Five in a row

Saturday 17th September
CML North

Easington United 1 Harworth Colliery Institute 1

It’s Saturday in the Slush house and the kitchen is a scene of mayhem.  I’m preparing a light lunch for the family while enjoying one of three CDs that arrived through the door this morning.  And as stunning Dutch vocalist Caro Emerald belts out ‘That Man’ from her mega-selling “Deleted Scenes From The Cutting Room Floor” the Elder Slushette and I cook up a dance routine straight from the Morecambe & Wise kitchen.  It’s a sight to behold…but I suppose you had to be there…

It had been a big week for the Elder Slushette.  Her first full week back at school also saw the return of Brownies (Monday) and Junior Youth Club (Wednesday) although that had to be sacrificed for the greater good this week – the greater good being the annual production from Verity Lee’s School of Dance at the nearby High School in Withernsea. 

Entitled ‘Louder’, it was scheduled for Thursday and Friday, with a dress rehearsal on Wednesday; three late nights for our eldest daughter then.  And three “fraught” days for her mother!  But it all passed off swimmingly in the end.

I’d had a hectic week too.  In addition to a visit from our leader at work, I was scheduled to attend two meetings connected to my extra-curricular activities as well as produce a match programme ahead of the visit of Harworth Colliery Institute.  Still, at least I came into the week in good form…

A week earlier, news of the First Team’s fourth successive 1-1 draw – which ensured an unbeaten Saturday for all three of our teams - came through moments after I’d left the Granby bound for a party at friends.  The pint of Tetley cask I’d managed to squeeze into a window of opportunity, between end of the Reserves game and the time I was expected at said party, tasted slightly sweeter thanks to news of Aaron McLean’s winning goal for El Tigres on his return to former club Posh.

The timing of the aforementioned soiree meant I had to pass up an invitation to watch Hull KR’s do-or-die play-off decider at home to Castleford.  Instead, I had to keep popping outside and phone a friend for updates on the Robins’ nervy win.  It was no consolation being told afterwards that it was one of the best games seen at Craven Park all year.

Given that the morning had begun with an opening (if unconvincing) success for England in the Rugby (Union) World Cup and Yorkshire’s cricketers had managed an all-too-rare win in the County Championship, it hadn’t been a bad day all round on the sporting front.

Fortified by a few “cheeky ones” and buoyed by the day’s successes, I was in just the right frame of mind and voice to fully partake of the ‘Last Night of the Proms’.  I’m sure the neighbours appreciated it.  Ahem.

Baby Chav completed his move to CML rivals Westella & Willerby during the week.  For all the criticism he attracted from certain sections of the Low Farm crowd, I had a lot of time for Craig and was sorry to see him go.  I said as much in the programme. 

Thursday brought with it the final double-parter of The Killing on Channel 4.  Although panned in some quarters as a poor substitute for the Danish original, I’d found it very watchable and was as convinced as anyone I knew the perpetrator of Rosie Larsen’s murder.  I was therefore sitting feeling very smug when Councilman Darren Richmond was hauled off to jail, allowing Detective Linden to finally board that plane for California...only for the final twist in the tail to set the scene for “Season Two2 to follow next year.  Goddammit!

The end of one cop show was followed by the start of another as ITV launched its new DCI Banks series on Friday.  Brilliant.  I’ve become an avid fan of Peter Robinson’s Yorkshire Dales-based hero since stumbling upon him following ITV’s previous dramatisation last year.  I’m four books into Robinson’s **** mysteries involving the ex-Met man thrust into a new life “oop north”.  Incidentally, the author himself was in town this week, as fellow guest alongside the BBC cricket correspondent Jonathan Agnew at a literary lunch at the Willerby Manor.  I didn’t go.

But I did manage to get to “Louder” and thoroughly enjoyed it too.  As did the Elder Slushette who certainly makes up for any lack of finesse with a bundle of enthusiasm!

And so to Saturday and another entertaining affair in the CML North.  A day that began in inauspicious fashion - courtesy of the works printer going "kerfunkenschaften" (as I believe they may say in Germany) after just 16 match programmes - threatened to end that way as Tom Pick's 53rd minute goal for Harworth looked like being the winner.
But then with just six minutes left, Nicho latched onto a ball over the top and lashed home an equaliser.  1-1.  For the fifth successive game.
If I was a proper blogger I'd tell you all a bit about our opponents, Harworth Colliery Institute, rather than just directing you to their website (which, incidentally, appears more angled towards their Under-19 setup).  However, I'd like to save that for the away game.  Suffice to say I bet I'm not the first person who actually thought we were entertaining a South Yorkshire side - before I read Christopher Rooney's informative Nottinghamshire Football site.  Anyway, I'm not a proper blogger, so I won't.
Instead I'll direct you to a full report of the match, which can be found here and Colin Brammer's excellent pictures from it, which can be found here.  
As for me, I'm out of here.


Top picture courtesy of Burt Graham, the other two courtesy of Colin Brammer