Emblematically Speaking - A Re-Introduction
Thu 25th August 2022 | General | By Stewart Taylor
It’s been Five Long Years since we started this series of explorations into the background and symbolism of the badges used by NWCFL clubs. This journey, if you will, has taken us from classic mediaeval heraldry to the somewhat more modern day concept of a meme.
This journey has been documented in what many may consider to be an interesting style of writing – others may differ! The first point here is the choice of the title of these pieces which includes the term “Speaking”. This rather suggests a conversational element to these narratives and that continues.
Taking that one stage further and conversations – down the local pub or wherever – often meander somewhat bringing in seemingly disconnected concepts to the subject under discussion. These narratives draw heavily on that idea and, as an example, I would direct you back to the first sentence of this piece and, hopefully, one or two readers might have asked why the capital letters in the phrase Five Long Years.
The reference is to the title of one of the few genuine classics of Blues music and was written by Eddie Boyd in 1952. Since covered by many well known musicians this song can truly be called a Blues standard. So, you may ask, how is that relevant to the subject in hand? For those who know me and the style of writing it is immediately apparent that the answer to that question is “nothing at all” it is just that my penchant for music is rooted in the Jazz and Blues of the 1950s and, yes, I really am that old – just!
So back to where we were and the second main point which features the tools used to effect these short(ish) articles. One will note the dipthong in the word mediaeval in the first paragraph – a nod to the traditions of the time. The more up to date concept of a meme is interesting - I think.
I am indebted to the Chairman of a former NWCFL club who introduced me to this concept of a meme and the power of such, seemingly, very simple devices, in the world of marketing. All may become clearer as we progress the series but I would refer the reader to the badge of Juventus FC (not a member of the NWCFL sadly) and invite readers to interpret that one.
The real relevance of five long years takes us back to when this series of articles first saw the light of day. During the 2017/18 and 2018/19 seasons we published 61 articles which, at the time, featured all of the member clubs of the NWCFL. Since then we have had something of an upheaval in football during what we will begin to consider as the Covid Years. Now we are, all things being equal and fingers crossed, back on an even keel we can look at the badges of the clubs which are current NWCFL member clubs which have not been published before.
There are 15 such clubs and we will take them in a sort of random order over the coming weeks. The attempt is to understand the iconography in club emblems (badges) and relate that to both the football club and the town/area they represent. Works as a decent introduction to new member clubs which, inevitably to some extent, covers part of the history of the club. Useful perhaps for existing supporters of the club under the spotlight and the wider NWCFL community.
In the earlier series we neglected to comment on the evolution of club badges. Some remain the same as they always have done and most often, with long established clubs, this can take us back to the Coat of Arms of the relevant town. Other emblems have evolved over time, sometimes for very practical reasons and other times, if a particular individual involved with the club wishes to “freshen up the image” of that club.
In that context, we have previously told the story of the Ashton Town badge as a one off badge of the current time. The badge of Ashton Town has developed significantly over the years and the first article in the series is designed to explore that evolution. Something different perhaps but I hope it works.
Finally, my thanks go to all the representatives of the clubs who will feature this time for sending in information which allows for the publication of this series.
And finally, finally, thanks to all those who have read this article and I hope that my writing style – long sentences and curious punctuation - has not put you off following the series over the coming weeks.
Stewart Taylor
We have delved back into the archives and put together all of Stewart's previous articles on one page. This can be found in the News dropdown or by clicking here.
Emblematically Speaking - A Re-Introduction
Thu 25th August 2022 | General
By Stewart Taylor
It’s been Five Long Years since we started this series of explorations into the background and symbolism of the badges used by NWCFL clubs. This journey, if you will, has taken us from classic mediaeval heraldry to the somewhat more modern day concept of a meme.
This journey has been documented in what many may consider to be an interesting style of writing – others may differ! The first point here is the choice of the title of these pieces which includes the term “Speaking”. This rather suggests a conversational element to these narratives and that continues.
Taking that one stage further and conversations – down the local pub or wherever – often meander somewhat bringing in seemingly disconnected concepts to the subject under discussion. These narratives draw heavily on that idea and, as an example, I would direct you back to the first sentence of this piece and, hopefully, one or two readers might have asked why the capital letters in the phrase Five Long Years.
The reference is to the title of one of the few genuine classics of Blues music and was written by Eddie Boyd in 1952. Since covered by many well known musicians this song can truly be called a Blues standard. So, you may ask, how is that relevant to the subject in hand? For those who know me and the style of writing it is immediately apparent that the answer to that question is “nothing at all” it is just that my penchant for music is rooted in the Jazz and Blues of the 1950s and, yes, I really am that old – just!
So back to where we were and the second main point which features the tools used to effect these short(ish) articles. One will note the dipthong in the word mediaeval in the first paragraph – a nod to the traditions of the time. The more up to date concept of a meme is interesting - I think.
I am indebted to the Chairman of a former NWCFL club who introduced me to this concept of a meme and the power of such, seemingly, very simple devices, in the world of marketing. All may become clearer as we progress the series but I would refer the reader to the badge of Juventus FC (not a member of the NWCFL sadly) and invite readers to interpret that one.
The real relevance of five long years takes us back to when this series of articles first saw the light of day. During the 2017/18 and 2018/19 seasons we published 61 articles which, at the time, featured all of the member clubs of the NWCFL. Since then we have had something of an upheaval in football during what we will begin to consider as the Covid Years. Now we are, all things being equal and fingers crossed, back on an even keel we can look at the badges of the clubs which are current NWCFL member clubs which have not been published before.
There are 15 such clubs and we will take them in a sort of random order over the coming weeks. The attempt is to understand the iconography in club emblems (badges) and relate that to both the football club and the town/area they represent. Works as a decent introduction to new member clubs which, inevitably to some extent, covers part of the history of the club. Useful perhaps for existing supporters of the club under the spotlight and the wider NWCFL community.
In the earlier series we neglected to comment on the evolution of club badges. Some remain the same as they always have done and most often, with long established clubs, this can take us back to the Coat of Arms of the relevant town. Other emblems have evolved over time, sometimes for very practical reasons and other times, if a particular individual involved with the club wishes to “freshen up the image” of that club.
In that context, we have previously told the story of the Ashton Town badge as a one off badge of the current time. The badge of Ashton Town has developed significantly over the years and the first article in the series is designed to explore that evolution. Something different perhaps but I hope it works.
Finally, my thanks go to all the representatives of the clubs who will feature this time for sending in information which allows for the publication of this series.
And finally, finally, thanks to all those who have read this article and I hope that my writing style – long sentences and curious punctuation - has not put you off following the series over the coming weeks.
Stewart Taylor
We have delved back into the archives and put together all of Stewart's previous articles on one page. This can be found in the News dropdown or by clicking here.
