Cambridge On Camera

25 photos from Saturday’s trip to the Abbey

Feb 24, 2025

Monday 24 February 2025

If you’d like to write an article for The Scarf My Father Wore, share a few snippets or photos, or advertise your business, please email thescarfmyfatherwore@substack.com.

NEXT HOME GAME: Blackpool – Saturday 1 March, 3pm

NEXT AWAY GAME: Northampton Town – Tuesday 4 March, 7.45pm

Dear County fans, Stopfordians, Cambridge supporters, and anyone else from The Football Family joining us today, a very warm welcome to your Monday edition of The Scarf My Father Wore.

Aside from its fancy university, the city of Cambridge is known for the pastime of punting. A rhyming word immediately springs to mind to describe Saturday’s performance at the Abbey Stadium, but I’ll refrain from using such language first thing on a Monday morning as you’re reading this in bed or on your train to work. We’ll take a closer look at County’s first defeat in the league since 4 January tomorrow, but for today feel free to have a gander at 25 of my photos from the weekend.

Today’s edition is sponsored by The Agency UK. A big thank you to Andrew.

Finally, I’m currently walking every street in Stockport to raise money for mental health charity Mentell. If you’d like to make a donation to help me reach my target, please click here.

Total distance so far: 216.74 miles

Total steps so far: 353,516

Total raised so far: £2,270

Total completed streets so far: 474 (Click here for the full list, which includes reports and photos from every day of the walk.)

Further information on the walk can be found by clicking here.

Des Junior

Independent estate agent Andrew Smirthwaite, based in The Heatons, explains the motivations behind running his own business

A few months ago I took a leap of faith and started my estate agency business, having decided to leave the confines of a traditional, public-facing estate agent’s office behind. Stepping away from the typical high-street ‘shop’ location has given me the freedom to focus more on what matters – building genuine relationships within the community. Working from local spots like cafés Feed, Rocksalt and Stomping Ground (to name just a few), means I’m totally embedded in the places where my clients live and work – and that helps foster trust and ‘the personal touch’ that I believe is hard to achieve in a more corporate setting.

Breaking into the property market in The Heatons was always going to be a challenge, given the area’s well-established agencies. But thanks to my community-first approach, I’m starting to feel a growing connection and recognition within the local market. Whether it’s reconnecting with people I’ve known for years or developing new relationships, I’ve seen the positive impact of being accessible and present in the community. New business is steadily coming in, and I’m proud to say that a combination of recommendations by word of mouth and local advertising is beginning to work its magic.

A key part of my ethos is working with a carefully managed number of clients at any given time: I firmly believe that having fewer clients benefits all involved, allowing me to dedicate more time, energy and attention to each property sale.

This focused approach means I can provide a tailored service that ensures every home is shown in its best light, and I’m confident my current clients would agree that this strategy works.

If moving house is on your list of goals for 2025, now could be the perfect time to start those early conversations. Taking the time to understand your property’s current market value, as well as getting advice on any improvements that could boost its appeal and value, can make all the difference when it’s time to sell.

A visit from me is not just about getting your property on the market, it’s about giving you a clear picture of where you stand in the local Heatons market, and what steps you can take to maximise your home’s value. I’ll guide you through the process and ensure that, whether you’re selling in a few months or a year from now, you feel confident and informed at every step of the way.

If you’re considering making a move in 2025, get in touch. I’d love to help you understand how your property could be positioned for success in the coming year.

➡️ Give Andrew a call on 07835 976554 or email andrew.smirthwaite@theagencyuk.com.

Photo(s) of the day

Blackpool, Lancashire

Regular readers will know I always share a random photo each day, whether that’s from the past or the present. With Blackpool coming up this weekend, I thought I’d share a snap or two from last August, when County won 3-0 at the seaside in front of 3,911 jubilant away fans. However, upon noticing that I took 55 photos that day - and realising that number very neatly divides by 5 - I’ve decided to share the whole lot over the course of this week! Here’s the first lot…

Today in SK

🎬 Cinema

One film at The Savoy Cinema (SK4) today. Bridget Jones: Mad About The Boy (15) at 6pm and 8.30pm.

➡️ Click here for tickets.

🍺 Food and drink

Happy Hour at Covent Garden Café (SK1) between 1.30pm and 2.30pm. If you spend £20 or more you get to roll the dice, and if you roll a 6 your bill is half price!

Enjoy a coffee and a cake for just £6 at The Dog & Partridge (SK2). The perfect excuse for a catch-up! 12pm - 4pm.

Bitter £2.30 a pint all day at The Cross Keys (SK8). Plus, discounts on certain lagers between 12pm and 6pm.

A number of venues are featured on The Scarf My Father Wore such as The Crown (SK2), The Alexandra (SK3), The Crown Inn (SK6), The Steelworks (SK6), The Three Tunnes (SK7), Flute & Firkin (SK12) and The Ram’s Head (SK12). Support them this month by popping in for a few drinks or a bite to eat.

🎶 Free jukebox

The Nelson Tavern (SK1). From 6.30pm.

Random snippets from old County programmes

#1 - County v Norwich, 15 August 1998

County captain Mike Flynn discusses the 2-1 win at Bradford on the opening day of the new First Division season the previous Saturday.

It was nice to get back into action on Saturday. We worked very hard in pre-season on a few things, especially defensive play. The gaffer felt that we conceded far too many goals last season and everything went as planned at Bradford. It was a fantastic result against a team that had spent around £3m on new players. We couldn’t ask for a better start.

We were relieved that it wasn’t as warm as it was last season. The first day of the season always seems to chuck up a real scorcher and it was certainly warm again, but at the end of the day we were all rewarded for all our pre-season hard work.

I felt a bit sorry for Toddy. He was in a real no win situation on Saturday. He still thinks he’s a Stockport fan and he has many friends in the Stockport area and because of this it was fate that he would either score the winner for Bradford or he would give one away. Luckily it was the latter.

Credit too to Tony Dinning. There are three or four players who fancy themselves as penalty takers. Coops, Brett, Jim and Tony have all taken them, but when the referee pointed to the spot on Saturday TD ran 60 yards to snatch the ball off Coops and at the end of the day if he’s that confident then let him take it.