Didn't I Tell You ?

Well I said I had a feeling that the Nailers would beat Ilkeston and thats exactly what happened Having said that we could have been 4-2 down at half-time so a 3-1 win didn't tell the full story but as they say the record books will show that we won 3-1 and we also got the three points to prove it.

To add to that I won £25 on the Goalden Goal, ironically for the Ilkeston goal that was scored by Gary Ricketts in the 21st minute - all in all quite a good afternoon - well if you ignore the Autumnal weather in August that is.

Favourite photo from the day - Lee Morris celebrates his second goal of the day. The despair of the Ilson defenders combined with the joy of Lee & the Belper Town fan makes for  a good composition. Other photos from the game are here: Belper 3 Ilkeston FC 1

Back on the bike today - just a quick 4.5 mile whizz round after tea. Got my eye on a Carrera Winter jacket on EBay - might treat myself for my birthday tomorrow - assuming I can win the auction of course as there is no buy it now price. Also I need to start thinking about getting some lights for the bike as the nights are already drawing in. 

I'm looking at buying a new bike next Spring - got my eye on a bike from Decathlon - a Triban 3 currently £299. Have a look here Triban 3 shame it only comes in red, of course I would have preferred a yellow and black one - up the Nailers !

Windy Whitby

We woke to a blue sky an so it was off to Whitby as planned. The rain was replaced with a strong wind but that was a happy trade off after the past two days of downpours.

Arrived at the car park near the Marina at about 10:30 and there was already only a few parking spaces – and the longest queue you’ve ever seen for the two pay machines. If we had left it another 15 minutes or so before we left Marton we’d have been driving round looking for a parking space.

Whitby Abbey with circling birds

First stop was Marie Antoinettes for a latte and a piece of lemon cake to set us up for the bracing walk onto the pier and then up to the Abbey. This is by far the busiest we have ever seen Whitby. In all of our previous visits it’s never been a weekend and definitely never a Bank Holiday weekend. By the afternoon the narrow streets were so crowded that you were queuing to walk down the road – that was something new to experience.

After a good walk around the shops, up to the Whale bones and halfway along the 2^nd pier – it was almost too windy to stand up the further you got out – we headed for Hadleys Fish restaurant for a bite to eat before heading back to the cottage.

After watching the highlights of one of the better Grand Prix races (The Belgium) we watched the Cycling and then headed off home to beat the Bank Holiday Monday chaos that I am sue will ensue on the roads. A home game with Ilkeston tomorrow should finish the bank Holiday off nicely although I doubt the ‘on field action’ will be nice as it's a local derby with pride as well as points at stake. I fancy Belper to turn it on today - time will tell. 


Other snaps from the weekend can be seen here: Yorkshire Weekend

A Day of Two Halves

Woke up to find it had stopped raining at last. Had breakfast and decided to have a ride to York as the forecast was for heavy showers and we figured there are a lot of shops to hide in if it did come on to rain hard and lots to do outside if it didn’t.

We also decided to go via the Park-and-Ride as last time we went to York the traffic was horrendous (and that wasn’t a Saturday or a Bank Holiday). It turned out to be quite easy to find and was relatively cheap at £2.30 each return. Hard to imagine finding parking in York for less than £4.60 for the 4.5 hours we were there.

The morning was dry and in parts quite sunny and warm although there was always a threatening cloud not too far away. We had a walk to the record shop that was just outside the city walls - last time we came it was a Sunday and it was closed. Today it was open but to be honest the prices they want for second hand Cd's is just too much. When you consider that it's probably about £3-4 for  CD from Amazon (including postage & Packing), paying £6.50 isn't on. I appreciate the overheads and the 'supporting local business' but I figured that in this case the 'local business just wasn't local enough for me and besides there wasn't really anything I wanted enough. I did hear another guy in the shop ask if they had any 'Jethro Tull on vinyl" to which I was tempted to say I had a box full in the loft but decided not to get into that conversation as he would probably want to cherry-pick the collection as I would in the same situation.

Had another Italian lunch in a lovely place in Low Petersgate but when we went out, with the intention of walking around the City walls it had come on to heavy rain so we headed back to the cottage.

The guy who sits on a bicycle covered in purple paint is still plying his trade in the town centre. He sits motionless on the bike and looks like a statue. He gets money by posing with people for photographs. Must be good money as he was there when we went last year.

The rain on the way back was torrential again, there has to be local flooding about with the amount we’ve seen in the past two days.

Rang Andy to find out how Belper were getting on, another defeat ! This time at the hands of Romulus (who had previously not won in their first 4 attempts). A 1-2 defeat leaves us with a record of P 5 W 1 D 2 L 2. Early days but definitely not the start we had wanted – or hoped for.

A bad day all round for local football as Derby lost their 100% record with a 1-2 home defeat to Burnley, Alfreton lost 1-4 at home to Wrexham and Burton lost at Altrincham.

Tomorrow the weather looks like being slightly better so we’re off to Whitby.

A Wet Start

Day one of our three day Bank Holiday trip to Marton in Yorkshire began under grey skies and more or less carried on in the same vein – well it actually got worse s the day went on. As we couldn’t get into the cottage before 2pm we decided to head straight to Scarborough, leaving Belper at about 10 minutes past 8 we made good progress (apart from one delay behind a tractor loaded incredibly high with straw bales) and arrived at 10:30 in the heaviest rain that we’ve seen in a very long time. On the way in we passed the former football ground of Scarborough Athletic which is in a sorry state. We both recalled visiting the ground a few years back for a league match – now they are back in the Northern Counties League (1 below Belper) and ground sharing at Bridlington Town.

On arrival at the town centre the rain was bouncing off the car park tarmac as we sat and considered how to get the umbrellas out of the boot and dash to the shopping centre without one or other of us actually drowning !

As we were both feeling peckish we headed straight to Costa for a Latte and a Muffin. As we drank we watched the umbrellas and rain coats passing down the main shopping street in Scarborough – we’ve lost count of the times we’ve sat in that Costa but never with the rain lashing down outside.

By the time we got outside again it had almost stopped so we decided to move the car down to the Spa car park and walk along the sea front. Due to the amount of rain the pay meter was out of action so we ended up with about three hours of free parking – which was nice. We managed to get a walk to the pier and back as far as the Italian restaurant ASK before the rain returned with a vengeance. It was so bad we had to buy a cheap umbrella to get back to the car without ending up soaked (Sally had decided she didn’t want to carry our umbrella round so left it in the boot). We set the sat nav for Marton and headed out of Scarborough – about three miles from Marton we turned off the main road onto a country lane which was doing a very good impression of a swimming pool. 

We aquaplaned our way down towards the lovely little village of Marton (1 of about 20 places of that name – including two in Yorkshire). The village appears to be split in two by a river, the section we are in has about 20 houses dating back to the 18^th century. Our cottage is called Brookfield and is beautiful little one bedroomed place.

As I type this at approximately 8:20pm it is still raining with a forecast for more showers tomorrow. We’ll probably take a ride over to Whitby tomorrow.

The Nailers are at Romulus so hopefully I’ll be able to get updates from someone at the match. No WiFi available here so no chance of getting information from the net.

Just a quick snap

I was sat in the lounge watching TV when I caught the sky out of the corner of my eye. Ran up stairs, grabbed the camera and snapped this shot of the sky above the neighbours digital aerial.

Lovely day

Scary Tree

A lovely Sunday yesterday - very hot so we decided to take a drive to Darley Park. To be perfectly honest there isn't too much there other than lots and lots of grass (not really surprising for a park I guess but you probably know what I mean). Started with an ice cream then a 5km walk around the cricket pitch, down by the river, round by the football pitches and back through Darley Abbey. I saw an interesting sign on the side of a house in Darley Abbey, stating that 'Stone throwing will be severely dealt with" makes you wonder what they did to those people who were caught in the act. Here are a couple more snaps I took on the walk, a scary looking tree (which has been Photoshopped) and a view of the Mills at Darley Abbey taken from Darley Abbey itself (also photoshopped somewhat). 

Darley Abbey Mills

Back on the bike today - and back to the original 7.5 mile circuit.  I wasn't really in the mood for it before setting off but eventually got into a rhythm and completed the circuit in 31.37 (which included a couple of delays behind cars which amounted to approx 30 seconds so it would have been down around the 31 minute mark without these). No long ride this week as we're off to Yorkshire for a few nights so might have to do a few extra miles on Wednesday night.

Tomorrow night the Nailers are at Lincoln United but have decided against the trip as it would involve a rush home from work, out again at 5:45, home at about 11pm and then up again at 5:50am for work. Maybe i'm just getting too old for this game !

A First Win

A huge sigh of relief went up at the Meadow at the sound of the final whistle yesterday as Belper recorded their first win of the season. Leaders Rainworth were in town but to be honest their two opening wins looked more like fortunate results than a team that is genuinely going to be challenging for promotion come April. Having said that we'd rather have been in their position than the 18th place we held at kick off. A cracking strike from 'veteran' Andy Rushbury (a 2nd half sub playing his 296th game for Belper Town) was the difference between the teams and that didn't arrive until the 86th minute. Photos can be seen here:

Belper v Rainworth

Joe Carter was in the Rainworth line up and had a superb game, keeping Ruben Wiggins-Thomas and Lee Morris quiet, although a foul on Lee went unpunished in the second half that really should have been a penalty. We think the ref chickened out of the penalty as he would have had to send Carts off as last man and that would have been very harsh.

Team Photo 2011/12

Jon Froggatt

Before the game the annual team photos were taken (see yesterdays post for more details). The players behaved themselves for a change and it all went off well. First I did the individual headshots for the programme and the papers and then I did the team picture.  Reviewing the photos afterwards I think there was just one player missing from today, Alan O'Hare, I'll have to catch up with him at a game in the future although he has missed his chance to be on the team photo for this season.

Also I took along my netbook as Tommy Taylor had asked for music to be played as the players came out and after each goal. As it turned out Nigel was doing the team line ups as they came out so no music there and no-one to play the music when the goal went in so all in all not a good day. Also there were endless moans from the fans about the music being too loud but what they didn't know was that Tommy T had asked for it to be loud as he thinks the ground is like a morgue ! I think I'll leave it at home next time. Having said that the next two games are away, Lincoln United on Tuesday night and Romulus on Saturday - will be missing that one as we're away for a few days over the bank holiday. Back in time for the game on Monday against local rivals Ilkeston though. Back to work and cycling between now and then all being well. 

Big Day Today

League leaders Rainworth (pronounced Ren-ath for some unknown reason) are in town. They have Joe Carter at full back so that adds a bit of spice to the game as Joe had a few weeks with Belper in pre season and is of course an ex-nailer, man and boy.

Before the game it's time for the Team Photo session which usually turns out to be about as much hard work as photographing a wedding - imagine about 20 testerone filled lads being asked to sit up straight and smile - it ain't gonna happen easily.

Update on these two events later.

Yesterday we went to the memorial Arboretum in Alrewas. We've been there a couple of times before but not for a while. Lovely day, nice and warm and not too many people about. Took the Olympus Pen and snapped a few shots, here are a couple of examples - s few more can be seen on the Flickr site.

It's an amazing place - anyone who hasn't been must pay a visit at some point in their lives - it shows the sacrifices that men and women have made (and are still making) over the years in the name of serving their country. A country that seems hell bent on destroying itself by means other than that of sending people off to war (although of course we are still doing that as well).

In the evening we went to the Yeaveley Arms for a lovely meal with two old friends Jan & Steve. I say old friends, they're not really old but we've known them for a long time (which by definition probably makes them old as well.

Between the visit to Alrewas and the meal I went out on the Old Iron Horse. Cycled to Little Eaton, back through the village onto the A6 and back through Duffield & Milford. It went well until the last 2 miles from the Morrisons island, which is up hill for the first mile or so. Just about made it to the top and eased home in a time of 49 minutes for the 12.5 miles. Quite pleased with that although the legs are a bit still this morning - definitely need to get a lighter bike for next year, better start saving up ! I'll update the outcome of the match later today or tomorrow.

Something Else I Forgot to Tell You

Last Friday we were in Belper town. After a spot of lunch we had a stroll up to the new OXFAM book and CD store that opened recently. We got as far as the Ritz Cinema at the top of King Street (a fantastic little cinema that was refurbed a few years back but retained it's 'olde worlde' charm, something that has long been lost with the onset of the multi-screens. Here is the Cinema in 1952 The Ritz 1952

I digress, we got to the cinema and outside was a mass of people. It soon became clear that there was some sort of filming going on - and not amateur by the look of the equipment. I took a snapshot on my phone but can't get it off at the moment to post here so bear with. We headed in to the OXFAM shop and overheard a conversation. The lady behind the counter had some sort of press release that had been given to the shopkeepers advising that they were filming a new Steve Coogan series called 'Starlings'. It's a new sit-com about a working class family who live in Matlock. We thought it would be good to see Belper and Matlock on the TV but according to tonights Derby Telegraph the show will appear on SKY 1 next August, so no chance of watching that then.

2nd Game of the Season

Last night saw Belper play their second league game of the season (and the first at home) against Brigg Town. Brigg turned out in a most unusual away kit - a very odd shade of green. No sign of the two brothers that normally follow the Zebras, Simon & Tim Harris. Possibly they couldn't make the trip as it was a Tuesday night game or they could have left the club after the big shake up of last season at the Hawthorns.

The Nailers started the game well (again) and took the lead after 17 minutes thanks to a rush of blood from the Brigg keeper, who came for a ball he was never going to get and Jamie Smith lobbed him for 1-0.

Deon Meikle clashes with Greg Archer

A nasty clash of heads (left) saw the Brigg centre half finish the game with his head swathed in bandages. Belpers Deon Meikle seemed to come off better but had to leave the field due to developing double vision. The paramedics came but thankfully he didn't need to go to hospital. His departure made a big difference to Belpers shape. Despite this Froggy made it 2-0 and the Nailers looked to be heading for their first win of the season. It wasn't to be as Brigg hit back and then a bizarre goal leveld the scores. A chip towards the back post saw keeper Andy Richmond retreating towards his goal then he seemed to slip and fall backwards as the ball dropped into the empty net. Brigg pushed on and it was a bit 'backs to the wall' finish as Belper held on for a point in the end. I can't say anything than it was a disappointing result for Belper but we have to think it's early days. And I refer you back to my post from the weekend when I said the Brigg game was a banker draw - why didn't I put some money on it ? The rest of the photographs are here:
Belper v Brigg Photos

On the cycling front I went out on Monday night after a pasta tea and felt good. Got round my 7.46 mile course in a best time of 31.36. Today was a different story - struggled due to heavy legs. Shortened the circuit to 7 miles and got round in 30 minutes but it was real hard work tonight. I plan to try and cycle out to Duffield and back along the A6 on Friday which should be  the longest ride since I got back on the bike.

A Game of Two Halves

Oh well, an opening day trip to Newcastle Town proved fruitless as the Nailers were beaten 2-0 although that scoreline certainly doesn't tell the whole story. Belper took the field for the first league game of the 2011/12 season in their new kit at the Lyme Valley Stadium. They dominated the majority of the first half and had three great chances. Firstly, last seasons 30 goal striker Jon Froggatt somehow missed what looked like an open goal, then RWT saw his point blank header saved by the keepers face (!) then Frogba hit the crossbar from a free kick with the keeper beaten. A 0-0 half-time score left us feeling positive for the 2nd half. Things didn't turn out quite as planned as first Tommy Hannigan conceded a penalty and then a 2nd strike from the same player saw us lose for the 2nd season running on the opening day. To be honest a draw would have been a fair result on the day but Belper didn't take their chances in the first half and seemed devoid of ideas in the 2nd. Newcastle will be pleased with their first game of the season but it could have been so different had even one of those first half chances been put away.

The weather was kind even if the clouds looked threatening throughout the first half. During the 2nd half the sun came out but it didn't shine for Belper today. The people at Newcastle made us very welcome and the fruit cake at half time was fantastic, so I guess it was only fair that we let them have the points.

Tuesday nights opponents Brigg lost 0-3 at home to Loughborough Dynamo today so there will be a lot of pressure on both sides to record their first win of the season. Chances are that is a banker for a draw - watch this space for the outcome of that one.

The rest of the photos from the game can be seen here:

Newcastle Town v Belper Town Photos

Eve of a New Season

Yes it's the day before the big kick off - no not those overpaid prima donnas in the Premiership - the REAL football of the Evo-Stick Division 1 South (and many other non-league divisions).

The mighty Nailers are away at Newcastle - no not them Geordies on the Tyne - Newcastle Town in Newcastle-under-Lyme. They play at the Lyme Valley Stadium near Stoke on a pitch surrounded by a Velodrome (banked cycling track as if you didn't know). Last season was their first in our division so theres no history between the sides other than the three matches from last time. We went there on a very wet night and came away with a 3-2 win against a Newcastle side who were the only real contenders for the title along with eventual winners Barwell. We then met them again at Belper in the Presidents cup and won again before the second league meeting. Aaron Prides sending off on half time saw a 2nd half collapse as Newcastle cruised to a 5-0 win (one of too many 5 goals conceded at home last season). I think Newcastle will be there or thereabouts come the end of the season so tomorrow will be a very tough start for the nailers.

What of the rest of today ? Well we spent two hours sitting in the eye clinic with Mrs Snappers mum - bit of a busmans holiday that. After that we went to Melbourne for a spot of lunch. First stop was the Melbourne Hall Tea Rooms, but unfortunately it was too busy so we walked into Melbourne itself and had a lunch at a little restaurant. I had an all-day breakfast and Sally had a Pannini. Melbourne is a little town with a huge amount of really attractive Grade Two listed houses. The Hall itself sits of the edge of the town. Read more about it here:

http://www.melbournehall.com/flash_content/index.html

It was a bit of a nostalgic trip as it always is when we visit that part of the county. These were the roads I used to spend hours cycling around when we lived at Sinfin Moor. Thinking about it today we realised it was some 20 years ago when I was speeding along those lanes, days when I was approaching 30 rather than today as I approach the big 5-0. No wonder it feels a lot harder to get around on the bike these day !! - where does the time go ?

Back to Belper for a haircut and then an 11 mile bike ride before a bath and a welcome sit down. An update after tomorrows game looks likely - but I'm making no promises ;-)

Back on the Bike

Monday again and back at work. Not too bad a day really, probably down to the boss being off on a two week cruise ! 

As it's Monday thats exercise day too. A quick blast round on the bike - well I say a quick blast, due to the wind it was a hard slog at times. I covered the 7.46 mile hilly course in 39 minutes which I was pleased with, especially considering I'm still riding the iron horse (see photo). Of course it's not the heaviest bike in the world -  it just feels like it when i'm going up hill.

I have a couple of old Carrera cycling shirts which I've had for a number of years, one short sleeved and one long. Due to the wind I had to resort to long sleeves for the first time today although as I cycled up the hill from Heage back into Belper I had to roll the sleeves up as the temperature increased. For me there has never been a better cycling shirt than the Carrera one. Cycling greats like Stephen Roche and Marco Pantani raced in the colours of the Carrera Jeans sponsored team in epic races like the Giro D'Italia and the Tour De France. 

I am currently reading 'The Death of Marco Pantani' which as you've probably guessed already is not a comedy. I've also read 'It's not about the Bike' by Lance Armstrong and 'Rough Ride' by Paul Kimmage.

The friendlies are over

Deon Meikle

Yesterday saw the last pre season friendly game for Belper Town. A 5-0 gubbing at the hands of near - neighbours Matlock Town was not the ideal preparation for next weeks start to the season. A fairly even first half saw the two teams separated by a penalty conceded by the stand in keeper Tom Stones (1st choice keeper Andy Richmond was on holiday as was assistant manager Jon Froggatt).

At half time I went into the boardroom for a cup of tea and the Matlock manager was tearing strips off his players for their first half performance. It obviously did the trick as they came out for the 2nd 45 and took Belper apart with another 4 goals. The young keeper looked out of his depth at this level but did make a couple of excellent saves towards the end of the game.

Photographs from the game can be seen here:

Belper v Matlock Photos

I took along my West Ham programmes to the game for Tommy to sign. The 1975 Cup Final and the Charity Shield both had the same player pictures pages in for the Hammers. So Tommy kindly signed across his photo in each programme (left).

Tommy also told a couple of tales from his West Ham days, one relating to Jimmy Greaves and another about George Best. Tommy said West Ham were 2-0 at Old Trafford before Best took over. Manchester ran out 5-3 winners and as Tommy retrieved the ball from the goal after a screamer from George the ref said 'hurry up Tommy' to which he replied "F*ck off, they've already got four "

After the game there was a Question and Answer session with Tommy in the main room. He admitted that the second half had been 'sh*t' and that Matlock deserved the win on their performance. He talked about his expectations of the coming season and admitted that he didn't know the teams in our league so would be playing each game to win. He also said that he would have a better idea when we have played 6 games. I think he certainly endeared himself to the people in the room with his humour and honesty.

The friendlies are over

Deon Meikle

Yesterday saw the last pre season friendly game for Belper Town. A 5-0 gubbing at the hands of near - neighbours Matlock Town was not the ideal preparation for next weeks start to the season. A fairly even first half saw the two teams separated by a penalty conceded by the stand in keeper Tom Stones (1st choice keeper Andy Richmond was on holiday as was assistant manager Jon Froggatt).

At half time I went into the boardroom for a cup of tea and the Matlock manager was tearing strips off his players for their first half performance. It obviously did the trick as they came out for the 2nd 45 and took Belper apart with another 4 goals. The young keeper looked out of his depth at this level but did make a couple of excellent saves towards the end of the game.

Photographs from the game can be seen here:

Belper v Matlock Photos

I took along my West Ham programmes to the game for Tommy to sign. The 1975 Cup Final and the Charity Shield both had the same player pictures pages in for the Hammers. So Tommy kindly signed across his photo in each programme (left).

Tommy also told a couple of tales from his West Ham days, one relating to Jimmy Greaves and another about George Best. Tommy said West Ham were 2-0 at Old Trafford before Best took over. Manchester ran out 5-3 winners and as Tommy retrieved the ball from the goal after a screamer from George the ref said 'hurry up Tommy' to which he replied "F*ck off, they've already got four "

After the game there was a Question and Answer session with Tommy in the main room. He admitted that the second half had been 'sh*t' and that Matlock deserved the win on their performance. He talked about his expectations of the coming season and admitted that he didn't know the teams in our league so would be playing each game to win. He also said that he would have a better idea when we have played 6 games. I think he certainly endeared himself to the people in the room with his humour and honesty.

Just a quick thought before I go to the match

I forgot to mention that yesterday I got a ticket to see the Australian Pink Floyd Show at Derby next March. 

I can't believe they are playing the Assembly Rooms as they normally sell out much larger venues. Tickets weren't cheap (£31.75 each with booking fee and postage) but hey, this is gonna be a great show - shame it's so far in the future, but at least it's something to look forward to over the cold dark winter months.

Never heard of them ? Check out their website to see what all the excitement is about.

The Australian Pink Floyd Show

And to think as A teenager I used to hate it when my mate Kieron used to put on his Pink Floyd albums !!

Whats been happening this week ?

Jon Froggatt

Saturday saw us on a trip to see Belper beat Long Eaton 2-0 in a pre season friendly at Station Street. A blazing hot day on a rock hard bumpy pitch did not make for great football viewing. A good header from Jon Froggatt put Belper 1-0 at half-time and just after the break Lee Morris robbed a Long Eaton defender and run in to score.

the rest of my photography efforts from the game can be seen here: Long Eaton United v Belper Town

Damien Magee holds off Tomasz Cywka

Our next game was at home on Monday against a Derby County XI. Always a big draw when the highest placed league side in the County pay a visit and this was no exception. A crowd of over 800 saw the Rams run out 4-1 winners although this was without doubt Belpers best performance of the pre season.

My other snaps from this game can be viewed here:

Belper Town v Derby County XI

Programme v Derby County

Apparently we sold about 400 programmes which was pleasing as it was my idea to print one and I wrote the majority of it.Even before the game kicked off there were copies on ebay for £4 + £1.31 p&p which is amazing considering it is an 8 page B&W issue printed on plain paper. The ebay seller was suggesting there was a print run of less than 200.

Next up is todays local derby against neighbours Matlock Town in the last pre season friendly before the real action starts next Saturday away at Newcastle Town in their Lyme Valley Velodrome - an unusual place to watch football, especially from the top of the velodrome on the far side from the main stand.

Talking of cycling (see what I did there ? Velodrome- cycling, this isn't just thrown together you know) i've been clogging around on my old mountain bike for the past four weeks. The bike has languished in the shed for the past 12 years. After two years of jogging around the estate and ending up in agony from achilles tendon problems I decided to Dig out some old cycling gear (including the bike) and bought some new stuff from Decathlon (to replace the mouldy helmet that had also hung in the shed for 12 winters).

For the first two weeks it was just around the two mile circuit of our estate but have ventured a little further for the past two weeks.

Yesterday I stretched it out to a 10.25 mile ride into Heage and back. Managed to get complete the ride in just under 43 minutes, which considering two ascents of Kilburn Road, and the hills into Heage and back into Belper was a decent time, especially considering that I'm on a 15 year old mountain bike (and fast approaching 48 years old).

A trip to Decathlon in the morning saw me drooling over their aluminium framed racing bikes - a snip at £1299 but not sure how long the wheels would hold up on the roads of Belper with my weight on top of them. Looks like I'll be riding the MB for a while longer !

New Belper manager Tommy Taylor

Time to go as we have an Operations Committee meeting before the game today.

After the game there is a Q&A with the new Belper manager Tommy Taylor (ex West Ham centre half)and assistant manager Jon Froggatt. 

I'm taking along my 1975 FA Cup Final Programme (Fulham v West ham United ) & my Charity Shield programme from 1976 (Derby County v West Ham United for Tommy to sign.

Catch you later

Whats been happening this week ?

After Saturdays trip to Long Eaton to see Belper beat