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... shall we call it a typical "end of season affair" ??? Why not ...
Poor turn-out on the trains today (although I do believe several others went up via different iron horses to me) - so "The Pub" was strangely empty of Lillywhite fans (i.e. just me !). Was also served a shocking pint of "Golden Pippin" in the John o'Gaunt (the word "flocculation" was mentioned - I'd settle for "someone clouted the barrel" !!) - was quickly changed however ...
The game - summed up at the top of the thread really - nowt much to play for for either side - a little experimentation on both sides (including Lancaster putting their 'keeper up front for the last ten minutes or so !!), and a couple of "clunky goals" (well I thought so) for the home side !!! Never mind - Mossley end the season with 3 wins 2 draws and 2 defeats under temp Manager Gareth McClelland - who on the face of that has been given the job for next season. He's obviously had a good look at what's there now - blooded a few of the youngsters into the first team as well (Fabio Abreu, Lee Constantine and Jordan Cuff for example) - and he now has a full close season to sort stuff out as he sees fit, so lets hope it goes well. Some pictures from today at
Lancaster City 2 Mossley 0
... starting to get a bit peed off with the camera - getting some serious inconsistencies at times with the pix - for example see this ...
... full pic (not cropped or anything) - set to "centre-point" focus and 1/3200 sec - yet the centre (Lee Constantine) is out of focus (and they weren't moving that fast !) while Connor Hampson (far right) is bang on - grrr .... seriously need to look at upgrading my body (camera that is !) and/or maybe giving the old bugger a bit of a service (if Canon still service aged EOS 20Ds that is !).
So that was Royal Wedding Friday - back into work tomorrow (working out of Ashton - no idea what I'm doing till I get there @ 0700hrs) - and Frith willing I'll be done in time to get up to Bower Fold to see whether the "Great Escape" is possible for Stafford Rangers - they HAVE to win against Stalybridge Celtic, and hope that Hyde get no more than a draw at Corby - pessimism is probably the order of the day - starting with "Will I finish work in time ??" - but who knows ? Looking at today's Evo-Stik results - Skelmersdale gave it their best shot, winning 7-2 against Ossett whilst Chester lost 2-1 at Garforth (in front of nearly 2,500 speccies) ... but Chester "nick" the automatic promotion place by two goals ... can't imagine me getting to the nearest play-off semi-final game on Monday (as in Chorley v Curzon), but the Friday night final ?
Now off to charge up some camera batteries for tomorrow - and hope for the best on many counts ...
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So when Will says "I will" ... I will be on the train to Lancaster ... Hope they have a spiffingly good time (and spend my taxes wisely - bet they don't have a honeymoon under canvas in Cornwall unlike Mrs Smiffy and myself 27 and a bit years ago !) - and ta muchly for the extra day's holiday ...(Hope it's not classed as a treasonable offence to "deface" a snap of the Royals - I await the knock on the door !)
EDIT @ 0850 - Just heard the following quote on Radio 4's "Wedding Special" ... "A cheer went up from the crowd as a fork-lift truck went past ..." - for those staying 'at home' today - expect more of this banality over the next 15 hours .... eek ... they're now talking about the dress - quote from Mrs Smiffy "screw the Middle East - it's all about the frock" - enough enough !!!
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A little something I knocked up tonight - well, the left-overs anyway !
... when does an omelette become a frittata ???
(and for those who want to know ... onion,garlic, sliced potato, mushroom, leek, tomato, red pepper and bacon with a mixture of eggs, cheese and thyme)
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... in slightly more detail !!
Saturday morning/afternoon work was a bit of a joke - I'd been working in Ashton on Thursday - then had a call on Thursday afternoon saying "Come in - to Oldham - early on Saturday and prep a walk". At about 0610 hrs on Saturday had a txt saying "Come in even earlier - and prep TWO walks". Went to Ashton first to drop off "stuff" from Thursday, thence to Oldham, prepped accordingly and was then told "Can you go to Ashton and do a walk there". Hmmm ... Did same - finished about 1430, straight home - bags already packed - and then off up the M60/M6 towards the Lakes. Stopped off just outside Lancaster (Lune Estuary) for late lunch/early tea picnic before reaching Ambleside. Dropped off stuff at B&B and then hit the pubs ! Sampled some Coniston "Bluebird Bitter", Cumbrian "Loweswater Gold" and some Hartleys "Cumbria Way" before collapsing in a heap - it had been a long Saturday !
Up for (Full English) brekkie at 0830 before walking straight out of the B&B on an 8 miler around Scandale reaching heights of 2,500 feet (Dove Crag). Blazing hot day as well with all the climbing done in the first half before a gentle descent through the dale. Excellent walk with excellent views. Dropped into the Co-op on return (forgot shaver !) and also grabbed a "Non League Paper" to check out Saturday's stuff - good to see Mossley beating high-flying AFC Fylde - even better to see Stafford Rangers keeping themselves in with a chance of avoiding relegation by winning at Corby. Back for shower and change before heading out for ... food ! An excellent nosh was had at Tarantella - I went for the ham, chicken and leek terrine for starters with the local lamb and veg in a red wine jus for main (must learn how to do a jus !), while Mrs Smiffy had stuffed (big) sardines and then the wild mushroom risotto - top food, nice relaxed restaurant - recommended ... then found another (Robbies) pub and continued the assault on "Cumbria Way" !!
Monday saw another full English before packing up the car and heading for Stickle Ghyll in the Langdales for a 6 miler around Pike o'Stickle. Incidentally on both days we bought our lunch - huge butties from Nick's Kitchen - surely the best buttie shop in Ambleside ! A little cooler - and a bit windier - but another stonking walk nevertheless ... piccies from both days at
Ambleside Weekend - 23-25Apr11
Finished around 1600 hrs and then it was back to Mossley for homemade spag bol and a bit of "R & R" - and a play with "PhotoMerge" (!!). Found out that Droylsden had NOT done Stafford a great favour by only drawing with (rather than thrashing !!) Hyde FC. However it leaves the Blue Square North relegation fight on until the last day of the season. Hyde go to Corby with a one point advantage over Stafford (and an 8 goal superior goal difference - eek !), while Stafford visit ... Stalybridge Celtic ! You can guess where I will be on Saturday afternoon - hope to God I finish work early enough ...
Back to work for me today - got a txt at about 0545 hrs (WTF !!) asking for me to come in early and prepare a walk - did so (via Ashton again to drop off the Saturday "stuff") before I went off to the wilds of Royton (wish I hadn't worn my shorts - 'twas a bit breezy !!) - I believe I'm on the same walk for the next couple of days as well - but you never know (sometimes "p*ss-ups and breweries" come to mind with the staffing methods !!) - and then we've got the "Stuff the Royal Wedding" trip to Lancaster City on Friday afternoon to see Mossley's season come to a close ...
That's all folks ...
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... well football and computers anyway (although I DID find a copy of the "Non League Paper" in Ambleside Co-op on Sunday afternoon !!) - yep, straight after work on Saturday me and Mrs Smiffy escaped to the Lake District for our "27th Anniversary Weekend", getting back not long ago. Will do more later but I've just had a bit of a "tweakette" with a few of the pictures - I had a bash at doing a "panorama view" from the top of Pike o'Stickle up in the Langdales (have tried this before ... but this time I remembered to meter first then set the camera on Manual setting for all the pix !!!) - and thanks to the joys of Photoshop Elements 6 "Photomerge" option, here's a low-res version of same (double-click etc)...
All this and no tripod - anyway tis time for tea ...
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... too hot for football - bring back the sub-zero days I say !! Reckon Clithoroe edged the first half but there was little between the two teams after the break. Some pictures at
Chorley 1 Clitheroe 1
Apologies for lack of captions - too much to do tonight (and no team sheet !) - believe or not I took the grand total of just 53 pictures throughout the entire match !
Managed a quick snifter in the Railway @ Chorley as well (Ringwood "Boondongler" !) - now off to cook some steaks !
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Pic I took with compact way back (Christmas 2006) - underpass @ Chorley Station
... so the search was ON for some football - only to find that 98% of this weekend's games are being played on Easter Saturday - which I can't do for various reasons (work being one of them !) ... HOWEVER ...
... Chorley are at home to Clitheroe tomorrow ...
That'll do !!
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"STS" extra pic - synchronised heading ...... so I didn't make the Leigh game (best move probably - they keep winning in my absence !!), but got up to Seel Park to watch the youngsters for the second time in three days. A very different side turned out last night though - arguably a "scratch" side with no recognised goalkeeper (defender Kyle McDonagh donned the gloves); no subs either; Jordan Cuff on first team duty; Fab Fabio Abreu on England duty I believe. Woodley got off to a flyer with an early goal and one thought the home side would struggle given all the above problems - not a bit of it !! Joe Heap levelled the scores soon after half-time, and the phrase "play for the FULL 90 minutes" bore fruit as Nat Martin grabbed a very very late winner. All this while the first team were beating Leigh Genesis 3-1 (that's 6 points and 8 goals in 2 games - a far cry from this time last month). Some pictures from last night at
Mossley Youth 2 Woodley Sports Youth 1
... not totally happy with the pix - seemed to be having a few focussing problems, especially in the first half - it does seem to "show its age" at times that EOS 20D ! However a new body is still a distant dream (although I did deliver 1,400 polling cards the other week - dunno how much cash we get for each one - will probably find out when the wage slip arrives tomorrow ... certainly won't be as much as the "by-election windfall" just after Christmas).
The kitchen was all but finished late this afternoon - although we need a sparkie to come and shift a socket so that the integrated freezer ... can integrate !! Now it's time to paint, tidy, tile etc etc ... I did have a day off today - which was spent in the garden pointing a patio what I laid during my "dole period" last May/June ... and building ANOTHER breeze block wall ! Nice day for it though ...
Enough for now ...
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Bonus "STS" pic from yesterday - Jordan Cuff 'contemplates' ...... a glorious Sunday afternoon - got there in good time, having done some shopping earlier in the day (might have been a Sunday but the inbuilt "postie body clock" still got me up early (damn !). Cock-a-Leekie soup suitably made (and left on the hob to cool) and up to Seel Park for the North West Youth Alliance Open Cup Semi-Final. Opponents Marine B are in the division below Mossley, but were top of their table having scored 60 goals and conceded only 9 in their 15 games, so a tight encounter was envisaged ...
... and so it proved, even taking into account the fact that the Mossley side have played something like 24 games in the last 72 hours (a possible exaggeration ... but you get the picture !). 0-0 was a fair reflection of the first half, but Mossley finally broke the deadlock with a belter from England Schools International Fabio Abreu unleashing an unstoppable shot from just outside the box. This was the turning point - and Mossley didn't look back. Two more goals gave the final scoreline a slightly flattering look, but the home side were well worth their win in the end. Some pictures at ...
Mossley Youth 3 Marine B Youth 0
... before returning home and doing a nice "lamb chop dinner" and nodding off in front of "Harry Potter 3" !!
Back in Oldham for work today - I now appear to be a "floater" (i.e. nothing regular) - first day at it today so the jury is still out - although it does go against my pre-conceptions/ethos of regular walk/knowing your walk/your customers/their foibles/the walk's foibles. We'll see how this "day to day" career pans out ...
... and the new kitchen has begun - apparently it didn't take too long to rip the old one out - and new cabinets/drawers have started to appear ... and don't worry - pictures of before/during/after etc etc are being taken for posterity !!!
Had thought about going over to Curzon Ashton tonight for their "one point to confirm a play-off place" game against Clitheroe - but what with sorting out yesterday's pix - and also running a damp rag around bits of the kitchen to "keep on top of it all" - it's now 1920 hrs - and Mrs Smiffy has just got back from "Zumba" ("traditional dance of Mossley" as it's known in the Smiffy household !!!), so the posh beef stew - created yesterday on return from football - is now going to be "re-heated and eated" - will keep an eye on the non-league vidiprinter for tonight's footy action (probably whilst nodding off in front of "Harry Potter 4" !!).
Will probably wander up to Seel Park tomorrow evening (1830 hrs kick-off) for another dose of Mossley Youth in their league game against Woodley Sports Youth - no way will I make it to Leigh Genesis v Mossley (don't think so anyway - we'll see !).
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Think I'll use the door though - our windows contain glass !... as Mrs Smiffy not back until late afternoon/early evening. The Mossley Youth team are at home to Marine B Youth this afternoon (KO 1430hrs) in the North West Youth Alliance Cup Semi-Final ... and I'll try to remember to "shoot" in Shutter Priority mode rather than Aperture Priority which I reckon must have contributed to yesterday's "slightly iffy" pictures - having thought about it ... lovely sunny day etc ... might (?) help the damn thing to focus better/quicker (I really should check this out with the proper experts - as in what does all/most of the work - the camera or the lens ?!?!).
I'll cook a nice tea tonight though ... promise ...
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Arrived just before 1500 to find Maxine (Curzon snapper) in crisis - she'd dropped her lens - and the camera end was a touch "dented" ! Fortunately she had a spare and coped admirably - see Maxine's pics .
4-1 sounds like a comfortable win for the home side - but it was anything but to be honest - especially after Curzon took the lead. It would be interesting to have counted the numerous chances that the visitors had in the first 45 minutes - but were unable to take.
Two goals in five minutes just after half-time (including a lovely effort from Crewe loanee Harry Davis) took the pressure off somewhat, although Durham never gave up and certainly played their part for the full 90 minutes - and it was good to see a few away fans had once again made the long trek down to Tameside (having been at Mossley only a few weeks ago). Some more pictures (still struggling with the sun at times - not used to it !) at
Curzon Ashton 4 Durham City 1
Plenty of other football as well today (excluding "that game at Wembley" !). Mossley decided to get back to winning ways in my absence (curse this Saturday working !) with a 5-1 demolition of Prescot Cables ... Stalybridge Celtic halted the Eastwood Town charge with a creditable 1-1 away draw ... Ashton United's seaside trip to Whitby ended with a 2-1 defeat (but I bet the fish and chips from the Magpie were excellent !) ... and Hyde FC did their relegation fight no harm at all with an excellent 2-2 draw at high-flying Boston United ... coupled with Droylsden's "narrow win" over Stafford Rangers (OK it was 5-1 - but I'm hardly likely to trumpet that one am I ??)
Next week's "kitchen" at Chez Smiffy ...Now to bed - we've got "Mr Kitchen Man" coming next week to take the last big chunk of my redundancy money off us - so as well as emptying the kitchen so they can wreck it before rebuilding it, I'll be cooking some stuff to put in the freezer - so it might be microwave meals for a few days - but at least it'll be "home cooked microwave meals" !!
Now ... what to cook ??.
a typical Spanish "gachas" !!
... comes to a close tomorrow. Work-wise, I've been "loaned out" from my normal place of work to a neighbouring office (which is actually closer to home). It had its "upsides" ... the first week I was finishing about 5 minutes walk from my front door; I kept "bumping into people"; I had a rough idea where I was going (!!). Second (this) week was similar ("bumping into Ashton United fans"; managed to organise a "sign for" for an empty house (due to the addressee's wife being a workmate of Mrs Smiffy !!) and similar 'local' stuff like that). "Downsides" however - said office doesn't seem as well "organised" as my usual abode (spoiled maybe ?); the walks are not as 'even' - in fact some of the walks are a helluva lot longer (I was told they're 'outside specification' - an interesting phrase if ever I've heard one !) so I've been 'going over' most days (and claiming the O/T !); certainly some work needs doing/sorting out here ... so when I got a letter telling me "same again next week", I jokingly texted my (official workplace) line manager asking what I'd done wrong and asking when I'd be considered for parole ... to be then told I'm back at my 'normal' place of work come Monday (although it appears NOT doing my 'normal' walk - QED). So - one more day to go (apparently) - and it'll be interesting to see what time I finish tomorrow vis-a-vis getting some football in (as in Curzon Ashton v Durham City).
Meanwhile ... Mrs Smiffy out - in the company of Rory Gallagher (in the MP3 sense), I've just rustled myself up some chicken and chorizo in a mushroom, tomato, garlic, onion and red wine "mush" (a good Spanish word here is "gachas" - gruel, slop !!!) - think I'll go and watch a DVD now (times like this when I whip out one from the 'football' shelf - maybe the Droylsden v Stafford Rangers Conference North Play-Off Final from May 2006 - topical insofar as Droylsden are visiting Stafford tomorrow - and guess who need the points most !) ...(Still umming and aaahing about work offer from "that place" - although with working 6 days a week at the moment - and next week having a Bank Holiday - when could I fit it in ??).... adiós ...
An excellent game indeed, with the Ashton defence managing to contain the Matlock danger man Ross Hannah - and the home side's Sam Madeley putting in a true "Man of the Match" performance culminating in a belting third goal "a la Rooney" to seal what was in the end an emphatic victory for the home side - all square at half-time but the Robins played really really well in the second 45 minutes and once they edged ahead, never looked in any danger. Pictures (I changed lenses at half-time, giving the 85mm a "second half run out") from last night at
Ashton United 3 Matlock Town 1
If you can bear with me, I hope to have pictures of all the goals from the Bamber Bridge v Mossley game on here quite soon - it finished up 2-2 after Mossley went in at half-time 2-0 up (!).
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... To put it bluntly, my previous employee "f*cked me off" with a paltry pittance at the end of 2009 ... come April 2010 I was asked if I would "sort out" their year-end financial package as they had not had 'upgraded'/changed their finance software to fit in with the evil barsteward owners in India (who were, in the main, responsible for the earlier "f*cking off"), and I was the only chappie who was still familar with the old software. I helped out (and got paid for the privilege) ... Twelve months on ... a similar request has been received (OK late last week) ... I've not yet replied ... What would YOU do ??
Off to Ashton United v Matlock Town very soon - I'm eschewing the glory night at Curzon Ashton (they're playing Chester and will get a handsome crowd no doubt - Maxine can do the business on behalf of Curzon - and Chester have their own snapper).
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... plenty of pre-match publicity/hype etc for this one ... what with ex-Woodley boss taking over at Mossley, ex-Mossley boss now managing Woodley, half the Woodley side being ex-Mossley players and Mossley featuring two ex-Woodley players ............... a lovely day and a local-ish derby ...
... yep it had a dull as dishwater 0-0 written all over it !!!
Still a point's a point for the home side (!) - now mathematically safe from relegation (coupled with Ossett's 3-3 draw with Radcliffe - ex-Lillywhite Dan Toronczak scoring two for Ossett and ex-Lillywhite Osebi Abadaki getting one for Radcliffe - the connections just keep coming ...) - and new Mossley boss Gareth McClelland starts his short-term lease on the "hot seat" with a point. Pictures at
Mossley 0 Woodley Sports 0
... and the crowd was up by 40-ish on the previous few home games (yes I'm excluding the 873 against Chester !). Enough football for now - I've got some trout to cook - and then another couple of sets of piccies to go through from Friday night (garden flowers) and today (a walk in the Piethorn Valley near Denshaw) - probably back later ... oh and well done to Mossley Youth who reached a second final today with a 3-1 win over Altrincham in the NWYA Premier Division Cup Semi-Final ...
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... from Twitter not so long ago ...
"Shaun Higgins has quit as Mossley manager. That's Hyde, Glossop and Mossley all changing boss in one week!"
Now in the old days, it was middle/end of October when Managers got the boot ... times have obviously changed ...
... more news as it arrives ...
(LATE EDIT - apparently all will be revealed on MossleyWeb tomorrow ...so all you office-bound buggers/unemployed/retired will know more than me ... !)
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... pix (without proper captions due to distinct lack of enthusiam) at
Mossley lose again
Vicious day at work ... and they say mail volumes are dropping ... total b*ll*x. Also suffered from jammed pouch box ... so managed to lever it open with house key ... which promptly snapped !
Roll on ... something else ...
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... since the "April 1st Incident", things have been somewhat 'terse' on this 'ere blog ! Time appears to be something in short supply at the moment (my excuse anyway). Went back to Oldham on Saturday for work - heard that Ashton were still "short of bodies" but remained where I was (Oldham were also "short" !). Got round as fast as poss before dashing home, grabbing a bite and heading straight for Belper, arriving 20 minutes into the first half (this is where the earlier terse thread kicks in - one interesting point - Belper's 5-1 win was their first home league win since mid-November !). Sunday saw us head over to Stafford to see the other half of the Mothers Day equation (plus a Birthday for my Dad) before getting back to Mossley, sorting out the Saturday pix and having the third half of the Mothers Day (Mrs Smiffy is a Mother too !!!) involving chocolates, wine (OK beer for me !) and a take-away.
Today saw the start of my week in Ashton - and I find myself delivering in Mossley all week (bit of a bugger - spent £19 on a weekly bus ticket, only to find I'm finishing literally minutes from my own front door ...). Tea cooked and then settled down to some virtual football. Stafford grabbed a vital point (for them anyway) at Worcester which now sees them two points clear of Hyde FC having now played the same number of games - meanwhile Hyde FC were busy "relieving" Manager Neil Tolson of his duties with immediate effect !!! A very strange move with five vital games to go in their season ... one thing I've never understood about the Hyde situation at the moment is why a "Record Seller from Melton Mowbray" has got involved with the club - it's been a season of turmoil for the Tigers with a number of the behind the scenes "old guard" calling it a day, further rumours about further debts, and the battle against relegation. Now players Scott McNiven and Steve Halford have been given the unenviable task of seeing out the remnants of what has been an awful season down at Ewen Fields.
Other stuff from tonight - and it's a big "Well Done" to Ashton United who beat Matlock Town 1-0 in the League Cup Semi-Final tonight. They'll be meeting the winners of the Northwich Vics v Bradford Park Avenue game which is being played this Thursday. Matlock Town's is another season that seems to be on the slide at the moment - as well as tonight's defeat, a play-off place which looked a certainty not that long ago is rapidly disappearing - can't be anything to do with the "Ross Hannah Saga" can it ? (will he leave, where will he go etc etc etc) - incidentally he did NOT feature in tonight's game at Ashton United. Curzon Ashton got a bit of a jolt tonight in their quest for a play-off place. 5th placed Curzon lost 2-0 at home to 6th placed Warrington Town - although the gap is still 9 points with only 7 games remaining and Warrington are the only team with a realistic chance of knocking them out of the top five.
Tomorrow - I was hoping to get over to Witton Albion to see the Presidents Cup Final betwixt Belper Town and Lancaster City ... however a "transport problem" has rather put the mockers on that option. So ... it's a five minute walk up the hill to see whether Mossley can do something about this awful run they're on at the moment (1 point out of the last 30 !). Have just checked the league table - and one point will make relegation a mathematical impossibility (Ossett need to win their remaining 6 games and turn a 55 goal deficit around ... but maths is maths !) - such talk would have been unthinkable a couple of months ago. The phrase "The Season can't end quick enough" applies to many at the moment ....
... in between cooking Herby Pork Chops with a Ratatouille Sauce ... I've got Worcester City v Stafford Rangers on coveritlive ... Stafford's "game in hand" over Hyde FC ... back later ...
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... just a quick one ref Saturday's football
Belper Town 5 Market Drayton Town 1
Got to game about 20 minutes late so missed the opening goal for MDT - the remainder of the first half was fairly "flat" - but Belper clicked into gear after the break ... and could have scored a lot more.
That's all folks - for now ...
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... unfortnately "Mr Anonymous" had it sussed as early as 0744 hrs this morning ... bugger !!!
There's been a few good 'uns today - this morning on Radio 4 we had the "3D Radio article" (featuring Robert Fripp in a vain attempt to give it added realism) - very good, but sorry - FAIL. I've also seen a "Pay what you Weigh" pricing idea for the Stalybridge/Workington game tomorrow; and also bookmakers making Mossley 1/10 favourites to beat Chester tomorrow (see here - you need to be registered tho' !); and Ashton United are getting all their fans to travel to the Hucknall game in Wellies ... No doubt there are many others out there in the ether ... (LATE EDIT - apparently Latvian student Lapri Olof has signed for Hyde FC !!!)
So - today in work @ Oldham to be told "Can you go down to Ashton for the day ?", closely followed by "Can you go down to Ashton all next week as well ??" ... hey ho, why not ... theory tomorrow is back in Oldham - get finished asap - and then head down to Belper (as noted in earlier thread, I'll be missing Mossley's biggie at home to Chester - such is life ...) - should get something on the Belper Town v Market Drayton Town game however.
Finishing this one with a rather "cute" (!!) scam e-mail received today (click on for big copy) ...
... suitably ignored by yours truly (no way am I clicking on those links !!) - but it might concern a few peeps though, seeing the "we will charge your card $847" statement) - s'pose the worrying thing is that it got through the 'AVG test' - so if any "anti-virus whizz kids" out there can hit the sender's e-mail address (Denial of Service etc) - GO FOR IT !!
Time for tea ... and a quiet night in ...
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