Tomorrow night sees two of football’s biggest rivals come head to head in a massive derby. I am not talking about the battle of Merseyside; nor am I referring to the Manchester Derby. Arsenal and Spurs have played each other about 100 times already this season, so it’s not them either. No, the match I speak of is the battle of the West Country – Yeovil Town v Bath City.
For many years, City and Yeovil would fight it in the football conference, with the chant “Going down to Yeovil to do the bastards over” an all too familiar chant on the Twerton Park terraces.
Things have changed a little since those days, however, Yeovil now find themselves in the football league, playing the likes of Leeds United and Nottingham Forest, while City are still in non-league. The sides will meet tomorrow in the Somerset Cup at Yeovil’s ground, Huish Park.
Many don’t rate the Somerset Cup and see it as an annoyance, getting in the way of league fixtures. Tomorrow night’s game, however, is a matter of pride (even if it is against Yeovil reserves!). More importantly, there is a huge reward for the winners – a place in the final against either Taunton Town or Paulton Rovers. The prize for winning the final – a gold plated pitchfork, 76 pence, and a bottle of scrumpy.
With all this in mind, it is no wonder UEFA have decided to allow Arsenal, Liverpool, Manchester United and Roma to play their Champions League games the following night. Had their games clashed with the City/Yeovil game, the European grounds would be deserted due to all the football fans travelling to Somerset.
An 8-hour round trip to Essex, getting soaked in a monsoon, watching Bath City lose 2-0 and realising that the play offs may not be happening this season. Not a great day out to Braintree.
Oh well – at least I didn’t get shot with a crossbow.
I’ve been off work on annual leave all week, so decided to go to town on Thursday night – a rarity for me, as my watering holes normally consist of the local down the road, football clubhouses and countryside pubs.
It was a case of visiting some places old and some new. I met Jon who I hadn’t seen in ages and went to an old favourite of mine, The Bell. It was a nice spring day and not too cold so we were able to enjoy a pint outside.
We then went to one of the best curry houses in Bath – Jaflong. It’s been a long time since I have been to this restaurant (too long), and I had forgotten how good it was. While they do offer take away meals, they don’t deliver – a pity; as if they did offer such as service, it would probably be my primary diet (until I died of a curry induced heart attack)
After curry, we made our way back to my flat, stopping at a new pub for me – The Royal Oak on the Lower Bristol Road. The Royal Oak is a real ales pub. The only ale I have really tried is Courage Best and Gem, as they sell it in the Bath City club house (locally branded as “The City Ale”). This pub was so non-commercial that they didn’t even stock Gem! I was given something very similar (which I can’t remember the name of), but did enjoy.
It was then time to go home. At the time of leaving my flat, it was a warm evening, so I only wore my light denim jacket. When I left the pub, it was a freezing cold night, so I ended up walking home very slowly, shivering all the way back.
This evening has been a quite night in. I’m off to Essex tomorrow to watch Bath City play Braintree. This is one of the longest trips of the season, and involves me leaving my flat shortly after 9am – I don’t expect to be home much before 10pm that night. Time for bed…
Getting very excited now!
Some rather worrying news ahead of my trip with Bath City to Braintree tomorrow…
I think it would be wise to wear body armour instead of football shirts and take an axe instead of a scarf.
At least if City play badly, we can put the players in the stocks and throw rotten food at them.
AN Essex football club is helping police investigate an incident in its stadium car park which saw a man shot with a crossbow.
Braintree Town Football Club has been co-operating with detectives who are looking into the circumstances surrounding an assault in the town in which a man was hit with a bolt.
Police were contacted shortly before 10pm on Tuesday night by a member of the public who said a man had been shot in the club’s car park.
Officers arrived to find the injured man with a bolt in the side of his torso.
The 25-year-old man from Ware, in Hertfordshire, was conveyed to Chelmsford’s Broomfield Hospital where he underwent surgery to remove the bolt.
He is currently in a stable condition.
An Essex Police spokesman said: “We’re keen to speak with anyone who saw any suspicious activity in the football club’s car park between 7pm and 10pm on Tuesday night.”
Investigating officers believe the assailant drove off in a dark-coloured Audi. At this stage, there are no further details about those in the car.
Anyone with information in connection with this attack is urged to contact detectives at Braintree police station on 0300 333 4444 or Crimestoppers on 0800 555111.
Source [http://www.eadt.co.uk/content/eadt/news/…]
About Me
So you stumbled across my blog. No doubt after searching for something bizarre on Google. Before you hit that 'Back Button', why not stay and have a read for a few minutes?
If you are after a website which gives advice on how to hack an iPhone X, download the latest Steven Seagal movie, or view nudy ladies, you've come to the wrong place and may now press 'Back'.
However, if you would like a lifestyle blog, written by a 30-something chap, living in Bath (England), feast your eyes on this.
You won't discover how to copy PlayStation 4 games. What you will find is a blog, covering life in the West Country, the highs and lows of supporting two unsuccessful football teams, while sharing a house with a wife and rabbit.
All written by a man, somewhere on the sanity-scale between normal and eccentric.
