(no subject)

Went to see the Hawks at Dover yesterday. On the drive up Mark kept Andy and me entertained with various tales of following Hawks, Waterlooville and Southampton, with the odd foreign jaunt thrown in. In Dover town centre we were sat in a queue for ages because the temporary traffic light set up at roadworks ahead of us was stuck on red, so the car in front didn't dare move until they finally cottoned on that something was up. Of course our driver had to rely on guesswork to work out when we should stop or go - the light in the opposite direction was functioning normally but we couldn't see it - and we had to come to a sudden swerve and stop, drawing abuse from a passing local which got an equally vehement reply from Malc.

Dover had a nice clubhouse, serving a couple of real ales - I went for a Bombardier - but there weren't a great deal of seats and tables. Bob and I got talking to a Dover fan; we had a long friendly discussion about non league football then the home fan switched to politics - he was a passionate UKIP supporter.

Through half an hour of spectacularly inert football from both sides, the Hawk hardcore kept ourselves amused with some ironic chants and comments about how long had gone by without a goal and who was leading on shots. Then a Dover striker scored with a shot from the corner of the box and from then on Hawks collapsed. By the hour mark we were 3-0 down and although we then brought on Jake Newton and George Lopes as subs, both of whom put in more effort and energy than the rest of the team put together, there was no coming back. Dover added a fourth and near the end Newton made a brilliant run into the box and crossed perfectly for Lopes, only for George to head wide.

"Let's get out of here," said Malc. I wouldn't have minded a post-match beer but I guess nobody else was in the mood. And so it was back onto the bus for the grim journey home in driving rain. Malc informed us of our second teams' scores via his Blackberry - no comfort for me there as East Stirlingshire's game was frozen off :( People were talking openly about the possibility of relegation to the Ryman League and Galey's position was again the subject of intense debate. Mark and Malc kept our spirits up with reminiscences of better days.

It was still pissing with rain when we arrived back at WLP. Bob gave me a lift to the Hard.

(no subject)

Back with the girls again at Fort Blockhouse this afternoon after five weeks with no action, for the Hampshire Cup quarter-final with Shanklin. Exchanged "Did you have a good Christmas?" greetings with everyone; when Val arrived, and she and Dick wished each other a Happy New Year, Val observed "It's January 17th and we're wishing each other Happy New Year!"

Val asked when we'd be getting to play on Westleigh Park again. "Not until March," I said, "because of cutting the pitch up."

Val tutted. "The men aren't doing very well anyway, are they?"

"No, I went to see them at Dover yesterday, they lost 4-0. They were awful."

"They don't deserve to be on that pitch, do they?" was Val's rejoinder. "Let the ladies play on it and send the men here!"

Dick tapped me up for a contribution to Jenna D's leaving present as they hadn't had the chance to see me before they presented it to her.

The girls overcame a sluggish start to run out 4-0 winners, our glamorous new signing Leeta getting the third with a header.

Home for Bolton v Arsenal.