Category: Travels at 40

When I turned 40 in 2012 I started a true diary style Chesham United Travels; a weekly account of life as a huge fan, and director of the football club. It never felt right to actually publish it at the time, but I though one day I may look back over the notes and put them into a book…or a blog. I’ve chosen the latter, and will hopefully get around to releasing chapters on a regular basis over the coming months.

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Week 8: w/c 21st January 2013

Leamington home / Gosport away

I really am now starting to forget what this football game is all about, this week saw the country ground to it’s annual halt with a flurry of snow that sparked health & safety fears all across the country. Hats off to the weather forecasters, they seemed to be spot on with the timings of the snowfall, with Sunday being the picture postcard day, ahead of the big freeze. Local roads remained impressively free flowing, just the side streets that did not get a visit from the gritting lorries causing a few issues, which is difficult because that is where most people start their journeys – and for me that includes a fairly steep hill with card parked either side providing minimal scope for any out of control skids. Continue reading “Week 8: w/c 21st January 2013”

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Week 7: w/c 14th January 2013

Hitchin away / Arlesey at home

Hitchin have opted to play their midweek matches on a Monday night, presumably an attempt to combat the threat of clashing with Champions League football on the television and having the crowd decimated as a result. I am a little surprised that more clubs have not attempted that, though you do still face the competition of Monday night Premiership football on Sky (in fact, it is almost impossible to avoid coming up against an easy alternative for the armchair supporter such is the way that football on the gogglebox has expanded – 3.00pm on a Saturday is the only time you can be sure of avoiding a clash). Continue reading “Week 7: w/c 14th January 2013”

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Week 5 (w/c 31st December 2012)

St Albans Away / AFC Totten at home

After the wettest year on record, 2013 started off as a glorious sunny morning, the wind and rain that had blurred the Weymouth horizon for the past week had given way to sunshine and shadows on the seaweed decorated sandy beach. Looking out the kitchen window, early morning (for New Year’s Day anyway) walkers filled the beach likes ants scurrying about their business. Many were making the most of the dramatic transformation in weather whilst others were clearing the lungs after a night of celebration and heavy drinking. Continue reading “Week 5 (w/c 31st December 2012)”

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Week 4 (w/c 24th December 2012)

Chippenham & Barwell at home

Christmas is all about the kids, and my boys are at a brilliant age. They still get excited, but have the patience to control the excitement to a tolerable level, though do still like to get up early Christmas morning, it was about 2.15am when the boys first awoke to discover that Santa had once again been very generous with his stocking fillers delivery. Continue reading “Week 4 (w/c 24th December 2012)”

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Week 3 (w/c 17th December 2012)

St Neot’s away 

Once a team is knocked out of the FA competitions – or more relevantly, knocked out of the chance of winning some decent prize money – there is a tendency for the playing budget to take a hit, or at least be contained more tightly than previously. As a supporter I always saw that as bad management, but having seen it from the other side for a number of years, I now understand that there is a fine line between speculating and gambling. Continue reading “Week 3 (w/c 17th December 2012)”

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Week 2 (w/c 10th December 2012)

Leamington home on Tuesday and Barrow at home Saturday

I expected the week to start with the Chairman looking to win support for raising the issue of sacking the manager. He may well have got sympathy after the previous week’s showing. But it never happened. I even went as far as to email the Chairman pointing out that if we wanted to, then, for the first time in his five plus years at the club, Andy had invoked the clause that would allow the football club to break his contract – we had failed to win 8 or more of our last 20 games. My reason for raising this was not because I wanted to see the manager sacked, but because I wanted to see how behind the manager the Board really was – if the Chairman knew the opportunity was there, would he take it? Continue reading “Week 2 (w/c 10th December 2012)”

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Week 1 (w/c 3rd December 2012)

Matches: Tuesday: Home v Weymouth / Sunday: Away v Kettering (at Corby)

Confusion still reigns. Are we going for promotion or are we throwing in the proverbial towel on the league season; slashing the playing budget, clearing the debt, building for a title push next season?… or is that just all clichéd tosh that everyone wants to hear because we all like to look at the clubs that are going bust, tut-tutting to ourselves that it is inconceivable that they could get themselves into such debt? When in reality, the steps towards becoming that next club are all too welcoming, and you never know who will be the next to tread that path. Continue reading “Week 1 (w/c 3rd December 2012)”