Sheffield United 3-1 Ipswich Town

I've not had a chippy tea in ages. The stars align on Tuesday evening, as time isn't on my side. After a full shift in the media world (paper shop) - and let me tell you it's a grueller with all those bloody soap magazines being published - I dive into Oceans chippy at the bottom of Carlton Hill. The grumpy owner is perched on a stool watching the fag end of Deal or No Deal. His lad is pleasant enough though. He throws me a fresh haddock into a fryer that's bubbling and sizzling with piping hot oil. I wolf it down ten minutes later, accompanied with a small tray of chips and some Chinese curry sauce.

Runaway NPL Midlands League leaders, Carlton Town, are hosting Long Eaton United tonight. I peg it down to the game with Faggsy. I thought it best to get there 15 minutes early as they'll be a queue snaking from the turnstiles - and I wasn't wrong. DJ Dan is playing New Order's first ever single, Ceremony. It was originally going to be a Joy Division release, but was hastily re-recorded following the sudden death of lead singer Ian Curtis. I recommend watching the Anton Corbijn film, Control, that documents Curtis' struggles with depression and severe epilepsy. A lot of scenes are shot in Lenton and Sneinton. The film stars Nottingham born actress Samantha Morton, who plays the part of Deborah Curtis. The script is taken from the superb book Curtis wrote, called Touching From a Distance.

I have a brief chat with some Notts County Cricket Club members before wandering over to the far side of the ground. The Millers have had a couple of feisty games with 'The Blues' this season, with both results ending in a draw over 90 minutes. There's also been some beef with their 'keeper, Lewis King, who looks like a man who could fall out with someone in an empty room. King's name crops up on the 'Group Chat' a lot. Some of the comments are negative and churlish. I hope the Carlton fans rely on their quick wit and good humour when the visiting stopper defends his goal this evening. It would be a shame to tarnish the good reputation the Millers have as a friendly and welcoming club.

From the off Carlton are magnificent. They should be 3-0 up before they finally take the lead through a sublime finish from former York City striker Ash Chambers. The game has been on simmer but the referee has kept the lid on it. Long Eaton are trying their best to get midfield influencer Nat Watson sent off, but Mr Moreton sensibly calls over skipper Dan Brown to defuse the situation.

Our man King, in the nets, looks like he's about to blow a gasket when two goals are scored in quick succession in the second half. In fairness to him he has a safe pair of hands and a kick like a mule. His distribution is also excellent over the two games I have watched him play. Fags and I dissect the game and sink a couple of pints of Harvest Pale ale back at the Old Volunteer, in Carlton Square. It's recently been taken over by Star Pubs - so it's a wave goodbye to beers from Magpie and Bang the Elephant. 

My weekend starts on Wednesday evening. I enjoy a couple of drinks in the Partizan Tavern, on Manvers Street, in Sneinton. Tony, the landlord, keeps a lovely pint and is a massive Notts County fan too. I rustle up some supper on arrival back at HQ. I've quite a collection of easy cook books now from the likes of Nathan Antony, Jon Watts and Alex Hughes. As long as no skill is required, then I'm your man  .. lol.

Thursday is a special day. I catch the Keyworth Connection to go and meet my one week old granddaughter, Romy, for the first time. I can't describe the feeling when I hold her in my arms. My heart beats ten to the dozen and my spine tingles when she grips my fingers. She's soon fast asleep after I've bored her to death. A few bedtime blogs in the future will soon see her hit the sack and zonk out.

I recently purchased the 2026 issue of the Good Beer Guide, so there's a few new entries in the East Midlands I need to mop up. Three pubs in Leicester are on the agenda. It's drizzling with rain as I wander out of Leicester station and onto Granby Road. I pass the market where Gary Lineker used to help his dad sell fruit and veg. A Wetherspoons called Corn Exchange is the first tick off. It's also one of the few 'Spoons where you aren't required to book an UBER to the toilets.

The next pub is close to Leicester Castle and was formally two cottages knocked into one. A couple of Yuppies take advantage of the free wi-fi as they tap away on their laptops - they call this 'working from home.' They slowly nurse their cappuccinos as I down a Titanic Plum Porter, poured by a jolly licensee, before heading out into the wind and rain again.

The Clarendon is my final destination in this gem of a city. Google maps takes me through Nelson Mandela Park and a very impressive Victoria Park, where there are a number of memorials to soldiers lost in battle over the last 150 years. The park was previously a racecourse but now has 69 acres of open space.

A golden coloured Spaniel dog runs up to me for some fuss. Its owner shouts out my name. What a coincidence, it turns out it's Rachel a former colleague of mine at Ideagen PLC, who are headquartered in Ruddington, in Notts. 'The Clarry' is in the Clarendon Park area of the city. It has a hipster feel about the place. The beer choice isn't all that. 

I make the long slog back to the railway station after an enjoyable three hours spent in this multi-cultural city. Ms Moon is still at work so I have a quick pint of Headless from the Red Willow stable in the King Billy in Sneinton. Before I head home I swing by Neon Raptor taproom to grab a couple of rocket fuel craft ale cans for the second half of the weekend.

Supper is homemade doner kebab meat made by my own fair hands. It's accompanied, unfortunately, by the final episode of The Traitors. Almost 10 million viewers have tuned in. I'm not allowed to talk whilst the programme is on - I don't know why, we're hardly going to miss 'owt. I finish off my book which has stories about how the Anti Facist Action group kicked the living daylights out of the British National Party (Reform in new money) all over Lancashire and London in the 80s and 90s - it's far more entertaining. 

I've been given permission to speak on Saturday morning by Ms Moon. I haven't got long though, as there is another train to catch. I announce that it is going to be a football free weekend next Saturday. On Friday night we'll support DJ Dan down at the club for 'The Shed End Presents' where a live band will play and folk will spin some of their favourite vinyl. On Saturday we'll have lunch in town and go to Broadway Cinema to watch a film. There will still be a blog as I'm at Notts County v Swindon Town on Tuesday evening .. lol.

I'm sat in a bustling and hustling Sheffield Tap by 12,30 p.m. It's stacked out with groups and couples pre-drinking before catching a train for a day out in Leeds or Manchester. I'm sat in the St John's Street Family Stand an hour before kick off. Rihanna's 'Please Don't Stop the Music' (please do mate) is blasting out of the Bramall Lane p.a. system. 

The last time I was here Mark Kennedy's Lincoln City won a penalty shootout. I got so overexcited I left my rucksack under my seat in the Tony Currie Stand. It gave me an excuse to return and visit a few new pubs.

A pumped up Chris Wilder gave a spiky press conference yesterday after a dip in form and three losses in a row, one of which was an FA Cup defeat to Nigel Clough's Mansfield Town. They could easily be 2-0 down in the early moments of this game but the Tractor Boys fluff their lines. The Blades twice come close themselves, before taking the lead, ironically following an Ipswich corner. O'Hare pounces onto a ball, holds off a few opponents before lifting the ball over an advancing 'keeper, whose boot leaves a wound to the attacker's head. Minutes later it's 2-0 after a series of shots rain in on the visitor's goal.

It's been a breathtaking first half with more to come. Ipswich look shellshocked. Their passing is sloppy and they are caught in possession too often. They are thrown a lifeline when their best player Jack Clarke scores from a spot kick. Patrick Bamford lashes a left foot shot home to put the game to bed. He's later sent off for a dive, having rounded the 'keeper. I can't 'arf pick em.

Attendance: 28,638

Man of the Match: Callum O'Hare

Best Ale I've Supped This Week: Eclipse, Flying Gang Brewery, Newcastle

Best Record Heard on the Radio: Alabaster, by All Those Witches