With Norton United rolling up to the Abbey
Stad tonight I have a confession to make. Up until Stoke City’s promotion to England’s
top flight five years ago, I’d not managed to spend so much as an hour in our
visitors’ hometown.
Since then I’ve watched United there a handful
of times and even managed to meet a few like-minded souls.
One of them, an affable chap named Anthony
Bunn, has recently cofounded his own printed publication, DUCK Magazine, in
homage to his love for music, fashion and Stoke-on-Trent. I caught up with him
for a quick chat ahead of tonight’s game.
How
did DUCK come about and what made you settle on its name?
My co-editor and I wanted to produce a magazine that we would buy and one that our city hadn't really seen before. ‘Duck’ is considered a term of endearment around our way. We now get free advertising every time someone in Stoke-on-Trent finishes a sentence.
What’s the local reception been like to it?
Issue One sold out within an hour at a Stoke game. I have two copies of it left and the feedback has been overwhelmingly mint. We seem to have struck a chord with Potteries folk.
How important was it to produce a printed edition?
We wanted DUCK to be read not just at the match but also in living rooms, gardens and on the bus/train. The printed word will never die, no matter how cheap and accessible media is in 2013.
My co-editor and I wanted to produce a magazine that we would buy and one that our city hadn't really seen before. ‘Duck’ is considered a term of endearment around our way. We now get free advertising every time someone in Stoke-on-Trent finishes a sentence.
What’s the local reception been like to it?
Issue One sold out within an hour at a Stoke game. I have two copies of it left and the feedback has been overwhelmingly mint. We seem to have struck a chord with Potteries folk.
How important was it to produce a printed edition?
We wanted DUCK to be read not just at the match but also in living rooms, gardens and on the bus/train. The printed word will never die, no matter how cheap and accessible media is in 2013.
You
have a few non-league teams in Staffordshire. Ever get along to a match?
Not as much as I used to. It's a buzzing area for non-league sport, with thriving football and cricket leagues. Leek Town is always an ace day out as Leek has some of the best pubs anywhere. Norton United is three miles from where I live, a good club in an area called Smallthorne. If you visit, have a beer in a proper boozer called The King's Head which is walking distance from the ground.
What’s the best away trip you’ve ever been on with Stoke City and why?
Away trips are about the people you go with. As much as taking my kids can be a right chore at times, I will never forget the day when my seven-year-old lad 'got' football on a trip to Wembley. Also, I loved every one of the seventies grounds I visited with my late father. Nothing though will ever come close to my trips to watch Stoke pre-season in Austria with my mates and brother. Amazing country, great times.
Stoke has some notable musical heritage with its soul nights in the seventies and house nights in the nineties. What’s the current scene like?
I'm a 45-year-old dad-of-three. My finger slipped off the musical pulse a decade and several stone ago! Stoke has always had brilliant clubs - The Torch, Shelleys and Golden to name but three. Whilst clubbing seems all but dead, there's a decent local music scene led by the superb Sugarmill venue.
We tend to miss out on mid-sized bands visiting our city. They tend to go to Wolverhampton for some reason.
You have a soft spot for Manchester. What do you like most about our city?
The walk from Piccadilly station into town, accompanied by Massive Attack in your ears during the early nineties, couldn't be beaten. Whilst it’s evolved and is a great modern city to shop, eat, drink and go out in, I hope it doesn't lose its personality and become just another generic identikit city.
What is an oatcake and what do you do with them?
A savoury, round pancake-like thing of beauty which most fill with any of the following: cheese, sausage, bacon, mushrooms, tomatoes etc. The humble but precious oatcake shop can't be allowed to die.
What can we expect to read about in future issues of DUCK?
Stoke City is the glue that holds it together but it's just as likely to feature articles on the weirdos you see on trains and New Balance trainers. It comes out every two months as we try to show our club and city in a different light. We want acclaim, not profit.
Not as much as I used to. It's a buzzing area for non-league sport, with thriving football and cricket leagues. Leek Town is always an ace day out as Leek has some of the best pubs anywhere. Norton United is three miles from where I live, a good club in an area called Smallthorne. If you visit, have a beer in a proper boozer called The King's Head which is walking distance from the ground.
What’s the best away trip you’ve ever been on with Stoke City and why?
Away trips are about the people you go with. As much as taking my kids can be a right chore at times, I will never forget the day when my seven-year-old lad 'got' football on a trip to Wembley. Also, I loved every one of the seventies grounds I visited with my late father. Nothing though will ever come close to my trips to watch Stoke pre-season in Austria with my mates and brother. Amazing country, great times.
Stoke has some notable musical heritage with its soul nights in the seventies and house nights in the nineties. What’s the current scene like?
I'm a 45-year-old dad-of-three. My finger slipped off the musical pulse a decade and several stone ago! Stoke has always had brilliant clubs - The Torch, Shelleys and Golden to name but three. Whilst clubbing seems all but dead, there's a decent local music scene led by the superb Sugarmill venue.
We tend to miss out on mid-sized bands visiting our city. They tend to go to Wolverhampton for some reason.
You have a soft spot for Manchester. What do you like most about our city?
The walk from Piccadilly station into town, accompanied by Massive Attack in your ears during the early nineties, couldn't be beaten. Whilst it’s evolved and is a great modern city to shop, eat, drink and go out in, I hope it doesn't lose its personality and become just another generic identikit city.
What is an oatcake and what do you do with them?
A savoury, round pancake-like thing of beauty which most fill with any of the following: cheese, sausage, bacon, mushrooms, tomatoes etc. The humble but precious oatcake shop can't be allowed to die.
What can we expect to read about in future issues of DUCK?
Stoke City is the glue that holds it together but it's just as likely to feature articles on the weirdos you see on trains and New Balance trainers. It comes out every two months as we try to show our club and city in a different light. We want acclaim, not profit.
Buy
a copy at Duckmagazine.bigcartel.com and read Anthony’s musings on Twitter
@DUCKmagstoke
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