A Fishy Day Out

By: Nick Osborne
Date: 17/08/2001

THE DAY OF RECKONING had arrived. Town at home to Crewe in the first match of the new season. Apart from the usual "will we won't we" small talk, the day was to be enjoyed by all.

Meeting up in the local Blundell Park Hotel, were Nicko, Steff K and Mike Dunderdale. Pete Conboy and his son Patrick were to meet us later at the ground. They had gone on ahead so Patrick could take part in the tour of the ground.

Nicko was first on the scene, swiftly followed by Steff. A long wait and many phone calls later, Mike arrived. Better late than never you might think, but it was in fact a phrase he had learnt on his way here, courtesy of the Lincs traffic constabulary. Mike was stopped for speeding on the A46 and was offered the choice of either a fixed penalty fine with the points or a survey to complete. His quickest answer was 'where's the pen?'. It would never have happened of course if he had said he was coming to the bastion of English football, Blundell Park would it?

We ambled over to BP and were met by the meters and greeters at the door. Issued with our tickets and passes we made our way upstairs to the bar, yes the bar. beer was available to all on a corporate package though it was waitress service (left), very nice too I might add. (The waitresses not the beer). A three course lunch with a choice of red or white vinegar, sorry, home label wine, maybe its the same thing who knows.

Top Waitress!, Lennie Lawrence, Mike, Pete
Bottom Nicko, Patrick, Steff

This was followed by a sermon by the local 'vicar', who predicted great things to come from his disciples.The new offspring were on a sort of trial with the elders of the group. We later decided the young disciple had completed his baptism with fire in a very creditable manner.

The 'vicar' went on to say that his flock would play a great part in his disciples future and thanked us all for our continued attendance and support.

By now you will have realised that the vicar was in fact Lennie Lawrence who gave us a good pre-match chat, with his expectations for today and the coming season. He is a good talker and we await his actions to see if he lives up to expectations. One thing I did notice was enthusiasm for the task ahead - which can only be a good thing.

Pictures and ball presentation by LL and 3 players and then it was time for the KO. The players on duty today were Raven, D Smith and Robert Busscher. Plenty of time for chat and small talk, but they wouldn't dish out any secrets, much to our disappointment.

The directors were also on hand for a chat, with John Fenty putting himself about quite a bit. He wasn't afraid to answer questions and was honest and polite, but then he would be wouldn't he? In fairness, he seemed a decent bloke and appeared quite genuine.

No alcohol at half time but coffee was on hand. Back to the bar at full time and a few words of encouragement from all and sundry.

The day was in fact very pleasurable and I wouldn't hesitate in doing again or advising others to do it. The hospitality is good and you are actually made to feel welcome.

The result went our way as well so all in all I think a good day was had by all.

Thanks to those that went, and thanks to GTISC for arranging the day.

Nicko.

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