OXFORD, UK – A special hockey match will take place on 23 July as current and former members of the Oxford City Stars face off in front of a crowd of local fans, rink users, family and friends in remembrance of a man who they will all remember fondly.
Hundreds of friends, family and hockey fans gathered in Oxford a few weeks ago to say goodbye to a man who had touched their lives in many different ways. Following an emotional service the hockey community of the city came together and made special plans to honour Norman Elliott.
With bright sunshine breaking through the summer clouds, the funeral cortege made its way slowly past Oxford Ice Rink, a place where Norman had worked for over twenty years. Stood solemnly outside were his colleagues and friends accompanied by the rink Zamboni, there to salute in military style a man who gave so much to the facility and its users.
Gone but not forgotten
As the cortege passed, the Zamboni horn sounded its final goodbye in a poignant and beautiful gesture by friend, colleague and former Oxford City Stars’ hero Dan Prachar. The ceremony continued with such thoughtful and personal gestures from various aspects of Norman’s life but hockey was never far away from proceedings, not least the guard of honour mixed with hockey sticks and fishing rods (one of Norm’s other passions), nor the perfect ‘ice rink’ floral wreath laid by his memorial.
The fact that a large percentage of well-wishers could not fit inside the crematorium building did not surprise anyone there, however most who knew him would suspect the man himself would never have imagined such a turn out. For those that knew Norm he will need no introduction, however to the majority of those who do not, he was a character well worth reading about.
An iconic member of staff at the rink, Norm was a character who dished out jokes and barbed comments as standard. He was also a keen supporter and follower of the resident City Stars hockey team, on which his son Darren is Captain and has been for a number of years.
Norm would stand above the player benches with his crazy hats (and often odd choice of trousers), banging his drum for the team and making witty comments on his megaphone to opposition players and officials. His ability to rile an opposition bench was remarkable and in good spirit, something he clearly enjoyed judging by the infamous enhanced chuckle he would unleash at various stages in the games.
For all his jokes Norm was passionate about his job and would be on hand to perform any task required to help people, but not before he had any requestor for help in two minds. If a player asked him to sharpen their skates he would say ‘too busy’, if a player asked him to remove a stuck chocolate from the vending machine he would look at them as if they were mad.
A minute later he would be back to sharpen the skates or to retrieve the item whilst at the same time cracking a joke or giving the recipient that stare he became famous for through his thick glasses. Whilst grinding the skates he would talk about hockey and about the City Stars. He would always put on a front that the Stars players were always wasting his time, causing him grief and irritating him but once in deeper conversation his passion for the team, the sport and the players were laid bare.
Many players mention Norm’s two pence check after he sharpened a pair of skates. He would hold the skate upside down and balance the coin on the blade to show he had done a balanced grind. More often than not the coin would be at an angle a fair distance from horizontal, and once pointed out to him; Norm would pause and give the stare again, before taking the skate back and trying again till it was right.
It was this helpful yet belligerent style that warmed so many people to Norm, the wily shell with a warm heart. Anyone associated with Oxford ice hockey or the rink will have their own story of Norm and they would fill many more web pages than this. Whether at home with his family, sat by the lake with his rod or down the rink with his drum and set of rink keys, a joke would never be far away.
To celebrate the life of Norman Elliott a special memorial hockey game will take place in Oxford at the ice rink on the 23 July at 4.30pm.Past and present Oxford players will face off against each other with former Stars Gary Slevin, Paul Donohoe, Darryl Morvan, Dean Francis, Scott Gough, Dave Carr, The Hargreaves brothers, Adam Andrews and possibly former Swedish goalie Robin Lindva icing along with current squad members. The game is expected to be well attended by all those who wish to share memories of the man who lived and breathed the rink and any extra support would be much appreciated.
In the remarkable eulogy given by his son Darren at the service, he spoke of how he hopes his dad will still keep banging his drum in spirit for the team. There was not one person in attendance at that service who doubts that will be the case.
For more information on the memorial game please keep checking: www.oxfordstars.com or the poster for the game: http://i54.tinypic.com/2vi4iup.jpg
Donations to the British Heart Foundation can be made on the day of the game or online at:
http://www.bhf.org.uk/
Contact the author: david.carr@prohockeynews.com
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