(no subject)

In the bar at West Leigh Park before the game last night, I met a Farnborough supporting couple who were devoted real ale enthusiasts - they were a bit cheesed off that there was no real ale at our bar; I sympathised, as I prefer real ale myself, but explained that HWFC's sponsorship deal with Carlsberg means we have to sell it. They remarked on how we now had six ex-Farnborough players in the side and asked "Can we have them back please?" I said a Boro-supporting friend had commented to me on that over the summer, and asked whether they knew whalefish. They reckoned they'd recognise him if they saw him. Tried an Italian lager, Perotta - quite nice.

The game could have gone either way until Tom Jordan headed a cross past a soft defence on 16 minutes. From then on it was Hawks all the way; Farnborough put up more of a fight in the second half, but on 75 minutes Phil Warner and Tony Taggart played a class series of one-twos culminating in Phil volleying home a beauty to make the points safe. Cracking match, and the ideal tonic for the post-BB7 malaise.

On the way out of the ground a young girl said hello to me. It was Jade from Pompey Ladies' reserves - with her arm in a sling. We compared notes on our summers, then I asked what she'd done to her arm. She'd hurt it in training, but hoped to be back playing in a fortnight. As I'd heard a rumour she'd be joining Hawks' new ladies' team, I asked whether that was true. She got a bit coy about that, but in the end said she might register to play for both Pompey and Hawks. That's good news - she's a very promising young player. I told her I'd be at their first game, away to Bracknell in three weeks, and she said "Might see you there."

There was a quarter of an hour before I had to head for the station, so popped into the Members' Bar for a swift half. On the station a Hawks fan who appeared to be mentally challenged engaged me in conversation. Among other things, he asked me how often I attend games; I told him all the home games. It took him a couple of repeated asks before he understood that I'm too skint to go to aways. Then he asked if I'd be at the away game at nearby Eastleigh on Bank Holiday Monday, so I explained that as consort to the Mayor of Gosport, I have to attend the town's vintage car rally with her that day. His reply? "Can't you skip the rally and go to Eastleigh?" Bless him. Now he knew I was from Gosport, he wanted to know precise directions to a particular church in the town...

Someone else who wanted to talk about real ale was Phil at the office first thing this morning. When he asked me how last night's game had gone, as soon as I mentioned the Farnborough couple that was him on the subject of real ale for what would have been the rest of the morning if I hadn't had to get on the phones. He, though, is more of a bitter drinker while I like the less bitter ones like Blandford Fly.

One of my respondents was a Ghanaian woman whose first language wasn't English and who had difficulty understanding my accent. Despite that, in the space of 42 minutes we got her questions and about half of her husband's done, then she announced that she had to go out - "You taking up my time!" She agreed we could call her back to do the rest on Thursday evening (hooray, I don't work evenings so won't get her again). Can't hold it against her, she helped a big chunk of my shift pass by with work that would normally take just half the time. Came off that call to hear Amanda apparently doing an impression of BB7's Nikki. She was moaning about air con and then whining "Richard, where have you put my blackcurrant juice?"

"Is someone having a Nikki moment?" I said. Amanda told me the others had been likening her to Nikki "because I'm dippy." She did a couple more of her impressions, then said "I'm turning into Nikki. It's scary." Coffee time.