... well it's been all pics and no words ... but then again - "If a picture paints a thousand words ..." (courtesy David Gates/Bread !!).
So ... weather ... still bloody awful (in fact today was apparently the first day of spring - so yes more wind-chill more rainy/sleety stuff). Urgently need this weather to buck up - for the following reason ...
Not only the gloves falling apart - see state of top of right thumb !!!
Weather for next few days looking no better though - aargh !!
Anyway - stepping back a few days ... appointment @ Doctors last Thursday - follow-up was today (taking blood samples to check out "old man's stuff" - i.e. PSA levels - Google prostate - and be thankful that DRE was not invoked - I was !!!). Friday was ... Friday (as in Mrs Smiffy saying "huzzah - weekend !!" and me saying "not for another 24 hours !!!"). Saturday wasn't too bad work-wise - although weather was still "aargh !" - but I made it to Ashton United with minutes to spare (yep - not even time for a pre-match shandy). Home side started well and took an early lead when Aaron Burns' free-kick eluded everyone. However - Ashton caught extremely cold from the restart and Rushall duly equalised. All of a sudden it was 3-1 to the visitors when a combination of good luck and a little slack defending etc etc etc ... could have been 4-1 had it not been for Paul Phillips saving a penalty. Second half was an improvement mind - but it took a while for the Ashton second goal to arrive. There were chances at both ends but I have to say the better team got there in the end - pictures as in earlier thread.
Out of Hurst Cross - and straight off to Rochdale - a sort of celebration as one of our mates has finally decided to kick work into touch and become a "retiree" - much food (home-made mezes and kebabs) and drink - plus a silly game ("Cranium"). Following a good kip ... still crummy weather on Sunday morning, so we went for the "quirky museum" option ... the "Slipper/Shoe Museum" in Rawtenstall to be exact - OK, so it's probably a bit of an afterthought to the actual Mill Shop to be honest, but something different nevertheless. Tea (coq au vin), sleep, then back out into the cold for work - home to warm for a bit before heading down to "Ice Station Zebra" as the Tameside Stadium is known to some - well me anyway
- to watch Curzon Ashton continue their charge towards the play-off with a fairly comfortable (in the end anyway) 3-1 win over Salford City - again pics meantioned earlier. That was ONE cold night !
It was good to see Mossley continue their recent revival last night with a 4-0 win at Goole - I say say "good to see", but meaning "good to note" if you want to be pedantic - because I didn't go !! What with Ramsbottom only drawing we now see Mossley in 3rd place and Curzon Ashton 4th - now that would be some play-off semi final ! A bit too early to call yet though - 8 games left for each of them, and a few more for the teams around them (Rammy, New Mills, Trafford) - can't really look beyond Skelmersdale for the title though - 14 points ahead at the moment, it would take a slump of unbelievable proportions to see them blow it.
Nice also ... received a copy of last week's Solihull Moors v FC Halifax Town programme, featuring a few of my pics from Solihull's 3-0 vitory at Stalybridge Celtic a couple of weeks ago - one "slight" typo inside (calling me Mark Smith - oops !), but looked good anyway (also included was a copy of the local sports paper's back page with yet another "one of mine" !!). A little more for the old portfolio !!
This weekend - Mossley v Harrogate RA - followed by a trip down to the Royal Exchange Theatre Manchester to see "To Kill a Mockingbird" - now I've never been one much for fiction, but this was our set text for "O" Level English Literature back in the mists of time (1973 to be exact !), and as such it IS a book that I know back to front - it'll be interesting to see how it comes out on stage, especially as it is a "theatre in the round". But first ... a few more days out in the cold / may
be wet / maybe snow even (honest - I've looked at the weather !!) - and hopefully no problems with the weekend footy.
.