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#Post#: 109958--------------------------------------------------
Re: Pyramid Patrol 2026 - 27.
DIR By: Lanyardhater
Date: August 1, 2026, 6:14 pm
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Well, here we are again, folks - literally!
Same venue as last week, same competition, same buses (though
mercifully free of singing girls), same pungent footbridge, same
seat, same lunch, same problem disposing of remnants of said
lunch. Where’s an 11 year old boy when you need one? (Lest
that last sentence be horribly misconstrued, please see last
Saturday’s report for innocent explanation).
Two different teams, however, namely:
ATHLETIC NEWHAM v SOUTHEND MANOR, Eastern Counties League
Division One South. Referee: MARCO GOUMAL. AR1: SASHA
EMANUELS. AR2: ABU TAHER.
This game was chosen from my shortlist of 6 for giving me my
first opportunity to watch Marco Goumal, a young man going
places apparently. He was London FA’s Grassroots Referee of the
Year in 2024 and has rapidly made the leap into senior football.
I was a bit nonplussed to see how much he reminded me of a
certain Andy D’Urso, of whom I’m afraid I was never a fan. Same
build, complexion, haircut and running style. When he came
closer, however, his facial features were less D’Urso, more
Bune.
As for the teams, Athletic Newham have only been around under
that name since 2015, and the boy’s club they started as, only
for 6 years before that. They dropped a step this summer after
propping up the Essex Senior League. Southend Manor were
founded in 1955, have been a senior club since 1985 but were
very close to relegation last season.
The match kicked off at 3.01 - which again is good compared to
previous norms, where I have seen kick-offs anything up to 8
minutes late at this level. Perhaps the authorities are finally
getting to grips with this.
bmb, I know you enjoyed last week’s “only-in-non-league”
stoppage and this week’s one was not long in coming, occasioned
by a player’s piercing cry of “There’s dog sh*t on the pitch!”.
A lady right in front of me exclaimed “That won’t be dog sh*t,
that’ll be fox sh*t”, whereupon a gentleman a little further
away retorted with “You know your sh*t!”. Much laughter in the
little stand - though not from Mr. Very Serious Observer.
The lady produced a doggy-poo bag, being a dog owner (though it
was not on the premises) and the gentleman took it to the fence
and handed it to a player with the words “She says she’d like it
back when you’re finished”. Cue more laughter - but not from
Mr. V.S.O., who was probably more concerned with criticising the
officials’ pre-match pitch inspection.
Football-wise, SM should most certainly have had a penalty when
a player was tripped 3 yards inside the box, Mr.Goumal putting
the whistle to his lips then most unwisely signalling advantage
as the ball trickled sideways to a colleague, but the move
quickly petered out and I was not alone in expecting the penalty
to be then awarded, but it was not, to the justified fury of SM,
whose mood only improved a few minutes later when AN#6, previous
booked for kba, conceded an own goal that was to be the game’s
only scoring.
I looked at my watch showing 30 minutes, and wondered why we
hadn’t had a drinks break like last week in similar heat. Just
as I thought it, the SM keeper was seen sitting on the ground
and so everyone got their break anyway!
My halftime cuppa had gone up by 10p since last week, being now
a much more sensible £2. And here is your half-time poser:
Which town in England produces the most food waste? (Answer at
the end).
The first incident of the second half was a very loud appeal by
SM#9 that an elbow had been used on a team-mate who lost out in
what looked to me a genuine tussle for possession. Indeed
nobody else seemed to share #9’s view, including the colleague
supposedly elbowed, who made nothing of it, but #9 was still
chuntering at the referee 5 minutes later, occasioning a lengthy
talking-to. This ended with the player saying “Ok, we’re good”
and smiles all round (Mr.Goumal has a nice smile, not
over-used).
Yet within half a minute he’s found something else to moan
about. For the rest of the game he was permanently in the
referee’s ear about this, that or the other, but somehow escaped
a yellow. He was by far the biggest player on the field, a
giant Jamie Vardy lookalike - and would have been taller still
had he not had a sort of stoop, probably brought on by years of
complaining to referees a foot or two below him!
There WAS a yellow for dissent, but, like all four in the game,
it went to a home player. All four were done the slowcoach way,
player summoned to referee, writing first then the card. I hate
this so much. And for the dissent one, I could hear “Go away,
go away, go away, come back here” which is a bit farcical, isn’t
it. Just flash the card, sir, at the moment the player backing
away oversteps the mark.
More fun and games. AR1 signalled a substitution at one point,
but was met with a bare torso, the SM player’s shirt being
hunted for by coaches/backroom staff. Mr. Goumal commendably
said “No, he’s not ready” and got play re-started. At the next
stoppage two minutes later, there he was again, shirted this
time, until it was found he had the wrong number on, and the
bare torso put in a second appearance while the
correctly-numbered shirt was located. This time, Mr. Goumal was
more patient and waited. I would not have done. And the losing
AN team were far from happy.
AR2 is a strange one. I’ve seen him a few times before, and he
has a liking for turning round and chatting or even just smiling
to spectators - even when play is in motion. Today, there
wasn’t anybody behind him, but he still looked round ruefully
from time to time, hoping someone would turn up I guess.
Mr.Goumal was commendably quick to stop play instantly for head
injuries, but late on did so twice for players going down with
what were clearly not head injuries. Use of advantage was not
very good. As well as the non-penalty, there were other times
when ‘advantage’ was signalled for mere ‘possession’ and was
never brought back when it didn’t accrue. In the last quarter
especially, players were becoming fractious and there was too
much unpunished backchat.
Stoppage time was insufficient in both halves. Only 1 minute in
the first half. The ‘impromptu drinks break’ took that, so
nothing at all for the fox sh*t which had taken two. Second
half was just under 4 minutes, despite lots of injuries,
substitutions including the shirt delay, lectures and 3
cautions. All in all, I was as unimpressed by Mr. Goumal as I
so often was with his almost lookalike Mr. D’Urso, but I must
acknowledge the former’s youth and respect the latter’s
longevity.
Unlike last week, no bus was approaching as I left the ground,
and I had to wait a whole 90 seconds for one to hove into view.
A good job there was a seat at the stop!
Answer to the half-time poser: Nuneaton of course!
#Post#: 109967--------------------------------------------------
Re: Pyramid Patrol 2026 - 27.
DIR By: gooner
Date: August 2, 2026, 5:19 am
---------------------------------------------------------
hi,
bravo [emoji122] a thoroughly engrossing recitation of what
appears to have been an enjoyable summer's afternoon [emoji4]
regards,
gnr
#Post#: 109970--------------------------------------------------
Re: Pyramid Patrol 2026 - 27.
DIR By: JCFC
Date: August 2, 2026, 7:23 am
---------------------------------------------------------
It is a truth universally acknowledged, as Jane Austen failed to
write, that August 1st is Yorkshire Day. Well, universally
acknowledged in Yorkshire, at any rate. Despite this, my choice
of match took me to Lancashire, in the form of
NWCFL Division 1 North
Bacup Borough 3 v 0 Ashton Town
Admission (OC) £3, Programme £2
Pie, chips and gravy + coffee £6.50
Lewis Mason; David Cryer, Nathan Perks.
So why this choice? My first visit to Baup was 15 seasons ago,
when the strongest Step 5 leagues were still allocated Level 3
referees. On that occasion it turned out to be a 20 year old
whose work was highly impressive and from that point Tom Nield
occupied top spot in my hierarchy of officials, until being
promoted beyond my pay grade. Coincidentally, the visitors on
that occasion were the other Ashton team, Ashton Athletic.Two
subsequent visits had seen referees towards the end of their
careers, in Mark Astley and Alan Clayton. This was to be the
fourth visit, a decade or so later.
Leaving home at 10.45, I was fortunate with buses 548, 590 and
7, if arriving in Bacup 140 minutes before kickoff can be called
fortunate. The climb up from the centre was shorter and not
quite as steep as I recalled, but carrying the burden of the
extra decade, it was good to find a bench outside the cricket
ground on which to enjoy the sunshine for a quarter of an hour,
before making my way to Cowtoot Lane.
In Pennine areas, it is hard to find level ground, and Bacup had
not done so. There is a slope from end to end and side to side,
with sundry lesser undulations. The bar and refreshment area has
been completely rebuilt and was very swish. Sadly, the
outstanding pie previously enjoyed there had given way to a meat
and potato offering (carrots must count as meat in Bacup!) with
soggy chips. The gravy was good and the coffee fine. On previous
visits the seating had proved both impossibly uncomfortable and
with restricted views. This time there was now a much more
comfortable set of seats on the top side, which offered better
views, not only of the pitch, but of the hillside beyond, the
only drawback being the solid slabs that formed the perimeter
fence, which obscured the first couple of yards from the
touchline.
Eventually it was time for the warm-ups, Bacup in black tops
with a large and colourful club crest, Ashton in a more
impressionistic grey and red number. They were later joined by
the officials. I recall seeing a Dave Cryer many years ago at
Chadderton, a rotund gentleman, who had emerged too late to take
part in the warm-up. His namesake here was slightly thinner,
though still far from sylphlike. Pink in countenance before the
exertions began, he nevertheless went gamely through the
routine. Mr Perks was young, small and slight, with a tuft of
hair on his chin. Mr Mason was slightly taller and slightly
older, but with no particular features that made his age
guessable.
Playing up the slope, Ashton started brightly, the home keeper
twice having to dive to stop goal bound efforts in the first ten
minutes. Bacup responded immediately with a shot that flew just
clear of the goal. A reckless challenge on 13 minutes was
flagged by Mr Perks brought a yellow card for the Ashton number
3, before a Boro shot with the keeper stranded passed wide of
the goal. There was another save by the home keeper, but midway
through the half, a fine Bacup shot hid the bar and bounced down
to be cleared, but the danger was not past and seconds later the
ball was in the back of the net. A corner two minutes later gave
Bacup their second, the suspicion being that it was an own-goal.
There was almost a third immediately afterwards, a curling shot
skimming the woodwork on the way out for a goal-kick. Just after
the half hour, the Ashton captain went berserk in the referee's
face, protesting that his colleague had been caught by an elbow.
Mr Mason eventually took him to one side to be warned - but not
cautioned - and play restarted with the ball dropped for Bacup.
They took legitimate advantage, going onto the attack and adding
their third. An Ashton shot was deflected for a corner with the
keeper down.As Bacup broke clear from the corner, their an was
hacked down with no attempt to play the ball and after a
momentary confrontation, the Ashton player received a deserved
yellow card.p within a minute this was followed by a yellow for
the Bacup number 5. Ashton had the ball in the net, but there
had been a whistle for a foul before keeper and defender had
collided. A yellow for the Bacup number 3 was the final act of a
breathless and exciting first half.
The second period could not maintain the same level of incident,
though Bacup cleared a shot off their line. In the time it took
to note that, Ashton won a free-kick on the touchline and when I
looked up, Mr Mason was busy writing. Another card for Bacup?
There was certainly one on 64 minutes, their number 15 being
very late. The home side were by now happy with what they had.
The bag of replacement balls, which had been conveniently ready
in front of the home bench in the first half, had been
miraculously transferred to behind the seats, with consequential
delays in fishing out a replacement when the ball was hoofed out
of the ground, which happened with increasing regularity. On 75
minutes, the home number 10 did so to delay a free-kick and
rightly saw yellow. As the game flagged, Ashton kept trying, but
the biggest cheer of the afternoon came on 88 minutes when an
Ashton shot went out for a throw in. In the six added minutes, a
bout of silliness brought yellows for the two number 12s.
It was at times a rather untidy match, but the total of 8/9?
yellows was higher than one would expect, though each one in
isolation was merited. The problem possibly stemmed from a
failure to deal with dissent at an early stage, thereby
establishing his authority. He did have an unfortunate (to me)
tendency to stand rather too close to players when ticking them
off. With play moving rapidly from end to end, it would perhaps
have been unwise to commit to out and out sprints, but his
normal running pace was effective enough. In the closing
minutes, the home number 11 was some ten yards from the top
touchline when he was subbed and set off across the field. Mr
Mason was slow to cotton on to this (about the time it took for
Ashton players to complain) but chased after him and sent him
the now thirty yards back, timing his countdown so that there
was just time for the player to make it. Overall, not a bad
afternoon's work, but he is no Tom Nield. He did, though, gain
Brownie points for his long sleeves. Mr Cryer had a wrestle with
the corner flag in the second half, but lost to two falls and a
submission, much of the second half being played with it flat on
the turf. I do not believe there was an observer in the "posh"
stand, but doubt that he would have been able to see that
corner.
Back down in Bacup, the number 7 bus was caught with what the
driver said was twenty seconds to spare. At Todmorden, though,
there was a wait of 27 minutes for the 590. When this reached
Mytholmroyd, however, we were held for a minute or two before
setting off on a diversion. This would normally be unwelcome,
but on a sunny evening, the long relentless climb past Cragg
Vale to the open moorland by the depleted Blackstone Reservoir
was attractive, followed by an equally pleasant run back down
past the similarly low Baitings Reservoir, through Ripponden and
the Ryburn Valley to Sowerby Bridge, only joining the official
route at King Cross. A further wait at Halifax saw the 549 get
me home by 1951, later than expected, but it had been a Grand
Day Out.
#Post#: 109974--------------------------------------------------
Re: Pyramid Patrol 2026 - 27.
DIR By: mac
Date: August 2, 2026, 8:39 am
---------------------------------------------------------
Hang on….coffee?! I had you down as a northerner!
#Post#: 109976--------------------------------------------------
Re: Pyramid Patrol 2026 - 27.
DIR By: gooner
Date: August 2, 2026, 9:02 am
---------------------------------------------------------
hi,
--- Quote from: JCFC link ---
>
> The home side were by now happy with what they had. The bag of
replacement balls, which had been conveniently ready in front of
the home bench in the first half, had been miraculously
transferred to behind the seats, with consequential delays in
fishing out a replacement when the ball was hoofed out of the
ground, which happened with increasing regularity.
>
--- End Quote ---
how disappointing to hear that the 'dark arts' have reached
right down to this pyramid step [emoji53] unless of course, this
is where the professional clubs learnt it from in the first
place [emoji50]
--- Quote from: JCFC link ---
>
> Sadly, the outstanding pie previously enjoyed there had given
way to a meat and potato offering (carrots must count as meat in
Bacup!) with soggy chips.
>
--- End Quote ---
oh no - sounds more like a pasty [emoji34]
--- Quote from: JCFC link ---
>
> get me home by 1951, later than expected, but it had been a
Grand Day Out.
>
--- End Quote ---
assuming the bus travel is free with a pass, a total of £11.50
for a match, a programme, refreshments and a scenic detour
certainly does qualify as 'a grand day out' - wallace (and also
gromit) would be suitably impressed [emoji106]
regards,
gnr
#Post#: 110123--------------------------------------------------
Re: Pyramid Patrol 2026 - 27.
DIR By: Lanyardhater
Date: August 7, 2026, 2:39 pm
---------------------------------------------------------
Browsing today, as I often do, in the local cex shop for
interesting dvds (and that was cex shop, in case anyone misread
it) my eyes alighted on Series 2 (or I suppose I should use the
American term and say Season 2) of The Simpsons, something
recently recommended to me on this very thread by a certain
Arsenal-supporting Senior Member. It cost me the princely sum
of £5 for its 22 episodes (or whatever the American term might
be for ‘episode’).
As competitive women’s matches do not start until 16th, I had
been wondering what new excuse I could conjure up this Sunday to
avoid the gardening yet again. And now I have one!
I trust copious amounts of mirth will be forthcoming for my
considerable outlay, or I might have to take said member to a
small claims court to get my fiver back. Is Judge Rinder still
in business? If not, we might have to cross the Atlantic to
appear before the utterly wonderful Judge Judy. If she’s still
in business, that is.
#Post#: 110151--------------------------------------------------
Re: Pyramid Patrol 2026 - 27.
DIR By: gooner
Date: August 8, 2026, 3:40 pm
---------------------------------------------------------
hi,
i think you spent wisely, LH [emoji106] there are some excellent
episodes as part of this season (sorry, i meant series)
regards,
gnr
#Post#: 110156--------------------------------------------------
Re: Pyramid Patrol 2026 - 27.
DIR By: JCFC
Date: August 8, 2026, 4:30 pm
---------------------------------------------------------
Unfortunately, there was no convenient cup tie on Friday, so
saving my pennies for the real stuff next week, (though I have
squandered over 3000 pennies on Sunday's rail ticket) I caught
the bus to Cleckheaton, where Obediah Brooke regaled me with
pasta Alfredo and Barnsley Gold. For what was to be my 38th
visit, I decided to break new ground. I avoided my usual route
via the Royd Wood estate with its steep drag. Instead I joined
the Greenway from Tesco car park, giving a pleasant level stroll
along the old railway line. There is still height to be gained
to attack the ground from the rear, but it is much gentler. And
so I arrived at
Saturday 8th August 2026
FA Cup Extra Preliminary Round
Liversedge 4 v 1 Penistone Church
Admission (OC) £5.
Oliver Brackenbury; Scott Mantovani, Alex Deakin.
Arriving early, I settled down for the usual case of "glutalgia"
as the Clayborn seats have long been judged a posteriori to be
the most unforgiving in the game. The game was graced by the
presence of President Hackett, who was similarly unimpressed
with the seats, in his case because they were too low.
Sedge had not yet had a competitive game, Penistone, from Step
5, had had three, winning just the once. They did, however,
launch a first minute attack, ending with a shot over the bar.
Thereafter Sedge took control and play was largely in the
Penistone half, but with no end product. They looked at their
most dangerous when Church did mount an attack or two, with
rapid Sedge counter breaks, but the visiting defence was not
breached. In the final moments of the half, the Penistone keeper
parried (this seemed to be his default action) onto the head of
an attacker, who was fortunately offside.
Three minutes into the second half Penistone surprisingly took
the lead through substitute Lennon O'Grady, holding their lead
until the hour mark, when a long cross from the right by Kelan
Swales (one of many he put in) was played back from beyond the
far post to allow Ant Brown to equalise. From that point it was
one way traffic. When the home number 8 went down with cramp, Mr
Brackenbury rightly ignored shouts to stop play. When the ball
went out, there was a delay while he was treated by a colleague,
to avoid bringing on the physio and thus meaning the player
leaving the field. It doesn't take long for players to ind ways
around law changes. Handball on 70 minutes in the visitors'
area, brought a penalty for Sedge, a yellow card for the Church
number 16 and the lead for Sedge, courtesy of Ben Atkinson's
powerful spot-kick. There was some minor chuntering from a
couple of visiting players, but nothing excessive. Sedge
immediately introduced two more substitutes and Mr Mantovani
made his way back into position, only to be pointed back by Mr
Brackenbury, as Penistone also had a man waiting to come on.
When Brown made a long run and rounded the keeper, only to shoot
over an empty goal, the familiar very loud home supporter was
not impressed. One of the Sedge substitutes, Lewis Barlow, made
his presence felt with two goals in the final seven minutes, to
complete a deserved Sedge win.
Mr Brackenbury is still on the upward slope of his twenties.
Having reached Level 4 in mid-season while studying in
Birmingham, he has returned to home territory to work in Leeds.
If he possibly awarded a few free-kicks that were not merited,
that is understandable in his first FA Cup middle, and
definitely the right side on which to err. Generally he handled
a trouble-free game effectively. Even the Sedge keeper, the
Odious Porter, could find nothing to be odious about. Being
unqualified to assess technical merit, I offer one point under
artistic impression: he has a good voice and springy movement,
but I hope that in time he will develop a more authoritative
bearing. At the moment, something about his posture looks rather
diffident, starting with the way he carried the ball to the
middle. As one who started out as a goalkeeper before taking up
refereeing, he must have a masochistic streak, but can be happy
with the way things went.
As can I, with the usual downhill saunter to the bus station, a
quarter of an hour on a seat there, before the short bus journey
saw me home by 17.50.
#Post#: 110161--------------------------------------------------
Re: Pyramid Patrol 2026 - 27.
DIR By: Lanyardhater
Date: August 8, 2026, 6:42 pm
---------------------------------------------------------
Of the 12 matches reachable today, 5 could be instantly rejected
due to a serious fault: they were not in the FA Cup, this being
the start of the Road to Wembley. I love the FA Cup to bits,
always have, and would love to have refereed even just one game
in it. I would even have worn a lanyard if they’d wanted me to!
But it was not to be, and in partial compensation I wouldn’t
think of being anywhere else than at an FA Cup game in each of
these early rounds.
None of the 7 FA Cup matches had referees I’d seen before. The
choice was made not on footballing considerations but on
culinary ones. I chose the one where I would be changing buses
right opposite one of the very best fish shops in the London
area, and I am pleased to give them a shout-out here: Fresh Fry
in Barnet, right next to what everyone used to know as the
Barnet Odeon but which, for reasons best known to itself,
prefers to be called the Barnet Everyman Cinema these days.
So, satisfyingly fished and chipped, and after an 8 minute walk
from the bus stop in a Borehamwood estate, I arrived at the
Rowley Lane ground, a place I had only been to once before.
LONDON LIONS v RAYNERS LANE. FA Cup Extra Preliminary Round.
Referee: LUKE THOMAS. AR1: MARVIN EDWARDS. AR2: MOURAD
BOUGOUIZI.
These two clubs moved in opposite directions in the summer.
Maccabi London Lions, to give them their full title, reaching
Step 4 (Southern League Division 1 Central) whilst Rayners Lane
dropped down from that same division into the Combined Counties
Premier North at Step 5. The home club were founded in 1995,
though the ‘Maccabi’ bit (a Jewish sports organisation) has been
around since the 19th century. Rayners Lane date from 1933,
long before the huge gyratory on the North Circular that many
people associate with the name, was even thought of.
Old fogey admission was £5, kick-off was at 3.02 (again, not bad
by normal standards), the stand was impressive and comfortable
(I counted nearly 200 seats, though I might have counted those
seats containing the many pretty young ladies more than once -
if I’m allowed to say that, bmb! There was a great deal of
hugging, before, during and after the game, mostly involving
these same young ladies, and a lot of movement to and from seats
when new arrivals to hug were spotted. Sadly I was never
invited to participate! People were coming in right up till
half-time, a practice I can never, ever, comprehend. The
official attendance figure was 120, which I was told is above
average.
Slightly cooler than it has been, apparently cool enough for one
seasonally-challenged child to sing Jingle Bells on the bus
earlier! I could actually have done with gloves - but only
because the tea at half-time was almost volcanic in temperature
and the cup not particularly insulated.
Mr. Thomas was grey of beard, lithe of body, economical of
words, rainbow of laces and weak of whistle. Everything was the
same short peep, even for the summoning of the captains for the
coin-toss, and the signal for the drinks break, where it took a
few moments for the players to realise what was going on. He
was not a youngster, and it seemed odd that he had not yet
learned to talk with the whistle. In looks, he put me in mind
of a scaled-down Sir Lenny Henry - especially now the latter has
a grey beard.
The home side went ahead after just 8 minutes from a nice
flowing move. There were a lot of those in an entertaining
game, and plenty of goalmouth action, fine saves, ball hitting
the woodwork, narrowly missing the posts, etc. it was also a
pretty clean and sporting game, sensibly refereed with a fairly
high bar for fouls. The way the game turned out probably
justified in retrospect Mr. Thomas’s decision not to book for an
early SPA, when I was reaching for my imaginary card (but then I
was a bit of a card-happy b*****d at times!).
The first half drinks break took 3 minutes, which is unusually
long - at least outside the USA! And in a rare lapse, Mr.
Thomas restarted play with AR2 still walking back across the
pitch. The latter looked a bit miffed and probably raised the
matter at half-time! There was an equaliser on 27 minutes, and a
2-minute stoppage for an accidental collision. Pleasingly, the
correct 5 minutes was added.
Just £1-80 for my steaming cup of half-time tea, and so to this
week’s poser. Which is the most politically correct town in
England?
The agreeable nature of the game continued in the second half,
LL taking the lead again on 66, and making sure of the victory
on 90+5. Just prior to that was the game’s only yellow card, a
rather surprising one (to me) for a supposed dive in the area by
RL#2. I didn’t think it was a penalty, but not a dive either,
just “nothing, play on”. Given his fairly lenient approach, and
the good behaviour of the players, I thought it was rather
unnecessary. But it least I could now record Mr. Thomas as a
“card first, writing afterwards” man, always pleasing to me if
not to everybody.
The game’s one and only offside came right at the end, on 90+10,
correctly given by AR1, a very athletic-looking specimen with a
fine turn of speed. Those words could not be applied to the
older AR2, as I’m sure he would be the first to admit - but in
fairness he always seemed to be in the right place at the right
time.
The warm handshakes from just about everyone at the end showed
that the officials had done a good job. I liked his manner (if
not his whistling!) and though he didn’t seem to say a lot, what
he did briefly say when a player queried a decision obviously
worked, as it usually got a nod, a thumbs-up or a pat on the
back from the player, and quickly on with the game. No long
discussions.
Especially impressive was his reaction to what looked like it
could have been the game’s only flare-up. In an untidy
coming-together, each player thought they had been fouled by the
other, and started to square up, but it very quickly became a
friendly hug (there was a lot of that about!) and where many
referees might have whistled and given a talking-to, he kept
play moving and (I think) thanked the players for sorting it
themselves.
All in all, a most enjoyable fiver’s worth, and I shall discover
later whether the same can be said for The Simpsons #2 at the
same price! I’ll let you know, gooner. . .
And the answer to my poser, which is the most politically
correct town in England?
Woking of course!
#Post#: 110163--------------------------------------------------
Re: Pyramid Patrol 2026 - 27.
DIR By: JCFC
Date: August 8, 2026, 11:31 pm
---------------------------------------------------------
A superb read. Thank you, sir.
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