make it through to the final on Thursday 27^th October!

The night saw five comic rising stars battling it out for the title of South Yorkshire’s best up-and-coming Comedy Star.  The contestants had to impress our panel of judges to be in with a chance of scooping the top prize – the panel consisted of our very own John Gilburn; Head of Sales at Hallam FM, Rachel King, and Sheffield Star columnist and feature writer Colin Drury.

Mike McGrath from Leeds sailed close to the wind with his ‘current affairs’ related humour, while Chris McIllroy drew on his Irish roots with some song and dance for the crowds. Sheffield lad CK Golding stumbled into giving himself an unfortunate nickname, and Jed Sallisbury propositioned the Hallam FM team’s boss… but it was Jon Corr from Doncaster that shone on the night. Talking through his favourite childhood book, Jon tickled the funny bones of the crowd, and scooped the £1,000 prize money as well as an exclusive 10 minute slot on Hallam FM.

Congratulations Jon and we shall see you again at the Nearly New Year’s Eve party on 30^th December - remember though, there will be children present at that event!

Numpty of the week

We had to award this title this week to the rather confused looking couple who turned up to the Stadium on Thursday 27^th ready and raring for Speedway, only to be greeted by hundreds of comedy fans and a massive 24 ft greyhound! Despite the Speedway season having finished weeks ago, the pair turned up all set on cheering on the Tigers and found themselves cheering on aspiring comics instead – I have to say, I think their guffaws were heard loudest of all!

A Dog’s not just for Christmas

A little birdie tells me that the Stadium is organising a Santa’s grotto with a difference in Sheffield this year, with a little something for all of our four legged friends….

I shall do some sniffing about and report back!

Graham ‘The News’ Hound

Purr of the three lions!

It’s not been the best of weeks for St George’s boys, what with the Rugby Union side making an early exit from the World Cup, and the football lads only managing a draw against Montenegro (although well done to Fabio and the boys for qualifying for Euro 2012!)

But, on the up side, it’s been a great week for one of Owlerton’s star trainers! Mr Barry Draper scooped the Greyhound of the Month award last month with his dog Eden Star. It’s the second victory in a row for Sheffield-trained greyhounds, and adds to what has been a great year for Barry and Eden Star, after smashing the track record at Romford and romping to victory in the final of the Puppy Derby at Wimbledon - he’s currently favourite to win next year’s Greyhound Derby, which would earn him a cool £100,000!

Rubbing shoulders with the stars….

With Gary Barlow spending the summer  cementing his place as the nation’s favourite TV talent judge (Simon who?) it seems that  one of his band mates has spent the summer ‘putting it down’ (as Kelly Rowland might say) on the dance floors of Ibiza, with our very own Assistant Safety Officer Matt Seemley! “Apparently” Take That’s Howard Donald was showing Matt a few moves from the group’s recent record-breaking tour, with Matt taking the role of backing dancer…  

… and the celebrity dance partners didn’t end there for Matt. He “tells us” he also pulled a few shapes alongside Matt Pritchard from MTV’s Dirty Sanchez. For those of you who’ve never seen Dirty Sanchez the show features three Welshman and an Englishman taking part in some dangerous (some may even say stupid) stunts … which begs the question Mr Assistant Safety Officer, what were you thinking?!

Variety Club races to success!

Always keen to do our bit for charity, the gang at the Stadium hosted the annual Variety Club dinner earlier this month, raising a grand total of £6,275. Over 200 guests from top Yorkshire businesses swamped the restaurant, cheering on the 12 sponsored races and raising over £650 in the raffle. A terrific result – and thank you to all that attended.

The team at Henry Boot are already planning next year’s event – so folks, see you all again same time, same place, next year!

Once, twice, three times the lady! Trio of successes on the trio bet!

You lovely punters have certainly been doing well recently! We’ve had a roll of big wins on the trio bets these past few weeks. Whopping wins of £301.70, £396.91 and £630.70 have meant some happy customers… not least as some of the prizes were won for just a £1 stake!

The big winners seemed happy enough to buy their friends a round of drinks with their winnings – almost as generous as the couple who won £101 million on the Euromillions last week: they gave £1 million each to 20 of their closest friends! Now with friends like that, you really don’t need anything else!

The Big Dog cometh!

It’s 24 feet long, weighs just under 3 tonnes, and is going to be travelling the country on the top of a stretch limousine. No, it’s not the next bizarre Lady Gaga stunt – it’s ‘Bunny’, the World’s Biggest Dog* - and it’s coming to Sheffield later this month!

The Sheffield steel-framed greyhound, a 50-times life size replica of the BBC Radio 5 Live-named ‘Show Me The Bunny’, is touring the nation to spread the good word of the magic that is greyhound racing. It’ll be visiting more than thirty cities before the end of November, including some of the nation’s most famous landmarks, with the home visit coming when ‘Bunny’ cruises into the Stadium on Thursday 27th October! Make sure you have your cameras at the ready as there’ll be lots of chances to get some brilliant snaps!

*(Her official ‘World’s Biggest Dog’ status is currently pending with the lovely people at Guinness World Records, but we reckon if we just buy them a crate of the black stuff they’ll make sure we’re in next year’s book!)

Graham ‘The News’ Hound

Isn’t it depressing, it’s that time of year already. No, not the fact that the nights are starting to draw in, but the return of X Factor of course! But come on folks, despite our best attempts not to be sucked in, we all have our favourites, and really, is there anything better than relaxing on the sofa on a Sunday with a bit of catch up TV to watch the drama unfold? Well, an evening at the Stadium, of course…!

Three Steps to Victory

As we mentioned in our last blog, the Carling Three Steps to Victory event took a hop, a skip and a jump into the Stadium this month as we saw the 480m heats, the 500m semis and the 660m final take place! The victor’s £5,000 cheque went to ‘Kilmore Say Go’, who sprang out of trap 6 to be first across the line for his trainer Terry Dartnall and owner Mr. Byrne! Congrats, guys!

The Owlerton Boomerang Effect

We’ve been saying all along that the Stadium is the best place in the world to work, and now the evidence is there for all to see! It’s official – former Owlerton staff love to return to the Stadium! After three years away from the Stadium trekking the world, former Restaurant Supervisor Siobhan has returned to work at our bars, and after four years working in numerous establishments former restaurant waitress Holly has returned to the place she knows best!

Busman’s Holidays are no bad thing at the Stadium!

Not only are our staff returning to earn a crust - but they can’t keep away on their days off either! You can regularly see our lovely guys and girls out of their uniform and having some fun at the stadium – maybe it’s something to do with the generous staff discounts?

The Weight of Expectation

We hosted our big fight weigh-in at the Stadium this month, as Yorkshire boy Gary Sykes and Welshman Gary Buckland took to the scales ahead of their bout at Ponds Forge. As it was a Hatton Promotions fight, a certain Mr Ricky and many of his fellow boxing chums were also there (much to the delight of the female members of staff, who enjoyed the view from the Panorama Bar…!) to cheer the boys on ahead of what he called “the fight of the year”!

The atmosphere in the Stadium was red hot as the two fighters came face-to-face just 24 hours before stepping into the ring, where Buckland came out on top after a thrilling encounter in a unanimous points decision. Congratulations to Gary B -  and we can’t wait for the next one!

EuroMillions!

We’ve had a big win on the jackpot this month as a tasty £15,185.80 went to one of our regular punters on Tuesday 13^thSeptember! Congratulations! We love to see a big winner at the Stadium. Remember folks, next time it could be you!

The big bucks don’t stop there, we have had some very lucky punters over the past few weeks celebrating their wins, a few even walking away with more than £250 for a £1 stake!

Stock! In the Name of Love… We’ve got a Supreme at the Stadium!

Have we got a treat for all you Stock Car fans! The StarTrax boys are bringing their BriSCA Supreme event to the Stadium on Sunday 9^th October at 4pm! Tickets range from £7 for children to £16 for adults - and the cheeky under-5s go free! Check out their website here to get yours now!

Forget the younger models…

Finally, we’d like to congratulate Big Ron and Holly. Their photogenic good looks and model behaviour have seen them picked to be the faces of a region-wide campaign…

That’s right, the two are to front the Grin Up North Comedy Festival! They are owned by our good friends Roy and Linda at the Retired Greyhound Trust, who loved Holly’s big eyes and Big Ron’s unusual fawn colour… despite the fact that he only has three teeth!

Not to be outdone, we are hosting our own comedy extravaganza as we search for South Yorkshire’s next hidden comedy gem . The final of our Grand Comedy Howler event is on Thursday 27th October and we’re expecting to have a side-splitting good time!