01/07 – it is a matter of historical record that the Ostrich has only ever attended four weddings, including his own. It will be five, however, from the Autumn, when Master O ties the knot. I have impressed upon him the seriousness of committing the offence on a Saturday in season, but he has refused to move the whole event to a Friday night to avoid the clash; further, he says I will not be allowed to skip the reception for a visit to Wimbledon RFC.
Absolutely impossible, these youngsters. Oh yes, and in all my years of watching football, I’ve only witnessed one live penalty shoot-out, two seasons ago at Eccleshall in Staffordshire ….Today saw the start of the pre-season friendlies, which clubs use to get players match fit and to hone tactics. Or basically just hoof the ball about in a leisurely manner.
So it was off to Wareham for a 1:00 kick-off, and I allowed an hour and a half for the 35 odd miles, being a bit unsure about holiday traffic down on the Jurassic Coast. Possibly a wise move, as the A351 from Upton Heath into Wareham was exceedingly slow, one long 3 mile tail-back. And then, having found the right road in Wareham for the Purbeck Sports Centre, there were two large schools complexes more or less opposite each other and I initially drove into the wrong one! The Purbeck Sports Centre is council-owned, and quite a rabbit-warren of a facility. I managed to navigate my way upstairs to the AllStars Sports Bar which was busy and provided a pretty comprehensive café dining menu, and then out the back to the sports fields where archery was in progress (I hope we don’t have to fight Agincourt again, based on the accuracy of the competitors
) and the soccer teams were warming up in the far distance. The Centre offers, amongst a large range of classes, something called Family PiYo Spinning, which from what I can gather seems to be a combination of pilates and yoga, and presumably may or may not involve a loom or a yo-yo. 
Or even, I suppose, a hula-hoop. Strangely, there is a minimum height requirement of 1.35 metres 
, and it’s £4 for an adult, £3.50 for a child per session. Ossie is fair dizzy at the thought of it. 
Wareham Rangers’ pitch is over in the southern corner of the field, and there is even on the touchline an ancient wooden stand, which contained no seats or furniture, only old scaffolding poles. But it was lovely sunny day, and the crowd were mainly slouched on the grassy bank between the pitch and the tennis courts. Some grumbling from the ground-hoppers in attendance who were initially banned from taking photographs of the action under Sports Centre regulations, but a sensible compromise was reached after both team managers had given permission.
After the Ostrich had sorted out which team was which – one side played in orange shirts, black shorts, the other in black and white hooped shirts, orange shorts, while Wareham Rangers’ club colours are basically yellow
– we settled down to a quite competitive game in which Bemerton Heath Harlequins, the more senior side ran out, in the end, comfortable winners. Hopefully, we shall run into Wessex League Bemerton Heath again later in the season as they are on my bucket-shop list for a ground visit. Weddings permitting! 
Pre-season Friendly: Wareham Rangers 0 Bemerton Heath Harlequins 4
Free admission, no programme, £2.80 for a take-away coffee and Chunky KitKat from the Sports Bar, attendance 37.
They have taken a voluntary demotion back into the Dorset League, and inevitably a number of last year’s first team squad have moved on, but on a more positive note, quite a few seem to have stayed loyal. I hope the club can keep going; it’s their 150th anniversary in 2020 and it would be a shame if they implode.
, albeit 7 minutes late and delaying the Waterloo bound service train (it’s a single line track with a passing loop at Gillingham Station), and further, the locomotive is now masquerading as 34052 “Lord Dowding”. There seems to be vogue in railway preservation circles for resurrecting the persona of long scrapped steam engines, which does seem a bit silly to me, but whatever floats your boat, as they say ......