I'm enjoying my football-free weekend. Ms Moon and I exit Broadway Cinema, in Hockley, Nottingham on Saturday teatime. We've just watched the Oscar nominated Hamnet, whose production team includes Steven Spielberg and Sam Mendes, who was born in Reading, if you're asking. We're baffled and bamboozled by the 'modern English language' that's used in the final 15 minutes of the film, when Shakespeare's play Hamlet is re-enacted.
We part company at the bus stop outside the Fox and Grapes, at the very spot where the body of pub landlord, George Wilson, was discovered in 1963. Named as the 'Pretty Windows Murder' the case still remains unsolved.
I slope off over the road to the King Billy. I nurse a pint of Snake Eyes from the Black Iris Brewery. The rugby is on the TV set. Nobody seems particularly interested; I'm certainly not. My phone has been switched off whilst I was at the cinema. I boot it up to check on the final scores. Lincoln City and Notts County are both victorious again. Tony Mac is up at Fleetwood; he'll be loving that.
I'm back down Meadow Lane again on a wet and freezing cold Tuesday evening. I've five layers of clothing on, including some thermals. Gareth Ainsworth's Gillingham are in town. County are on a hot winning streak. I check the team news on my phone. I'm gutted to read that both Jodi Jones and Alassana Jatta are notable absentees. It will be a battle without them as 'Wild Thing's' teams are always physical and uncompromising. 'Over and Over' by Hot Chip is the pick of the bunch of a decent pre-match DJ set.
The Pies are well backed by a vocal Kop End. They are soon on top and take the lead through their fiery Scottish midfielder Scott Robertson, following some pitiful defending by the Gills. Ainsworth, dressed in a bomber jacket, tight jeans and some brown boots is straight down the tunnel at half time, to give his troops the hairdryer after a lacklustre first half.
I sit with former player, Tim Wilkes, in the second half. He made a handful of appearances for the Magpies during the Sam Allardyce era before suffering from serious injuries. Debutant, Lee Ndlovu, fluffs his lines to put the game to bed for the Pies. There's an extraordinary grand finale when 'keeper James Belshaw is called upon on three occasions to keep the Gills attack at bay, with a series of spectacular point blank saves.
It's Thursday morning and I'm back on my old patch in the village of Keyworth. I'm 62 years old today and the best birthday present I've ever received arrived a few weeks ago. Her name is Romy Palmer. She's my granddaughter and melts my heart. I have a cuddle for 90 minutes before she falls asleep in my arms.
I alight the bus, on the journey home, at Musters Road junction in West Bridgford. I wander down to Trent Bridge Cricket Ground. I think of times back in the 1980s when I used to go to a nightclub called Harvey's Bar, that was located on this very road. I used to stalk the DJ with requests for The Smiths or Echo and the Bunnymen, when all the Herbert was interested in playing was Wham or Five Star.
I sit with Faggsy at the Notts Cricket Lovers' Society meeting. The first speaker is Kirstie Gordon, who is the captain of The Blaze and a Scottish international. The second half of the meeting is a question and answer session with Director of Cricket, Mick Newell, and opening batter Ben Slater. I always find Newell witty and engaging, even if I don't agree with everything he says, or decisions he makes. We finish up the evening on Carlton Hill top with Ms Moon and her brother for some more birthday scoops. It's a Vegas mini kebab for supper.
To celebrate both our February birthdays I've booked a table at The Ivy on Bridlesmith Gate in town. They've got an offer on, so why not? Whilst Ms Moon is still at work I enjoy some real ales with Tony Mac up in the Canning Circus area of town, at: Organ Grinder, a newly painted Sir John Borlase Warren and a rejuvenated Hand and Heart on Derby Road.
I'm pleasantly surprised at how good The Ivy is. The building was formerly Hugo Boss and before that Cafe Rouge. It's tastefully renovated and has a lovely ambience too. The food is delicious and served with a smile. Two blokes, sat nearby with their partners, are glued to their phones watching Leeds United v Forest. I don't know who is more irked and annoyed by this: Sticky Palms or Sean Dyche. As we walk through the rain soaked streets towards the bus stop, I hear Isolation, by Joy Division, blasting out of a cocktail bar called Neon, on Weekday Cross. Ms Moon tells me to calm down as I get overexcited to hear such a great random track.
It's rained cats 'n dogs all week in Nottingham and it's proper got me down folks. What's even more annoying is seeing ITV News 'weatherman' Alex Beresford smirking in the studio or sheltering in some posh garden centre in Surrey. As soon as the sun's out this nincompoop is strutting his stuff whilst posing on Brighton Pier or the Eden Project. A whiff of rain or a gust of wind and you'll find the charlatan under cover.
I made a call yesterday on which game to go to. It's highly unlikely that the Carlton v Belper game will go ahead (I was wrong). I've enjoyed visiting the old school Football League grounds again. I message a close friend called Ackers, who lives in Whittlesey, near Peterborough, to see if he fancies Posh v Wigan. I catch a late morning train to Norwich that stops in Peterborough in just over an hour. Ackers and I embrace at the station. We have both suffered with our eyesight in recent years. It's the blind leading the blind as we walk up to the ground to buy some tickets.
With time to spare we wander up to Old Fletton where we tick off Wonky Donkey, a local CAMRA City Pub of the year in 2025. We're perched up in the Upper Meerkat Stand half an hour before kick off. Some Wigan fans I met on the train predicted that the Latics, managed by under fire Ryan Lowe, would be 2-0 down within ten minutes. It was actually nine minutes with a brace of gift wrapped goals coming from Kyrell Lisbie (son of former Charlton striker, Kevin).
Luke Williams' Posh threaten to run riot, but remarkably a slip in defence sees a cross tucked into the corner of the net by the hard-working Joe Taylor, who I rate highly. It's Posh that are now under the cosh, but again when your luck is down things can go wrong. Chelsea loanee, J J Morgan, races onto a ball over the top, he lifts it over the 'keeper only to see it bounce off the bar. He wins a race to the ball to head home the rebound. The visiting fans direct their venom towards Lowe, who hangs his head in shame, as they sing "you're getting sacked in the morning." (it will probably be this evening).
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Wigan enjoy a lot of possession early in the second half. But fall apart by conceding three more goals in the final 20 minutes. I don't think Lowe will even bother to catch the team bus home.
Attendance: 8,443
Player of the Match: Kyrell Lisbie
Best Record Heard on the Radio This Week: SAULT, Good Things Will Come After the Pressure
Favourite Real Ale Supped This Week: Marble Beers, Up All Night, at The Embankment
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