A two week break in Tenerife was just what the doctor ordered. The day before I flew out I took in Notts County v Harrogate Town, which turned out to be a very entertaining 1-1 draw. The Magpies equalised in stoppage time through a Matthew Dennis penalty kick. I admired Harrogate's siege mentality. They nearly pulled it off,
Wayne, our taxi driver, picked us up at 3 a.m. the following day. We were at our apartment in the resort of Los Cristianos by 11 o'clock. Ms Moon's daughter and brother arrived on Monday, so we had a few heavy evening sessions. We enjoyed a late lunch in the harbour at La Caleta, where, if you're lucky, you can bag a window seat, so you gaze at the Atlantic Ocean, whilst eating your freshly caught fish accompanied with a bottle of local white wine.
On the first Saturday of the holiday Liverpool were playing Nottingham Forest in a 3pm kick off. I took a 5 km stroll up the coast to Costa Adeje to watch the match with Bish and Adrian (a Liverpool fan). We'd agreed to meet at McGuires, an Irish Bar. I wasn't so keen myself as I knew it would be full of Irish Liverpool fans. The place was packed, so we settled into a bar called Unique. Forest played the Scousers off the park. Adrian got the monk on and wouldn't pose for a photo at the end of the match following a 3-0 drubbing.
Ms Moon and I spend the rest of the holiday walking, reading, drinking red wine and playing cards (Rummy) on the balcony. If you're asking I won 85-75 at cards, but did manage to lose 12 games in a row, Luckily I wasn't drinking gin at the time, otherwise the card table would have been tipped over. I enjoy my annual 30 years of no smoking ciggie.
I only took in one football game as I didn't fancy being stranded in some remote village up in the mountains. CD Marino thrashed UD Tenisca, from La Palma, 5-1. I sing 'easy easy easy' as we exit the stadium. It was quite a bad tempered game with the away coach sent off shortly before half time, as well as two unused subs being shown a yellow card by an overzealous official.
I managed to read three books whilst I was away. Renegade, the autobiography of The Fall lead singer, Mark E Smith, was the pick of the bunch - thanks for the tip Alan Murphy. Smith had me in stitches with his forthright views and cutting, deadpan humour. He (Smith) also recommended three must-reads by Les Dawson, Malcolm Allison and a book called No Retreat, a Secret War, that's about anti-fascists outing the far right. All three are ordered on eBay.
We arrive home in wintry conditions on Sunday evening. Ms Moon gets stuck into Strictly and I'm a Celeb. I listen to music and read before turning in, as I'm back on Media duties tomorrow.
It's Wednesday evening and I've just locked the shop up. I jump on the 25 Nottingham bus that goes via Mapperley Top, an area well known for its eateries. I've hammered the Plains Fish Bar over the years whilst on groundhopping travels. I go upmarket and plump to have tea at The Old Flower Shop, where Ms Moon and I have breakfast on occasions.
OFS is doing a roaring trade already and it's only teatime. Its evening menu serves up British and Mediterranean classics. I opt for a gammon steak with two fried eggs and some French fries. It goes down a treat. Johnny Hand has very kindly agreed to take me to tonight's Notts Senior Cup tie between Hucknall Town and Carlton Town. The rush hour traffic is clogging up the roads around inner city Nottingham. Nonetheless we arrive in good time at the RM Stadium.
It's £8 on the turnstile. I don't inquire about concessionary rates. The Carlton fans are congregated in the bar. I sit with Morecambe supporter Julian Wilson (not the horse-racing commentator) and local photographer Steve Mack, who is a diehard Tranmere Rovers fan, as well as being a bloody good snapper of footy action.
It's a fast-paced game, both teams play without fear. The Millers fluff their lines in front of goal and go into the break a goal down. Hucknall look lively on the break, with both Ashurst and Coyle impressing the judges. The game turns on its head early in the second half. Carlton's Shea Thompson-Harris takes one for the team and is shown a straight red card for handling the ball on the line. The resulting spot-kick cannons off the crossbar.
The Carlton Cattermole (Sticky's favourite) equalises with 20 minutes remaining as the Millers look to tighten their screw on the game. Hucknall score two very well worked goals. The Millers have bags of character and never give up the ghost. Chambers and then Clarke make it 3-3. The home keeper produces two incredible saves that defy belief. The visitors win on penalties 5-4. There's a huge sigh of relief. Hucknall have been magnificent too. I must visit again soon as there are some good people over there who make you feel welcome.
Thursday evening is spent with the Notts Cricket Lovers Society, in the Derek Randall Suite, at Trent Bridge Cricket Ground. The first guest speaker is Paul Harrison, who has been the dressing room attendant since 2015. He has a few amusing anecdotes to tell that usually include Luke Fletcher or Samit Patel and Paul also gives us an insight of the mindset and expectation of touring teams from Australia and India. Former New Zealand Test cricketer and current coach of The Blaze, Craig Cumming rounds off another excellent evening down the Bridge.
I venture out to Newark-on-Trent on Friday lunchtime - even EMR can't muck that trip up. There's a new entry in the 2026 Good Beer Guide called Loose Cannon. It's a rather odd looking pub that's struggling with its identity. It has posh, expensive food and a pint of Bass weighs in at £5.20 (ouch!). I enjoy it much more across the road at Just Beer. The local cribbage club is holding their Christmas outing there. They seem to be a jolly bunch.
I get off the train in Carlton and take a wander up to the worst supermarket in Western Europe. The DJ is on flames at Carlton Tesco. They play a single release from Jalen Ngonda before unleashing 'Lady' (Hear Me Tonight) from Modjo, which has a few toes tapping down the wine and spirits aisle.
I'd pondered over whether to go to the early kick off at Pride Park where Leicester City are the visitors. The early start and inclement weather has put me right off. Radford FC, a club where I'm usually told to eff off at, on arrival, have an FA Vase 3rd round tie against Heather St Johns from Leicestershire (I won the raffle there once). Director of Football, Glenn Russell, confirms that the game is ON.
I arrive in Nottingham in plenty of time. Old Market Square is thriving as Christmas shoppers visit all the pop up shops. For some unknown reason I fancy a Five Guys burger. It's a costly error as it takes 30 minutes to make. I feel quite proud that I order on the computer thingy and add all my toppings without asking for assistance. I arrive at Radford's game ten minutes before kick off.
I stand with Big Glenn for the first 45 minutes. It's a disastrous opening few minutes. The 'keeper has to deal with an unnecessary backpass that he shanks out of a heavily sanded penalty area. The ball eventually falls to a Heather forward who curls in a shot from distance. They are 2-0 down soon after, having once again failed to clear their lines. They then concede a penalty in added time. I hide in the clubhouse at the break.
I stand with the Golder brothers in the second half. They are big NFFC fans as well as following Notts CCC and Nottingham Panthers. Radford concede two late goals which slightly flatters the visitors. The Pheasants pay for a poor first half. I make a hasty exit before I'm run out of the ground by the Raddy Massive.
Attendance: 136
Man of the Match: Nat Watson
Best Record I've Heard This Week: Maybelline, Gretel
Real Ale of the Week: Mojo Risin' Birch Cottage, Sawley, at Partizan Tavern
