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Aug. 16th, 2009 09:10 pmFirst game of the season for the Hawk girls, away to Chesham United Ladies.
Chesham, the furthest-flung outpost of the London Underground, possessing a single train that shuttles back and forth all day between Chesham and Chalfont & Latimer. When I lived in London, this bit of the tube was outside the zonal area and you had to shell out for special tickets to go there - not that I ever visited that neck of the woods then. Thankfully, today even leafy Buckinghamshire is integrated into the zoning system - there's a Zone 9, consisting of just Chesham and Amersham - enabling me to buy a 9 Zone Day Travelcard for just £9 at Waterloo before embarking on the marathon tube ride.
The Chesham and Chalfont stations, though they now have much new signage, still have enough of the decades-old fixtures and fittings that gives the outskirts of the network such charm. Chalfont retains an old sign that lights up to denote where the next Chesham train leaves from - lovely.
On the short walk from the station to the ground, I called at a couple of pubs, but neither served food despite signs on the outside suggesting they did, so bought a Ploughman's sandwich from the petrol station just before the ground.
It was a glorious afternoon, and when I entered the ground the girls were sunning themselves on the terraces as they waited for the changing rooms to be unlocked. After they'd gone in, I talked to Rob, Christine, Becky and Sarah. Rob, after remarking on how there'd be much longer away trips in this league, said to me "You won't come to Newquay and Plymouth, will you?"
"Are you pulling my leg? Of course I'm going."
Christine suggested I try and get a place on the coach with the girls for the long trips. Rob quipped that with luck I'd get to stay in the same B&B with the team - Becky suggested Jodie would be willing to be my roommate...
The bar was shut, apparently because the barman was only coming back from holiday today and hadn't got the message about there being a ladies' game today. Rob, Christine, Sarah and Becky had brought picnic lunches as usual so they were fine, but I had to wander over to the nearby cricket ground to get a drink.
We'd all been warned that this league would be tougher than the ones before. Although the girls had their fair share of possession, they couldn't put the ball in the net. Our players contrived to send good scoring opportunities straight at the goalie, high, or wide - anywhere but in. Meanwhile non-existent marking allowed Chesham to score three times in breakaways.
By the final whistle, the barman had turned up and opened the clubhouse, but I just said my goodbyes to Becky and made straight for the tube station. Arrived at Waterloo with a Portsmouth train leaving in 10 minutes, so that was the end of my thoughts of a Burger King. I just about had time to grab an Innocent Smoothie.
Met Sabrina, Lauren and Stacey in the queue for the Gosport ferry. They were laden with carrier bags full of booze, on their way to a friend's in Fareham. We sat together on the boat, then while they headed for the taxi rank I walked post haste to the takeaway.
While waiting for my grub, saw Jessica Ennis win the heptathlon gold on the TV on the counter - a much needed tonic.
Chesham, the furthest-flung outpost of the London Underground, possessing a single train that shuttles back and forth all day between Chesham and Chalfont & Latimer. When I lived in London, this bit of the tube was outside the zonal area and you had to shell out for special tickets to go there - not that I ever visited that neck of the woods then. Thankfully, today even leafy Buckinghamshire is integrated into the zoning system - there's a Zone 9, consisting of just Chesham and Amersham - enabling me to buy a 9 Zone Day Travelcard for just £9 at Waterloo before embarking on the marathon tube ride.
The Chesham and Chalfont stations, though they now have much new signage, still have enough of the decades-old fixtures and fittings that gives the outskirts of the network such charm. Chalfont retains an old sign that lights up to denote where the next Chesham train leaves from - lovely.
On the short walk from the station to the ground, I called at a couple of pubs, but neither served food despite signs on the outside suggesting they did, so bought a Ploughman's sandwich from the petrol station just before the ground.
It was a glorious afternoon, and when I entered the ground the girls were sunning themselves on the terraces as they waited for the changing rooms to be unlocked. After they'd gone in, I talked to Rob, Christine, Becky and Sarah. Rob, after remarking on how there'd be much longer away trips in this league, said to me "You won't come to Newquay and Plymouth, will you?"
"Are you pulling my leg? Of course I'm going."
Christine suggested I try and get a place on the coach with the girls for the long trips. Rob quipped that with luck I'd get to stay in the same B&B with the team - Becky suggested Jodie would be willing to be my roommate...
The bar was shut, apparently because the barman was only coming back from holiday today and hadn't got the message about there being a ladies' game today. Rob, Christine, Sarah and Becky had brought picnic lunches as usual so they were fine, but I had to wander over to the nearby cricket ground to get a drink.
We'd all been warned that this league would be tougher than the ones before. Although the girls had their fair share of possession, they couldn't put the ball in the net. Our players contrived to send good scoring opportunities straight at the goalie, high, or wide - anywhere but in. Meanwhile non-existent marking allowed Chesham to score three times in breakaways.
By the final whistle, the barman had turned up and opened the clubhouse, but I just said my goodbyes to Becky and made straight for the tube station. Arrived at Waterloo with a Portsmouth train leaving in 10 minutes, so that was the end of my thoughts of a Burger King. I just about had time to grab an Innocent Smoothie.
Met Sabrina, Lauren and Stacey in the queue for the Gosport ferry. They were laden with carrier bags full of booze, on their way to a friend's in Fareham. We sat together on the boat, then while they headed for the taxi rank I walked post haste to the takeaway.
While waiting for my grub, saw Jessica Ennis win the heptathlon gold on the TV on the counter - a much needed tonic.
