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Back With The Boys Again
Aug. 29th, 2020 10:02 pmAt last, after five and a half months that seemed an eternity, this morning I once again boarded a train. Bound for London, to see Fisher FC's away friendly with Stansfeld.
Apart from having to wear a face mask of course, it was a pretty normal journey on the Gosport ferry and the train. No delays, made the connections at Victoria without a hitch in both directions.
Stopped for lunch at a kebab house on the walk from New Eltham station to the Metrogas sports centre. Did my best to socially distance in the clubhouse, not that anyone else was trying. Watched last 20 minutes of the Women's Community Shield with a Shepherd Neame Spitfire. The sound was off, but at least I got to see the lovely Laura on screen after the match ❤️
The pitch was just surrounded by a rope on both long sides, and had a little wall behind one goal. Ian and a few Fisher fans were standing in front of the wall; again they were all clustered together. I kept a regulation distance from them, while still joining in their chat.
Early in the game a Fisher player over-ran the goal line and stepped on my carrier bag. After stepping back with my bag to a spot right in front of the wall, I thought no more about it - for the moment...
Fisher scored an early goal. Back to the now packed bar at half-time for a packet of Kettle Chips and a Yorkie.
For the second half the Fisher lads moved to a position on the far side of the pitch, in the half we would be attacking. The guys were a little distracted by the pink and black kit worn by one of the teams playing on an adjacent pitch. One of them suggested tongue in cheek that Fisher should adopt pink and black kit; I told him how, around 15 years ago, Fisher had been in merger talks with Dulwich Hamlet, and that if that merger had happened, we'd be playing in pink and black quarters.
Ian said he'd designed an away kit for us - purple with orange tiger stripes - but he can't afford to have it made. I said I liked our current away kit, that the team were wearing today, orange with white shorts - "it makes us look Dutch". That got approval from a couple of the others.
We held on for the 1-0 win. I said a quick goodbye, gave the lads a bit of a clap and headed back for the station.
On the train, I noticed a massive dent in my spec case. Clearly, that took the brunt of the player's boot, and, like Blackadder's cigarillo box, saved my more fragile belongings from destruction. Something to be grateful for, I guess.
Apart from having to wear a face mask of course, it was a pretty normal journey on the Gosport ferry and the train. No delays, made the connections at Victoria without a hitch in both directions.
Stopped for lunch at a kebab house on the walk from New Eltham station to the Metrogas sports centre. Did my best to socially distance in the clubhouse, not that anyone else was trying. Watched last 20 minutes of the Women's Community Shield with a Shepherd Neame Spitfire. The sound was off, but at least I got to see the lovely Laura on screen after the match ❤️
The pitch was just surrounded by a rope on both long sides, and had a little wall behind one goal. Ian and a few Fisher fans were standing in front of the wall; again they were all clustered together. I kept a regulation distance from them, while still joining in their chat.
Early in the game a Fisher player over-ran the goal line and stepped on my carrier bag. After stepping back with my bag to a spot right in front of the wall, I thought no more about it - for the moment...
Fisher scored an early goal. Back to the now packed bar at half-time for a packet of Kettle Chips and a Yorkie.
For the second half the Fisher lads moved to a position on the far side of the pitch, in the half we would be attacking. The guys were a little distracted by the pink and black kit worn by one of the teams playing on an adjacent pitch. One of them suggested tongue in cheek that Fisher should adopt pink and black kit; I told him how, around 15 years ago, Fisher had been in merger talks with Dulwich Hamlet, and that if that merger had happened, we'd be playing in pink and black quarters.
Ian said he'd designed an away kit for us - purple with orange tiger stripes - but he can't afford to have it made. I said I liked our current away kit, that the team were wearing today, orange with white shorts - "it makes us look Dutch". That got approval from a couple of the others.
We held on for the 1-0 win. I said a quick goodbye, gave the lads a bit of a clap and headed back for the station.
On the train, I noticed a massive dent in my spec case. Clearly, that took the brunt of the player's boot, and, like Blackadder's cigarillo box, saved my more fragile belongings from destruction. Something to be grateful for, I guess.
