I am all excited. I have acquired a new (‘previously loved’) car and I am blasting out the tunes. It’s good to have a working sound system again. After the last one gave out, Audi quoted me £4600 for a new one. ‘Well, that’s not happening.’ ‘No, I guess not.’ Anyway, a part-ex later and here I am. Same make, same model, same colour (has to be red). I am a happy bunny once again. Let’s ignore the fact that if I don’t find that damn V5 form it’s gonna cost me another £500. It’s fine, I’ve narrowed the search down to 40 boxes in my house/loft/garage.
I drive via Ashton to pick up Kev, fresh from the Darlo’s defeat at Buxton the nite before. Hopefully he can enjoy tonite’s game. ‘Should I take my car?’ he asks. What? On my first drive out in my new car? No chance. I hope he likes The Prodigy. No need to use the satnav, Kev finds us there on his own and we park up in the lane to the ground and return to the main road to find a pub. Handily, there;s one just down the street, though it’s a ‘Robinsons’. The last time I saw that name, I was in a dismal pub in Barrow-in-Furness where time had stood still. I was not hopeful. However, the Red Lion turned out to be a cracking pub, just the right ambience and a half decent choice of ales.
Tonite is the big Stockport derby – Cheadle Town v Stockport Town, in the North West Counties League Premier Division. Both sides have made promising starts in their opening 5 games, though I note 2 of Cheadle’s 3 wins were narrow victories over the bottom 2. 9 pts after 5 games, they’re a point behind the visitors, newly promoted but looking to press on. An exciting game is in prospect.
Ah, prospect. We walk down the lane towards the ground as two young lads discuss one’s taste in women. ‘You do love a blonde’. Who doesn’t? We enter the turnstiles and as you turn to your right, the ground is dominated by the main stand, a tall, yet thin structure in the halfway line. It looks huge, but there’s only about 100 seats in it. The back few rows are terracing though, with the highest steps I’ve ever encountered. It’s like when you come across some ancient Roman amphitheatre. After getting a beer from the social club (a half for me) we climb to the back of the stand. What a grand view this is, if we ignore the two pillars at either side holding the roof up. At no point can both of us see both goalposts, but there’s plenty of space to crane a neck, shuffle along, etc.
The game is not a classic. The effort is there, but a goalless draw is summed up by two crosses, one from a free kick, that barely reach the first defender. This is never mentioned in punditry, amongst the superior technique, or physique, of the professional footballer, but the higher up the leagues you go, the harder they can kick a ball, the further they can kick a ball. This is the 9th tier and it showed. I remind Kev of the rules. ‘If it’s a goalless draw it doesn’t count. You have to come back.’ ‘I’d come back here. I really enjoyed it.’
The Damage:
£8 ent
£2.50 prog
£6.50 some pale ale or other
= £17
The Tunes:
Their Law (Prodigy)
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