(no subject)

To Westleigh Park this evening for the girls' fund-raising karaoke night. It was initially intended to be an 'X Factor' evening complete with judges, but, as Lisa revealed at the start of the evening, much to her chagrin none of the girls had shown an interest in actually helping to set the event up, so we had to settle for a plain old karaoke night, albeit still with prizes for the best singer and best entertainer.

Most of the ladies' team were there. It wasn't long before Telé came over to my table and asked if I was going to sing.

"Maybe."

"You've got to sing!" Then Telé upped the ante and said I had to go on first! I told her I'd sing, but not first, but she was insistent I had to open the show. "Unless you go on first, none of the girls are singing." Who asked her to stick her hooter in? Not long after that, though, I was flicking through the song book when the DJ came over and asked if I'd picked my song yet.

My first choice, I'd Do Anything For Love by Meatloaf, wasn't in the book, so I told him I was still deciding. Before long I settled on Is She Really Going Out With Him? by Joe Jackson, a song I've identified with a lot over the years and one that doesn't call for a superb singing voice. The DJ saw me filling in a slip and made a bee-line for me. At least he was holding requests two other people had submitted by then.

I don't know if Telé had a word with the DJ, but I was first to be called. I did OK, and got a generous round of applause; Liz and Michelle both complimented me on my performance, and Rob came over, said "That took guts" and shook my hand. From then on I spent the rest of the evening drinking Kopparberg in the company of Lisa's daughter Jade (not the same person as my ex-friend) and several of her student housemates and work colleagues. They were a complete bunch of loonies! Among the performers were the Spice Girls - Jade was Mel B, Abi was Emma, Jenna F was Victoria, Jenna D was Geri and their friend Fay Mel C - giving a wild rendition of Wannabe. Notable non-performers were Lisa (who claimed she couldn't inflict the pain of her singing on us all) and, wait for it, Telé.

Jodie was looking pretty fine, but I didn't get a proper chance to talk to her :( After all the singers had been on, we had the raffle draw. I didn't win anything. When one of Jade's numbers came out, one of her posse shouted to her "Get the Quality Street" and I led them all in a chant of "Quality Street! Quality Street!" She chose a bottle of wine instead, but then she pulled out the number of...one of her friends who chose the Quality Street for herself. (Then another girl in the group shared them out with all our table.)

After that the DJ, Rob and Lisa chose a top seven based on the cheers of the crowd and an average of the marks out of ten that various people shouted out. I didn't make the top seven; nor did the Spice Girls. "You were robbed," I said to Jade and Abi. "So were you," Abi smiled. Michelle, Trevor and Charlie were all among the lucky seven, but the winner was Jenna D's dad Carl with his spirited rendering of Mustang Sally.

Said my goodbyes while Jenna F sang the closing song, some disco number I didn't know, and got a group hug from Abi and Liz.

(no subject)

Met the 'Geordie Hawks' - a couple of guys from Tyneside who follow Havant & Waterlooville from afar and had made the long journey south to see them in the flesh today - in the clubhouse before today's match with struggling Newport County. One of them said how he was missing Newcastle's home match with Wigan to see the Hawks.

For the first 86 minutes of the game they must have wished they'd had a long lie-in instead. We were hoping Robbie Matthews would add the firepower up front that Hawks have been sorely lacking this season, but although he had a few chances during the first half neither he nor any of his team-mates looked like scoring. Meanwhile Newport took the lead just before the half hour mark.

The hardcore behind the goal never stopped their vocal support all through the second half, and amid the moaners some of us in the stand, me included, kept up shouts of encouragement, but many of the Hawks seemed to be playing with no fire in their bellies - though Charlie Henry never stopped trying right up until he was subbed, Jamie Collins played a decent game and Craig Watkins had two open goals but hit the post the first time and delivered a bullet header just behind the goalnet the second. As the time ticked by everyone was resigned to defeat. Around me a few people got up and left from the 75-minute mark onwards. I began to believe relegation was a serious danger.

Then with four minutes to go sub Paul Booth headed home an equaliser.

Celebrations all round. Hawks resisted a couple of injury-time Newport corners. I was happy enough with a point having been resigned to none for most of the afternoon, and further cheered by the Shire beating Dumbarton 5-2, and I'm allowing myself to believe that the worst is over now and Hawks can build on this to create a radical change in form and start climbing the table. We shall see...