Another One-one Draw for Ipswich
Town played well today and I’ll let their manager, Paul Jewell, do the talking.
We were terrific and it was the best performance football wise since I have been here. Passed well and created chances. Drury outstanding debut.
Roll on the Rangers on Tuesday.
Hurrying to Portman Road
The weather today was awful and I didn’t take my time or any detours from the station to Portman Road. I also needed the toilet urgently. But at least the latter are very good compared to some grounds I’ve visited.
Surprising Barnsley
Some of the places I’ve visited on my travels like Scunthorpe and Middlesbrough could not be described as places that make the most of what they’ve got.
What I would find, as I went north on my train from St. Pancras, I did not know.
I actually travelled north with three young Millwall supporters, who were supporting their team at Sheffield. When I said, that I’d had a stroke, one of them said his brother had too. At just 16 too! So we can’t all be too careful, can we?
But the Interchange station at Barnsley was a surprise.
Barnsley Interchange
Very often, stations are badly designed and in the wrong place in the town, with poor interchanges to other modes of transport.
Cambridge is a classic example, in that it’s some way from the city centre, the buses to get aren’t obvious and also for the amount of trains that call at it, it isn’t big enough. I suspect too, that the ill-fated busway will have a terrible interchange, when surely one of the reasons for the busway, should have been to get passengers to the trains. But trains and buses operate under different budgets and compete with each other, when they should be complimentary.
There is no such problem in Barnsley in that the station lies alongside the town centre and contains not only the train station, but the bus station as well. The football ground, Oakwell, is a ten minute walk the other way.
Barnsley Signs
Signage, as so often could be better and more numerous, but then it’s difficult to miss Oakwell. But at least in Barnsley the signage is there, which can’t be said for Edinburgh, which is supposed to be a tourist destination.
You actually walk up a hill to the ground and then approach it downhill, through what is a grassed car park.
Walking Down to Oakwell
In some ways the approach is more like one you find at small non-league stadia, rather than one that incoprates 23,000 spectators.
The football was a bit disappointing in that Ipswich gave away a winning lead in the last minute.
But all-in-all, it was a good day out! I felt especially good as I walked up the hill towards the station without a hint of being out of breath. Perhaps it was the sun, that we’d enjoyed all day.
Living on a 30 Bus
One of my friends has commented that I always seem to be on a 30 bus. It’s just that it’s so useful to get to and from the Angel, Islington, Kings Cross, St. Pancras, Euston and the Selfridges end of Oxford Street, especially as the stop is just around the corner and has one of those displays which tell which buses will arrive soon.
Yesterday on my trip to see Ipswich at Barnsley, the journey didn’t start with a small step, but it started and finished on a 30 bus.
A 30 bus was involved in the London bombings and 13 passengers tragically died in Tavistock Square. But it isn’t the only tragedy connected with the route.
Memorial Garden at Highbury Corner
This picture shows the memorial garden at Highbury Corner. The plaque commemorates the 26 people who died in a V1 attack on June 27th, 1944.
But the route isn’t all about sadness, as at Islington Green, you pass the statue of Hugh Myddelton, one of those who shaped our city.
Statue of Hugh Myddelton on Islington Green
Every time, you use water in the city, there is a chance that some of that water has arrived courtesy of the New River; Myddelton’s project from the early seventeenth century that transformed London’s water supply.
From the Angel, I then travelled down Pentonville Road to Kings Cross, getting off just before the station and crossing the maze of roads into Kings Cross.
Arriving at Kings Cross on a 30 Bus
Hopefully, when they create the new public square in front of King’s Cross station they’ll make this pedestrian access a lot better.
At least though work inside the station seems to be progressing well, with the pedestrian bridge and the associated lifts seeming to be taking shape under a newly restored roof.
Coming home too, I was lucky in that I walked through the station after buying a Cod Mornay for my supper from Marks and Spencer in St. Pancras and had to wait just two minutes before a 30 bus appeared to take me home.
There’s Only One F in Shefki
The news this morning is that one-time Ipswich favourite, Shefki Kuqi, has joined Newcastle until the end of the season.
A 92% Day!
One doesn’t want to score it higher than that, as I might shilt myself.
But I’ve gone to football a lot in the last three years since C died and I’ve not had such a good day for some time.
I had decided that I would travel First Class as a treat and I’d already bought the tickets for £36.60 on Wednesday, so after I’d made my sandwiches, I took the 141 bus to Moorgate and walked through Finsbury Circus to Liverpool Street to catch the 12:58 to Ipswich. It meant, if I’d driven, which I can’t, it would probably have spent more and taken longer. I also wouldn’t have had a large table on which to lay my paper and eat my lunch.
The train was a couple of minutes late into Ipswich, but this didn’t matter, as I’d have preferred to sit in the soft seat in the train, rather than the hard seat in the Britannia Stand. But despite the delay, I was well in time for the start of the match.
The match itself was spoilt by the strong wind and is best summed up by the comments of the Ipswich manager; Paul Jewell.
Delighted with win. Wind was awful, so would have taken ugly 1-0 win. But played some good football second half. Connor great goal. Pleased for Luca.
I would add that Town could easily have scored five instead of three, especially as Tamas Priskin hit the post and Grant Leadbitter missed a penalty and also hit a spectacular effort, that was deflected wide.
We also had a double sending off when Sheffield United decided to try the self-destruction route.
So all-in-all it was first class entertainment.
I’ve just watched the match on The Football League Show on the BBC’s iPlayer. It’s about thirty minutes in. It’s worth searching for, just to see Connor Wickham’s goal, where he takes the ball in his own half , beats everybody and then draws the goalkeeper and puts the ball in the empty net. It will be a clip that will be shown and shown.
After the match I took the 17:09 train back to London and another 141 bus got me home by seven. I even had time to pick-up a chicken korma for supper in Marks at Liverpool Street Station.
It would be nice if watching football was always so stress free. But then most sides aren’t as co-operative as Sheffield United!
One slight blot on the day was that the rice with the chicken korma was rather crunchy.
Seeing Ipswich at Derby is Impossible.
As Ipswich aren’t playing this weekend, I thoght it would be nice to see them at Derby on the Tuesday.
But there is no return train, so I won’t be going! I don’t fancy waiting up until four in the morning to get a train back to London either.
Obviously, Derby County supporters don’t live in London and go to the match by train!
Walking to the Football
For the first time in my 63 years, I walked all the way from where I lived to a professional football match. I had cycled to Spurs a few times in my teens, but walking the couple of kilometres to The Emirates last night was unique.
It was a good match and Ipswich can’t complain too much about the result.
The match is best summed up by the Ipswich manager, Paul Jewell’s comments by text message.
Players were terrific. Great effort over two legs against a world class side.
Fans terrific as well, showed what a big club this is.
He seems to understand how to motivate. Did his predecessor?
The Anonymous Widower 