Astroturf pitches. They have come a long way since the 80s.  I’m one of those old enough to remember playing on the few scattered around my part of the West Mids in those Duran Duran days.

My abiding memories of playing football on them is you didn’t want to make a sliding tackle as huge swathes of your skin would be left on the pitch, and how the bounce, no matter how well you thought you had adjusted to Astroturf, would always fool you frequently hopping as high as a house.

I relived these long dormant thoughts the other day, when a friend brought the topic up. Aside of wishing I still had the speed, dark mane and 32 inch waist I possessed in those heady days of my youth, I’m glad for the new generation that the pitches aren’t the hazards they were then.

We are fortunate that the technology with artificial pitches has moved on significantly, just like in most walks of life, and here in Solihull we have one of the very best. 

The new sand filled pitch at Old Sils is ideal for football or hockey being a full sized pitch, which has the ablility to be divided into four and it's floodlit, as you would expect there are changing rooms available and loads of parking.

Old Silhillians is deinately the venue, one of the bedrocks of our town, and also the venue where my wife and I held a big Irish Christening for our son two years ago.

As well as Old Silhillians being inextricably linked to Solihull School, it also is one of the finest venues for sport, conferences and family occasions you could wish for.

Their professional conference team can lay out rooms specific for your needs, as well as summer marquees, and they provide a corporate feel befitting the ambience and rich history the club has. 

With our own event we chose Old Sils because of its easy to find proximity, right off the motorway, and the function room was cosy and had character, unlike many venues for such occasions.

We had a great day and since then many others have had memorable weddings and parties due to it being such an outstanding venue.   

As a sports club hosting many high standard events with decent attendances it also provides ample parking with around 300 parking spaces.

So with this great venue available for all the people of our town it’s worth remembering whether its conferences, points going over the bar or pints going over the bar we are fortunate to have Old Silhillians.