Travels with my Ostrich ....

[Ally]

Small world sometimes, isn't it.

[Kaz]

It certainly is!

[TheOstrich]

Saturday 16/04/16 – Skybet Football League 1 @ 15:00
Crewe Alexandra 2 Scunthorpe United 3
Admission: £17, programme: £3
Refreshments: £2.20 for a tray of doner meat from the Full Bellies fish bar. £2.90 for a meat and potato pie at the interval which contained little resembling either meat or potato as far as I could tell £1.95 for one of Mr Branson’s Nero Americano coffees on the return train, highly recommended.
Attendance: 3,852

We’re now coming up to the end of the football season, and soon the Ostrich will be bringing his blog to a close. Only three more Saturdays to go in April, so time for something a little off-piste. This was in fact my first Football League game since August 2002, and my first visit to the Gresty Road ground since the 1970’s. Now, of course, it’s an all-seater stadium, so having arrived at Crewe station – the ground is more or less adjacent to it - down to the ticket office at 13:30 to purchase a seat in Area C, Row J, Turnstile 11, Main Stand for £17 – three keen young things on the desk and all very efficient ….. <sigh> I remembers the days when you used to have to queue up for half an hour before slapping two bob and a tanner down and heaving yer way through the iron turnstile bars (which probably hadn’t been greased since they were put in back in Victorian times) to enter the famous Spion Kop at Birmingham City’s St. Andrews ….

Ticket safely in pocker, I wandered down the main drag towards the town in search of something to eat. 70% of the establishments either side of the road appeared to be Thai noodle bars and 100% of those were closed. Amongst the few shops open was a Thai massage parlour, and a shop called “Temptations”, but it wasn’t selling chocolate . One thing that hasn’t changed since the 1970’s is the stationery queues of traffic in all directions. And the Ostrich’s order for doner meat at the Full Bellies seemed to cause them no end of consternation - they looked mightily relieved when I allowed them to put barbeque sauce on it.

To the game, and Crewe are already relegated, Scunthorpe in mid-table. Back at the stadium, turnstile 11, once located, appears to be Season Ticket Holders only. I’m told to go to turnstile 10. “But it says 11,” I venture. “Well, that’s pretty typical of this club at the moment,” is the response. Up a flight of stairs; where’s Area C? The next level of staircases are marked 20,21,and so on. I ask a steward. They look puzzled. I’m eventually ushered up staircase 22. Confusing place, this! But the main stand has excellent unrestricted views of the pitch, and the strangely named Whitby Morrison Ice Cream Van Stand opposite.
http://www.whitbymorrison.com/

Now, I know from the club website that there’s to be a supporters’ planned peaceful protest taking place at today’s game, but everything seems pretty good natured around where I am. Plenty of chants of “We want Davis out” (Steve Davis, the manager) which eventually morph into “Stand Up – If you want Davis Out” (to Village People’s “Go West”, if you remember it), but the vast majority remain seated, craning around to see if anyone is actually upright ….
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1wc-AQJ2MYo

Crewe actually open the scoring on 15m when Turton hits a speculative 25 yarder from the right which catches the away keeper napping, and loops over him into the net. The home team are moving the ball around reasonably well, but the number of misplaced passes are beginning to mount up. Scunthorpe’s Williams equalises on 43m after the ball is worked through the middle and Crewe are lucky not to be behind by the interval as Hopper just fails to turn in Townsend’s cross.

The away side take the lead on 62m when neither the Crewe keeper nor an attendant defender take responsibility for a floated cross to the far post, and Adelukan, behind them, effortlessly poaches the goal. Disaster on 75m when Williams notches his second from a rebound off the keeper, the Crewe defence in complete disarray. But Crewe set up an interesting finish when Haber flicks in a close range goal on 80m to make it 2-3; unfortunately they can’t find the equaliser, Haber skying a Bakayogo cross high over the bar when it would have been easier to score. It wasn’t the first sitter Haber had missed and he was substituted shortly after.

All in all, quite a watchable game for the neutral supporter. Crewe should have got something out of it, but a fair few chances went begging, unfortunately. And Scunthorpe always looked like they could up a gear if necessary ….

The match finishes at 16:55, so it’s a quick dash for the Ostrich round the corner to catch the 17:01 return train. I know that this is scheduled to wait for 13 minutes at Wolverhampton station before continuing, so I hop off it there and cross platforms to pick up the semi-fast from Shrewsbury, which “overtakes” the Virgin express. A quick scramble out of New Street station and up to the Square Peg sees me just catch the bus home by the skin of my teeth, so back in the house for 18:45 after a grand day out (as Wallace and Gromit would say) in Cheshire!

Back to the West Country next week, all being well!

[Ally]

I think I'm enjoying the getting and returning from your matches almost as much as the report of the actual match now Ossie. No offence!

I started humming the "Go West" tune immediately.

Was it busy round the Square Peg area Ossie....it always seems rammed whenever we're there!

Thanks for a great read...much appreciated. x

[Suff]

Having just been travelling round New Street and areas local to Brum, all I can say is "what bus"..

I arrived in the coach station and walked to New Street and took the train to Coleshill parkway at which point I needed to get 2 miles to the bike shop. All bus stops (at the train station), said "No Sunday Service".

OK Says I, I'll take the Taxi card and call for a taxi. To which the controller says "I've no cars today"....

20 minutes later I arrived on foot with a very poor impression of transport in our country and in Brum in general. Clearly it's easier to get to the matches though.

[TheOstrich]

Yes, when I saw you were heading for Coleshill, Suff, I very nearly made a comment on your m/c thread, especially as I thought I might know the m/c shop, as there is one which is in the middle of nowhere near Hams Hall Distribution Centre, but I think your emporium was a different one.

The first trouble with Coleshill is that it's outside the West Midlands boundary, it's in Warwickshire, so it's not supported by Centro, the local transport organisation. There is an hourly bus service from central Birmingham to central Coleshill on a Sunday, but as you discovered, the train's easier. But Coleshill Parkway isn't exactly in Coleshill. And that's the second trouble with Coleshill, it's long and straggly and decidedly hilly in places ....

Ally, the Square Peg (it's a JD Weatherspoons) is always rammed when I go past it. Never been in it, though, as it always gives the air of being a bit rough round the edges .... Getting a bus from outside there is OK, but I wouldn't like to hang around there much in the evenings, TBH.

[Ally]

Never been in the Square Peg either Ossie...never fancied going in and this is from someone who likes a pub!!

Perhaps the UK could take a leaf out of European countries. Most seem to have excellent transport systems which run successfully and profitably.

Here, if your train is 15 mins late you get a quarter of your fare back. 30 mins half back and a full refund if 45 mins late!

Suffice to say we've never had to wait for a train.

[Suff]

Hi Ossie,

It's round the back of Bikers world. Just off Lichfield where it is really close to the M42. Forgotten it's name and don't have the energy to look it up. I've just spent the evening freeing off binding brakes and replacing almost all the plugs in the engine. The old ones you could just about drive a bus through. Almost all is because I picked up the last 4 plugs in Halfords from the bike area and wound up with one car plug... so I replaced all but the easiest to get at and I'll do it tomorrow. That fixed the cold starting issue...

Transport really is hit and miss in the UK. No bus I could deal with. No taxi, not so much. Had I known I'd have booked an Uber taxi whilst on the bus down. C'est la vie. And the taxi companies wonder why Uber is taking over....

[TheOstrich]

Hi Ossie,

It's round the back of Bikers world.

Ah, Bikers World, that's the place I had in mind. Just down the road from Old Saltleians RUFC. No regular bus service anywhere near there. You'd have done better to come to my place and I'd have given you a lift there - about a 12 minute drive ....

If you need to take the bike back, be reasonably quick. HS2 is due to completely obliterate that area (once they start building it)!

[TheOstrich]

Here, if your train is 15 mins late you get a quarter of your fare back. 30 mins half back and a full refund if 45 mins late!

Suffice to say we've never had to wait for a train.

I was going to put in a Delay Repay claim last Autumn when my original London Midland train back from Leighton Buzzard got cancelled, but when I looked at the small print, I found in the event I'd missed the criteria by about 3 minutes!!

http://www.londonmidland.com/contact-us ... lay-repay/