MY VISIT
I'm always keen to see an FA Cup game, but I thought my luck was out when I looked at options for a new ground on this day. All of the options were long-distance and therefore expensive on public transport. I'd have liked to have gone to Wolverhampton Casuals, but they failed to beat Stone Old Alleynians in a replay; therefore, the only affordable option had bitten the dust. However, I had a brainwave when booking a coach to Cardiff for a couple of weeks time. I looked at coaches to Manchester and thankfully things worked out, just about. It would be a tight journey at both ends in London but I managed to secure a return from London to Manchester for £26.80 on National Express. A good bonus was that it would be going from Finchley Road which was a little closer to home than the usual stop of Victoria. Or so I thought, but more of that later. As for the game, West Didsbury & Chorlton v Macclesfield was a great tie, even if it would attract a larger crowd than I would have liked and it would also be a good opportunity for a few pints in Manchester.
After a reasonable Wednesday, Thursday and Friday were pretty stinking. First, former BBC presenter and Wycombe Wanderers fan Bill Turnbull died after losing his battle with prostate cancer. One of the nicest people you could wish to meet, he always had time to talk to fans and will be sadly missed. There was also a blow to my hopping ambitions, firstly, just as I was about to book a coach to Newquay, the price doubled on the coach overnight, though it did later drop to a more reasonable level, leaving me in a quandary. This was all due to the government leaving the train workers no option to yet again go on strike, their refusal to negotiate a fair deal was baffling. This also accounted for the postponement of the West Wales Hop, something I was hoping to be part of. That as well as the misery that it causes the general public. Though maybe some of them deserve it, judging on some of the people I have to deal with. I'd say outside of prisons, supermarkets attract the worst type of people. Take some 'lady' I had to deal with on Friday who smashed my trolley (and nearly me) halfway down the aisle with her shopmobility scooter, then drove off muttering loudly about me 'being in the fucking way'. No apology or anything, but par for the course with some of the sub-human pondlife that I'm forced to deal with. I wish there was hope in a new job, but there is nothing better about.
Then, just as I was setting out to my game at Holmer Green, I had an email saying that due to a burst water main, my stop was moving across London to Golders Green. I act got two conflicting emails, one saying just up the road and another saying at Golders Green. Sadly, the latter was correct and I had to set my alarm for 04:35 to be sure of making my coach on time. Any issue, later on, would lead to me needing to get a Taxi home as I now only had 45 minutes to play with. I was on hold for 20 minutes to confirm this but made sure I was polite to the operator, despite my frustration. I know more than most how toxic the public can be and I didn't want to join the bad guys. Due to all the stress, football didn't provide as much relief as it should. I'd walked up my local side Holmer Green and they had about as much luck as I had well beaten 4-0 by Chalfont Wasps. I came home and had a couple more drinks, though I was mindful of the fact of the early start and drive. We passed my original pick-up point of Finchley Road at 6.10, with me at the revised stop of Golders Green some 40 minutes later.
The day of the day came and there was more inconvenience. I'd had a pretty rotten night's sleep too, what with overthinking things. After getting up after my alarm, I was out just before 5. My progress was halted by a road closure which was exactly why I'd decided to get the trains that arrived 45 minutes rather than 15 minutes early. I parked on my usual spot of Cumberland Close in Chalfont although could have parked nearer given it was the weekend. I jogged to the station and arrived a minute before my train. I tried to find out why the road had been closed, but there was no information. I was at my original stop of Finchley Road at 6.10 and then some 40 minutes later, I got to my revised stop of Golders Green. Or so I thought. I'd spent 25 minutes on the phone yesterday confirming the details after they had sent conflicting emails, after they had failed to respond on Twitter. I was told down a very poor phoneline that the stop had changed to Golders Green. But I waited for an hour and twenty minutes, no other passengers turned up and nor did the coach. I gave up at 8 and decided on a non FA Cup game at Hailsham. I'd have to pay over the odds due to the late notice, plus I was mighty annoyed that I'd got the car out for no reason. But it was the best I could do to make a bad situation better. I still had time to kill and so headed to London Bridge towards Borough Market.
A pretzel and chocolate brownie were had for £5.50, pricey, but worth the treat. I'd have loved some cider too, but the stall did not open until 10. Instead, I looked through my unvisited Wetherspoons. There was one a few stops down the line at Old Street that ticked all the boxes. It had Black Dragon on, so after a walk through a smelly mess of fences due to regeneration, the area near the pub was far nicer. The pub itself, The Masque Hunt was a nice one, one of the better in the chain. Plus it was fun to mispronounce. I felt a lot better after a pint and headed back to Victoria. I made the train through the skin of my teeth, using my contactless to get through the gate and then securing a split ticket from East Croydon to Polegate for, £15, £7 less than I'd have paid for a straight Victoria to Polegate train. In the meantime, National Express finally got back to me with five generic cut-and-paste messages, all spelling my name wrong. I put my complaint in an email and will now have to wait three weeks for a response. If it's not resolved, hopefully, I can go through my credit card company. I was in Polegate at 12, nearly 20 minutes late, so I put in a delay repay claim. Polegate was a pleasant place, as was the Cuckoo Trail. I was at the George Hotel by 1.10, a good Wetherspoons where I had a pint of Black Dragon, Chicken Strips and chips and a pint of Old Rosie. Super service and a nice atmosphere too. From there, it was a ten-minute walk to the ground, I paid £5 to get in, plus a bargain 50p for the programme. I also later bought a pen for £2 to add to my collection and help the club out.
Hailsham had gained a credible 1-1 draw at Shoreham in their last game and also drawn 0-0 at East Preston and at home to Newhaven. However, they lost the latter on penalties in the FA Vase. They'd also lost 1-0 to Godalming Town and 4-0 to Chessington & Hook. Their only victory had come in the Peter Bentley Cup, 3-0 at Mile Oak. Hailsham Town were 14th, whilst Arundel were 8th. Arundel had beaten Billingshurst 3-0 in their last game and also Oakwood Town 3-1 on opening day. They'd drawn 1-1 against Shoreham. Losses had come with a 4-2 defeat to Dorking Wanderers B, 4-2 to Montpellier Villa in the Peter Bentley Cup and 3-2 against Mile Oak. The hosts took the lead on 9 minutes, Kane Edwards netting from close range following a right-wing corner. Connor Pomeroy fired into the roof of the net from the edge of the area on 53 minutes to equalise and Jack Ratcliffe headed home from a corner on the hour for what turned out to be the winner. The game died down after this but Hailsham had a goal disallowed of offside on 86 minutes. They also had a number of corners towards the end, but despite some good deliveries, they could not capitalise.
It hadn't been the greatest of games and the lack of sleep started to catch up with me. I was revitalised by a meal deal, including an energy drink from Tesco although this did send me a less pleasant route along the main road back to the station. I was there around ten minutes before my train, having walked a fair distance both ways. Elsewhere, Wycombe had gained a 1-1 draw up at Fleetwood, having gone down to ten men after ten minutes. The one game I had my eye on for a replay came up as North Leigh and AFC Stoneham drew 2-2, meaning that the game would be replayed, probably on Tuesday night. As for my original intended game, Macclesfield squeezed through 1-0 despite the hosts putting up a brave fight. I was back in London at 7.50 and made my way across the capital to meet Colin who had been to Matlock. We had a good catch-up, though our train was absolutely packed as the Chiltern Line service was not running properly. We were back at around 9 and after walking back to the car and dropping my pal off, I had a few drinks at home as well as typing this blog.
THE GROUND
THE BEACONSFIELD is a tidy venue, perfect for it's teams needs. There are two covered areas, one standard metal stand which does the job without much fanfare and a larger covered terrace which has the club colours and name on it. The rest of the ground is open and well kept and in pleasant surroundings. There's a basic bar and food kiosk. The club do an excellent programme, as well as a great range of merchandise including scarves, hats, pin badges, mugs and pens. All are at reasonable prices. Around ten minutes' walk away is the town, which has a nice Wetherspoons and other places. The nearest train station is Polegate, which is around three miles away.
No comments:
Post a Comment