Latest Restoration Work - May 2011

A major landmark has been reached. The pitch wall has now been completely cleared of moss and grafitti and painted white once again ! This is only the first coat but has transformed the place from a players point of view. Once again the pitch seems enclosed and somehow tighter. We are now restarting from the East Terracing and painting the second coat. By the end of the summer we will have the walls shimmering bright again ! A full season has left the pitch threadbare in places but we'll be reseeding the bald patches and fencing the goal areas off to give the grass a chance to regrow. Meanwhile we have once again turned our attention back to the West Terrace and more moss and rubbish clearance over the past week or so. We painted another two terrace steps and cleared away a lot of the damaged branches last week's storms left behind. We have had a lot of support recently from the local dog walkers and neighbours training at Cathkin Park and I'd like to thank them for their kind words. They have honestly kept me going when I have become disheartened about the huge task ahead and inspired me to continue doing everything I can to save this old stadium.

Want to Play For Third Lanark ???????

Great News ! We are launching another Adult team next season to play in the Sunday League.

We'll be holding trials and training sessions throughout the summer and would like to hear from anyone of any age who just fancies playing 11-a-side old skool football on grass parks with nets...the REAL game. If you are dying to get the boots back on then get in touch on: thirdlanarkrv@hotmail.co.uk regardless of talent or fitness. Football should be fun, first and foremost and our whole ethos is about encouraging an active and healthy lifestyle and just getting out there and playing !If you fancy coming along we will be playing and training in Glasgow. Don't forget we have a good standard in the First XI and there will always be room for good players to rise through the ranks. So if you would like to wear the famous scarlet shirt of the 3rd Lanarkshire Rifle Volunteers Football Club, and play in the shadows of the likes of Harley, Hilley,Gray,Goodfellow,Brownlie,Wilson,Robertson,MacLeod,Mason,Dewar and Tom Maley,now your chance has come...

Collect Kit Tokens for The Thirds !!

HIGHLAND SPRING have launched a marvellous scheme for community clubs such as ours, New Balls For Britain. By collecting enough tokens (typically 35) and paying £2.99 postage the Club will be sent Footballs, Rugby Balls and Cricket Balls, so get behind the Thirds and Start collecting Tokens !! The offer ends on the 31st of December 2011 so we hope to have amassed quite a collection of kit for 2011 and 2012. We will be announcing details of our Rugby and Cricket coaching sessions soon and introducing you to our excellent and enthusiastic new coaches. But first..we need kit, and lot's of it ! If you wish to collect for us, please peel off the labels where you see the New Balls For Britain logo, and email the club directly on : thirdlanarkrv@hotmail.co.uk .We'll tell you where to send them on to then. This is a great scheme, one which will encourage a healthy sporting lifestyle as well as supporting grassroots level sports clubs like Third Lanark to develop. Thank you to all at Highland Spring for their involvement.

New Team Photos !!

A small selection of recently unearthed Third Lanark team photos from the past 98 years. These are courtesy of Bert Bell's excellent website on the club, a website that has kept the online presence alive over the years. This splendid site can be found here: www.thirdlanarkac.co.uk and all of these photos can be viewed in their full glory on his photos pages.

Restoration Latest Update!!

The First XI versus Jordanhill last month !!

Despite the showery weather here over the past few weeks the work has continued. Doing about 7-8 hours every week still and finally getting somewhere! There is only 20 feet left of the pitch wall to clear and paint which I expect to have completed next week. This will be a major milestone, but will immediately begin on the second coat as already it's needing done again ! But at least a base protective coat has been applied and will ensure that no more rot gets into the concrete. Summer is in full bloom now and the terracing and trees have turned Cathkin olive green again. Picturesque but makes one aware of how much work we still have to do !
We will also be fixing up the breaches in the walls with concrete during this summer which will radically improve the look of the walls,which look like a series of broken teeth at present !

These are a selection of shots taken in late April and May 2011, showing the progress we have made in turning the old place around. A big hello to all the fans from Manchester United, Celtic, Motherwell, Queens Park and Partick Thistle I have met down at Cathkin recently, all of whom were on their very own pilgrimage to the REAL home of Scottish football. All of them had read of our plans for the ground and wished us the best of luck. And a special mention to Chic Mackie who is one of Scotland's best - known Cycle Speedway racers. He has been working away on the track at the Myrtle Park Road Entrance and it is looking great again. He has just returned from the Over 40s World Championships in the USA, where he came 9th. Not bad going considering he's over 70 !! We are planning a joint event in October 2011, which will bring back this exhilirating old sport to it's original home of Cathkin Park. Chic will be the focus of a special interview nearer the time, so watch this space. We have some great news coming up regarding sponsorship and will feature an overview on our First XI season in the 2nd Division. Promotion has eluded us but the lads deserve a lot of credit for more than holding their own in their first season in this league and most importantly to the Board, by playing attractive football. The new website is being put together and is looking great. Thanks to Mark Downie at http://www.markdevelopment.co.uk/ for his sterling work so far.

New Website....Coming Soon !!!!

We will be launching our new Club Website at the end of the month, which will be (of course!) linked to the Restoration Blog, Petition and all of our Fan Sites and will be the first port of call for everyone interested in our wonderful ground,club and history

from now on. We have some great stories coming up, fascinating facts and exciting news to come, so please watch this space. We are launching our new Youth Teams, Community Coaching and even a 2nd XI, the 3rd Lanark Strollers in the coming season and have some wonderful and talented coaches joining our ranks in the weeks ahead. All will be revealed by the end of May.

Congratulations also to the Third Lanark Under 14s who won the Easter Cup recently, following a successful season. We wish them all the best in the future and hope that all involved enjoyed their time as a part of Third Lanark.

Thirds help Thistle !

Vice Chairman Matt Curry has been beavering away recently collecting Irn Bru bottle tops which he donated to Partick Thistle FC on Saturday. Two months rooting around bins and picking up discarded tops wherever he went, 'Midgie-Raker Matt' managed to amass a fine haul which will go towards helping grass roots football.

Simon & Pat have also swelled the Irn Bru coffers at Lesser Hampden recently, donating all of the bottle tops found at Cathkin Park and the Queens Park Recreation Ground to our old friends Queens Park FC. Good work fellas, and a great campaign by Irn Bru.

A special thanks also to the ladies at BeCogent and Teleperformance in Glasgow for saving up their bottle tops and donating them to Third Lanark FC. Much appreciated !