Brentford FC Launches New Series of Thousands of Stories
This time the short films will put the spotlight on fans
Raymond Harrison explains how a brush with death at the Gtech changed his life. Picture: Brentford FC
April 12, 2024
The series of short films produced by Brentford FC, Thousands of Stories, is to return, this time with the spotlight being put on its fans.
Following a positive reaction to the inaugural season, the upcoming instalment consists of four films which delve into the experiences of supporters and what following the Bees means to them and how the club has impacted their lives.
Series two kicks off with The Moment, the story of Raymond Harrison, a lifelong Bees supporter who experienced a cardiac arrest at the Gtech Community Stadium before the fixture against Newcastle last season. Thanks to the club’s stewards and medical support staff performing CPR, Raymond’s life was saved. In The Moment, Raymond explains how his life has changed since that day.
Three further films from Thousands of Stories will be released across the next three weeks. On 17 April, The Dream follows the story of Connor Wolfheimer, a Brentford fan who came through Brentford FC Community Sports Trust’s football programme and is currently on a two-year scholarship playing for Brentford’s under-18s. Then The Local (24 April) shares the story of Claire Peleschka, the landlady of The Griffin, one of the four pubs surrounding Brentford’s previous stadium, Griffin Park and finally The Sound (1 May) relates the experience of Andy Godfrey, a long-standing Brentford supporter who is visually impaired and uses the club’s audio commentary to experience matches at the Gtech.
The series last year included four stories focusing on Brentford manager, Thomas Frank and cardiac health in The Pressure, staff member Mariia Manirko in The Chance, participants of the Brentford FC Community Sports Trust’s women’s football recreation session in The Team and Peter Gilham’s legacy at the club in The Voice.
Sally Stephens, Brentford’s fan and community relations director said, “Thousands of Stories shines a spotlight on some of the incredible individuals who make up our vibrant Brentford FC community. We’re fortunate to have such fantastic fans.
“The films share how being a Brentford fan is about much more than football. Being a Bees fans means being part of a trusted community, supporting each other and showing togetherness during the good times but also through adversity. We look forward to continuing to celebrate the stories that make our club so special."
You can view the films when released on Brentford FC’s web site.
Like Reading Articles Like This? Help Us Produce More This site remains committed to providing local community news and public interest journalism. Articles such as the one above are integral to what we do. We aim to feature as much as possible on local societies, charities based in the area, fundraising efforts by residents, community-based initiatives and even helping people find missing pets. We’ve always done that and won’t be changing, in fact we’d like to do more. However, the readership that these stories generates is often below that needed to cover the cost of producing them. Our financial resources are limited and the local media environment is intensely competitive so there is a constraint on what we can do. We are therefore asking our readers to consider offering financial support to these efforts. Any money given will help support community and public interest news and the expansion of our coverage in this area. A suggested monthly payment is £8 but we would be grateful for any amount for instance if you think this site offers the equivalent value of a subscription to a daily printed newspaper you may wish to consider £20 per month. If neither of these amounts is suitable for you then contact info@neighbournet.com and we can set up an alternative. All payments are made through a secure web site. One-off donations are also appreciated. Choose The Amount You Wish To Contribute. If you do support us in this way we’d be interested to hear what kind of articles you would like to see more of on the site – send your suggestions to the editor. For businesses we offer the chance to be a corporate sponsor of community content on the site. For £30 plus VAT per month you will be the designated sponsor of at least one article a month with your logo appearing if supplied. If there is a specific community group or initiative you’d like to support we can make sure your sponsorship is featured on related content for a one off payment of £50 plus VAT. All payments are made through a secure web site. |