A church is striking nine bells on Sunday morning as I exit MSR Newsagents on Front Street, in Arnold, after a four hour shift. I jump on the number 58, green Nottingham City Transport bus, that travels through Daybrook, up and over Sherwood, before heading up Mansfield Road into the city centre.
Street cleaners sweep up the roads and pavements; collecting up litter after another heavy night for revellers in our fair city. There's not many folk knocking about as I head across Market Square and drop down into hipster Hockley - Nottingham's Creative Quarter. It's my second outing at Bear, a coffee house and eatery. It's criminal that it only scores an average of 3.6 on Google reviews. Service is speedy and the snap (full English) is spot on.
It's day three of the County Championship fixture between Notts and Essex, with the game finely balanced. The weather is bracing. A stiff breeze chases me down Carrington Street and up through the inner city Meadows area of Nottingham, where a plethora of professional footballers have been discovered.
I sit in the Lower Radcliffe Road end of Trent Bridge Cricket Ground with Faggsy and Neil. I've seriously under clubbed on the clothing front, opting for a fleece instead of a Superdry snug-as-a-bug jacket. Two hours of play is enough for me. I peg it back into town during the lunch break, stopping briefly at the Brew Tavern micropub that's adjacent to Nottingham railway station. I sink a half pint of craft ale from the wonderful Gravity Well Brewery, who are based in London. I spend the rest of the afternoon knocking up another blog whilst catching up on some archive Radcliffe and Maconie shows on the 6Music website.
It's Tuesday evening and the same drill of late, as the Mighty Millers catch up on a backlog of matches that are mounting up for many Northern Premier League teams, after a wet and soggy season. I meet up with Faggsy outside the Nags Head at the bottom of Carlton Hill. We make the half an hour walk to Stadio El Stokio which is closer to the village of Stoke Bardolph than it is to Carlton.
Hebburn (remember the TV show?) from the north east, have made the 300 mile round midweek trip - they've brought a few supporters with them too. There are a few round pegs going into square holes for Carlton. They miss the bite and tenacity of Khyle Sargent in midfield. He fills in for Dean Freeman at centre half, who is feeling a tight hamstring. The Millers also play without what you'd call an out and out striker.
32 year old former Notts County midfielder, Liam Noble, is pulling all the strings. He was more well known at Meadow Lane for the red mist descending and gobbing off on twitter, than for any football prowess. The League's leading goalscorer Amar Purewal scores his 23rd goal of the season to give the visitors the lead.
DJ 'Casually Dan' has put together another fantastic set. We've already heard 'Start' by The Jam and 'Nothing Lasts Forever' by legendary Liverpool band Echo and the Bunnymen. The best, however, is left until the half time break. Dan plays 'Some Girls Are Bigger Than Others.' I love the fade in and fade out at the start of the tune. It's a jolly song with Marr's jangling guitar and Morrissey's outlandish lyrics.
Cheered up by The Smiths - how many can say that? I return to my spot on the far side of the ground, opposite the clubhouse. Motivated by Morrissey the Millers restore parity through an own goal after a wicked corner is whipped in. The visitors push on to deservedly win the game 3-1. You can't question Carlton's heart or spirit though. It's there in abundance.
Wednesday is the beginning of four days off for me, and I've planned plenty of outings. Ms Moon is working all day, but her daughter Becky isn't. She has been banging on about a film called Monkey Man that is plastered on a few billboards around town. I arrange to meet her at Cineworld, in the Cornerhouse complex.
I grab a baguette from Pret A Manger and some jelly beans from MSR on Angel Row - I'm not chuffing paying inflated prices in the cinema. It's a mad two hour viewing. The hero in our film is like the 'Indian James Bond.' He throws more punches in 120 minutes than Tyson Fury has in his whole career. It's a violent, brutal, bloodthirsty action-packed thriller. Not particularly my bag, but nonetheless it's entertaining. We retire to Six Barrels for a couple of scoops.
I'm down Sneinton Market by 7.30 am on Friday morning. It's a full on greasy spoon breakfast with Tony Mac at the underrated Avenues Cafe, £6.50, including a mug of tea, is a steal. Cross Country trains try their best to muck up our day. The blithering idiots called a strike off 24 hours earlier, but it looks like some Herbert has signed off too many holiday requests from the 'underpaid' drivers. Because two previous trains were cancelled due to 'driver shortage' we're packed in like sardines on a later train from Sheffield to York.
York is always bustling with folk, whatever time of year it is. I felt it best to work our way out of the city centre as you don't want to be drinking in a large group once the after work mob rock up. We visit a mixture of craft ale and real ale houses. The last two or three pubs are just outside the City Walls. We're back in Nottingham for 10 pm, where we retire to Brew Tavern for a 14% Vault City nightcap.
There's no rest for the wicked on Saturday morning. It's a pot of tea for one accompanied by a bacon sarnie covered in Cambozola cheese. I'm loitering around the station in plenty of time for the 10.15 train to Barnsley.
I've met a fantastic group of supporters at Carlton Town in my last few seasons of going down there. We go to gigs and pubs as well as following the Mighty Millers. Dean Gripton is a big Carlton Town and Birmingham City fan. He is also Head of EFL Research for Football Manager. It's a role he has held for over 20 years. He also has worked for Sky on Soccer Saturday, where he supplied all the vital stats into an earpiece for Jeff Stelling during the show.
The plan was for Dean and I to go and watch Crewe Alexandra play Grimsby Town at Gresty Road. Cross Country's so-called strike and trackwork maintenance put paid to that. Barnsley v Reading was our second choice. Add to that, there are a few pubs I still need to tick off in the town centre.
Barnsley has a population of 95,000 and is famous for its coal-mining, glass-making and brass bands. In 2015, 68% of its voters chose to 'Leave' the European Union. Notable people from the town include: Harold 'Dickie Bird', Mark Crossley, Michael Parkinson, the author of Kes, Barry Hines, Mark Jones and Tommy Taylor who both perished in the 'Munich Air Disaster' and Big Mick McCarthy.
A lot of money has been thrown at redeveloping the town centre, and what a mighty fine job they've done too. We admire the architecture of the Town Hall and War Memorial before spending some time in the Experience Barnsley Museum which is free entry.
It's fascinating to read up about the history of the place you are about to watch football in. The coal mines play a massive part in the town's heritage. In 1866 two explosions at Barnsley Oaks pit killed 361 miners and rescuers. There is plenty of archive information and memorabilia from the year long Miners' Strike in 1984.
We tick off a couple of independent pubs that are in the Good Beer Guide called Jolly Tap and Heaven and Ale. We also call by a local cafe for meat and potato pie covered in mushy peas which is accompanied by mint sauce. We arrive at Oakwell half an hour before kick off.
I came here last season when I saw Lincoln City play the Tykes off the park. They are in a solid play-off spot, but have wobbled of late. We go into a room where all the scouts gather. Legendary English cricket umpire Dickie Bird is stood alone. Dean says I should introduce myself and ask if it's ok for a photo. It's not my usual style, and it makes me feel uncomfortable. Dickie is quick to engage in conversation. He chuckles when he tells me it's his 91st birthday next week.
We take a seat in the wonderful old stand, with its wooden seats and bird's eye view. Dickie sits alone two seats away. I feel sad for him that he has no companion to chat with during the game. Reading, after a traumatic season with ownership issues and a points deduction, are all but safe after a midweek 2-0 away victory at Bristol Rovers.
The game has a lovely ebb and flow about it from the off. The Royals deservedly take the lead through star striker Sam Smith (I hope he doesn't sing at half-time).The Tykes equalise through Phillips after a sublime dink from McAtee. Dickie says he's off for a cup of Yorkshire Tea. We join him, The TV set is switched on so we can all watch the Grand National together. Ms Moon is on the money and I have 2nd and 3rd placed horses at high odds.
The second half is superb. There are 31 shots in total. Reading take the lead with a pearler from 25 yards out by Lewis Wing, who started his career at Non League Shildon up in the north east of England. Barnsley equalise through substitute Fabio Jalo. It's been a breathtaking game of football with both teams giving their all.
Attendance: 12,405
Men of the Match: Dickie Bird and Dean Gripton
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