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Nov. 30th, 2008 09:04 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
eiffel_71
Up at sparrow's fart to get over to Portsmouth to catch the 7.43 train for the Hawk girls' League Cup tie at Milton Keynes. The train journey went smoothly enough and when I arrived at Euston there was a delayed earlier train to Milton Keynes sitting at the platform waiting to go. I sprinted and just made it.
Around Milton Keynes station the only eaterie was a Subway, so I went for a Reggae Reggae footlong sub before hopping in a taxi. The pitch was in a suburb called Kents Hill four miles out of town, and the taxi driver didn't know where Frithwood Crescent was so looked to me to direct him - and I'd never been there before either so we had to just follow the signs to Kents Hill and hope the place wasn't too hard to find. Fortunately as we drove through Kents Hill's main housing estate we came across Frithwood Crescent and followed the road round till we came upon the sports pavilion.
It was raining. When I loped over to join Trevor and Rob who were standing by the pavilion, Trev kidded me that the match had been called off. A quick glance at the team sheet, then I took refuge from the elements in a little lounge with attached kitchen, where Becky and Telé were already sitting. Chat with them, and occasionally with Trev who popped in and out, until kick-off (delayed by half an hour because some of the MK girls were late; that suited us as Sadie, Charlie and Alex had also got lost).
Everyone made it for the later kick-off time. It rained non-stop all game, and it was also bitterly cold. Too cold even for Eskimo Jen - she kept her tracksuit top on right up until the teams lined up ready for kick-off, and shivered and exclaimed when she took it off - and that's something. After 20 minutes the subs and Trevor dashed for Michelle's car and watched the rest of the match from there; only Rob and I braved the weather all match. When, early in the second half, Sally and Alex were standing on the touchline ready to go on, Rob announced that Charlie and Sam were to be the ones to come off - then shouted "Sorry, girls, you'll have to dig in" to the rest. I never thought I'd see a manager apologising to players for not substituting them, but that's how foul the weather was. Jodie groaned and complained when she wasn't subbed - as she was on the right wing she'd been hoping Sally would be replacing her, but instead Sally played striker, and scored our sixth in a 7-0 win.
Came in with my trousers saturated and covered in mud. In the clubhouse I rang the mobile number the taxi driver had given me only to get his voicemail. I hung up without leaving a message, but moments later he rang me back and I asked for a taxi. The driver said he'd be there in fifteen minutes. As soon as I came back into the room where the girls were warming themselves up, with impeccable timing Rob asked if anyone could give me a lift, and Charlie said she and Sadie could. So I had to go back out into the corridor and ring the taxi driver to cancel, only to get his voicemail again. I left him a message cancelling and apologising, and just had to hope he got it. When Charlie and Sadie led the exodus to the cars 20 minutes later, there was no sign of a taxi, so presumably he did, though at 4.35, by which time we were well down the motorway, my phone rang - I answered but there was only silence, then three pips and the call ended.
We appeared to have got split up from the others on the drive, but when Sadie pulled into a petrol station in Wisley and Charlie, Alex and I all hit the shop in search of a bite to eat, we'd only been in there a little while when the rest of the team all piled in. I guess everyone was hungry, which made sense as it had been a long trip.
Sadie and Charlie played the Mamma Mia soundtrack CD in the car, then as we entered Havant they put on Meat Loaf's I'd Do Anything For Love. I sang along, and during the instrumental break told them I'd wanted to sing that at the karaoke night but it hadn't been in the book. Charlie sympathised and said her first choice - Since You've Been Gone by Kelly Clarkson - had also been absent. Heading towards Portsmouth, they said they'd always give me a lift to away matches in future, gave me their home number and said to ring them on the day before each away game to check. They dropped me at Cosham station and waited for me to give them the thumbs-up to show a train was coming soon (there was one due in 4 minutes) before waving goodbye.
Around Milton Keynes station the only eaterie was a Subway, so I went for a Reggae Reggae footlong sub before hopping in a taxi. The pitch was in a suburb called Kents Hill four miles out of town, and the taxi driver didn't know where Frithwood Crescent was so looked to me to direct him - and I'd never been there before either so we had to just follow the signs to Kents Hill and hope the place wasn't too hard to find. Fortunately as we drove through Kents Hill's main housing estate we came across Frithwood Crescent and followed the road round till we came upon the sports pavilion.
It was raining. When I loped over to join Trevor and Rob who were standing by the pavilion, Trev kidded me that the match had been called off. A quick glance at the team sheet, then I took refuge from the elements in a little lounge with attached kitchen, where Becky and Telé were already sitting. Chat with them, and occasionally with Trev who popped in and out, until kick-off (delayed by half an hour because some of the MK girls were late; that suited us as Sadie, Charlie and Alex had also got lost).
Everyone made it for the later kick-off time. It rained non-stop all game, and it was also bitterly cold. Too cold even for Eskimo Jen - she kept her tracksuit top on right up until the teams lined up ready for kick-off, and shivered and exclaimed when she took it off - and that's something. After 20 minutes the subs and Trevor dashed for Michelle's car and watched the rest of the match from there; only Rob and I braved the weather all match. When, early in the second half, Sally and Alex were standing on the touchline ready to go on, Rob announced that Charlie and Sam were to be the ones to come off - then shouted "Sorry, girls, you'll have to dig in" to the rest. I never thought I'd see a manager apologising to players for not substituting them, but that's how foul the weather was. Jodie groaned and complained when she wasn't subbed - as she was on the right wing she'd been hoping Sally would be replacing her, but instead Sally played striker, and scored our sixth in a 7-0 win.
Came in with my trousers saturated and covered in mud. In the clubhouse I rang the mobile number the taxi driver had given me only to get his voicemail. I hung up without leaving a message, but moments later he rang me back and I asked for a taxi. The driver said he'd be there in fifteen minutes. As soon as I came back into the room where the girls were warming themselves up, with impeccable timing Rob asked if anyone could give me a lift, and Charlie said she and Sadie could. So I had to go back out into the corridor and ring the taxi driver to cancel, only to get his voicemail again. I left him a message cancelling and apologising, and just had to hope he got it. When Charlie and Sadie led the exodus to the cars 20 minutes later, there was no sign of a taxi, so presumably he did, though at 4.35, by which time we were well down the motorway, my phone rang - I answered but there was only silence, then three pips and the call ended.
We appeared to have got split up from the others on the drive, but when Sadie pulled into a petrol station in Wisley and Charlie, Alex and I all hit the shop in search of a bite to eat, we'd only been in there a little while when the rest of the team all piled in. I guess everyone was hungry, which made sense as it had been a long trip.
Sadie and Charlie played the Mamma Mia soundtrack CD in the car, then as we entered Havant they put on Meat Loaf's I'd Do Anything For Love. I sang along, and during the instrumental break told them I'd wanted to sing that at the karaoke night but it hadn't been in the book. Charlie sympathised and said her first choice - Since You've Been Gone by Kelly Clarkson - had also been absent. Heading towards Portsmouth, they said they'd always give me a lift to away matches in future, gave me their home number and said to ring them on the day before each away game to check. They dropped me at Cosham station and waited for me to give them the thumbs-up to show a train was coming soon (there was one due in 4 minutes) before waving goodbye.
