Crap signal, a few beverages in The Garrison, and breakfast at an old coal mine… it’s Mansfield away!
A trio of tales from County’s trip to Nottinghamshire last weekend
Saturday 7 September 2024
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Dear County fans, Stopfordians, Mansfield supporters, and anyone else from The Football Family joining us today, a very warm welcome to your Saturday edition of The Scarf My Father Wore.
County aren’t in action today (Wrexham have just knocked us off top spot by beating Shrewsbury) but you can sit back and enjoy three away day tales from last weekend courtesy of John K Bilsbury, Ruben Hernandez and Stuart Mackinlay.
Today’s edition is sponsored by Colourtone. As always, a big thank you to Paul.
Thanks also to RIAN Construction, who sponsor our Mansfield Town content on the website.
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: 176.31 miles
Total steps so far: 284,130
Total raised so far: £2,001
Total completed streets so far: 399 (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
🎶 “We go to all the away matches, by bus, by train, by car….. And we get so pissed before the game, we don’t know where we are!” 🎶
A lyric from a classic County song gave Des Junior a little bit of inspiration for this regular feature – why have one away day review when you can have three! So when County are playing away from home, The Scarf My Father Wore will be sending three intrepid reporters out into the unknown to share their tales from motorways and train stations across the country.
John K Bilsbury got the Fingerpost Flyer to Mansfield, Ruben Hernandez caught the train, and Stuart Mackinlay decided to drive (kindly giving your editor a lift in the process!).
⏰ Up
John: I had a lie-in by my standards: 6.30am.
Ruben: 7.50am.
Stuart: 8am.
🍳 Breakfast
John: A rummage in the fridge produced some pate that wanted eating up, so I had that with some Nairn's oatcakes and a few capers.
Ruben: A meal deal.
Stuart: The plan was to have breakfast at the old coal mine in Pleasley which is now a museum and café. That plan failed around Chatsworth Hall as the roads became gridlocked with the local county show going on. We missed breakfast so Linda and I settled for ham, egg and chips while Des Junior had a jacket potato with beans and salad. The food was excellent.
⬅️ Before
John: Took Flori the dog for a walk round Great Moor Park and fed him his breakfast. At 9.30, tuned in to Geordie Hatter's Away Day Show and carried on listening to that until I was en-route to the match.
Ruben: Collected a 4-pack of Madri from Sainsbury’s.
Stuart: Picked Des Junior up at Stockport station at 10, then the lovely Linda at 10.10.
👕 Clobber
John: Brown Meindl boots, black generic trouserings, Oysterband 40th anniversary tour T-shirt, dark blue Cotton Traders polo shirt, denim jacket and Tilley 'Outback' hat.
Ruben: Black jeans, plain shirt, True Religion jumper and black jacket.
Stuart: A County cap, last season’s third shirt and jeans.
🛫 Outbound
John: Got a lift to Lowndes Lane to join the queue for the Fingerpost Flyer. Left at 11, had to go the long way round because of a road closure somewhere. Watched a bit of football on my phone once Geordie Hatter’s show finished.
Ruben: The journey was great. Started at Stockport, then down to Stoke, then Nottingham, then Mansfield. Four carriages on the first train but most of the seats were occupied after a swarm of County fans got on. Train to Nottingham was again packed with County fans, as well as a hen party and a stag do. Upon arriving in Notts there was an 18-minute wait for our East Midlands service to Mansfield.
Stuart: A lot of traffic.
🍺 Pre-match
John: Resisted the fleshpots of Dunelm's café and just waited for the turnstiles to open. Wanted to make a fuss of the sniffer dog but apparently that's not allowed.
Ruben: Had a few beverages in The Garrison before going to Spoons for a bit of grub (and more beverages).
Stuart: Found a real ale pub called The Garrison and met two county fans from Ilkeston, father and son Paul and Niall. Really nice people.
🏙 Destination
John: It's just a lot of traffic you have to go through to get to the football ground, which backs on to a retail park. I'd probably see it differently if I lived there.
Ruben: Just a plain simple town really. Nothing too special or exciting about it.
Stuart: Mansfield was nice. Not the shithole everyone makes out.
🏟 Visitors
John: A decent view, even though I was near the front. I was in the corner near the noisiest of the home fans so there was quite a bit of byplay between them and us.
Ruben: Away end had OK facilities, a decent bar area and substantial toilets.
Stuart: Decent enough away end.
1️⃣ First
John: Just watched for the most part but clapped as required and sang occasionally. Fretted a bit about our slow build-up.
Ruben: Thought it was quite close.
Stuart: Celebrated our equaliser.
🍿 Interval
John: Visited the gents then tried to keep track of the Test Match on my phone but the EE signal at Field Mill is even worse than it is at EP, which is really saying something.
Ruben: Went to the concourse and spoke with a few friends.
Stuart: Had a chat with my mate Ross who’d travelled over from Norfolk.
2️⃣ Second
John: As per the first half but got more excited when it looked like we might force a win.
Ruben: Thought we were much better than them but they started to play aggressive and physical to shut us out in our search for a winner.
Stuart: Disappointed we couldn’t nick a winner late on.
🔵 Us
John: Turned up in numbers, made a decent racket. Tried hard with a new Louie Barry song but I'm not sure it's going to catch on.
Ruben: County fans were in good volume. Kept going for the majority of the game and had good back and forth with the home fans.
Stuart: A sold-out away end with fans travelling from all over the country. Outstanding.
🟡 Them
John: They have recently lost two of their better players but I didn't detect any sort of adverse reaction. They have a knot of vocal supporters who make a tidy din up in the rafters and fair play to them.
Ruben: Mansfield fans in decent volume. Had a few decent chants. Loud for their goal (which was a bit lucky going underneath Addai).
Stuart: Mansfield fans were great, really got behind their team.
🍻 Post-match
John: Straight back on the coach and set my stall out ready to watch whatever the teatime match was on Sky.
Ruben: Started the same journey back but in reverse. Restocked on booze for the way back as I refused to arrive in Stoke stone-cold sober.
Stuart: Straight back to the car.
🛬 Inbound
John: Pretty painless once we got out of the retail park. The police cleared the way for us as best they could but it's always a slow business there. The best bit was Lou Spalding giving me my winnings for predicting the time of the first goal for the second away trip on the trot.
Ruben: Journey home was good. Spoke with some Wolves and Forest fans who had just played each other. Had a good laugh with them and chatted about football for a while.
Stuart: We went on a magical mystery tour via Buxton. Don’t trust sat-navs.
➡️ After
John: Ate the fish, chips and curry sauce bought with my winnings. Wrote a blog entry for The Scarf Bergara Wore.
Ruben: Went straight to bed as I had work the next day.
Stuart: Dropped off my two friends, went home, had a large glass of wine and watched Match of the Day. (Not as good as County.)
🛏 Bed
John: About half past ten. I didn't require much rocking before sleep o'ertook me.
Ruben: About 1am.
Stuart: After Match of the Day.
💷 Cost
John: Coach £20. Ticket £23. Burger and bottle of pop in the ground £7.50. Tea for two from the chippy £17. Total £67.50. (Reduced to £43.50 with my winnings!)
Ruben: Train was about £11. Managed to shithouse my way down there knowing trains would be packed and conductors wouldn’t come round often for tickets. About £30 on booze.
Stuart: About £40 for petrol, £9 at the café, and £23 for my ticket because I’m an old git.
🏅 Rating
John: 8/10. A two point reduction for the result.
Ruben: 7/10. Would have been a 9 or a 10 had Tanto buried that chance at the end.
Stuart: Great company for my journey and a good result. 8/10.
So there you have it folks, three tales from Mansfield away, and it’s a joint victory for… THE BUS and THE CAR!
If you’re making the long trek down to Crawley next Saturday, do you fancy writing about your trip? Email thescarfmyfatherwore@substack.com.
Give your car a lick of paint
Granted, Stockport used to be a little rough around the edges. But the town’s getting a good old lick of paint these days, with fancy new offices, apartments, bars and restaurants springing up. You can’t be driving up and down the A6 in a tatty car with chipped paintwork, so give your car a nice lick of paint too. Colourtone is your go-to company for that. They’ve been servicing the automotive and industrial markets in Cheshire and Greater Manchester for decades, and carry an extensive range of car paint and industrial paints.
Visit colourtone.com for further details.
For any repairs or renovations in Nottinghamshire, give RIAN Construction a call
RIAN Construction is a local family run joinery business, based in Mansfield, with over 17 years worth of experience. When carrying out any task, be it big or small, they strive for the highest of standards to bring an excellent service to you, the customer.
Whether you need a major repair or a renovation, they can deliver professional skills at a fair price. It’s their highest priority to get the job done right the first time on every assignment.
RIAN Construction will provide a full consultation to explain available options so that you can choose the service that’s right for your home or business. They strive to meet your project’s needs and save you the time.
Visit rianconstruction.co.uk for further details.
Photo of the day
The Temple Bar, Dublin
County fans enjoying a beer in the Irish capital ahead of England’s Nations League game today. It’s live on ITV at 5pm.
Today in SK
🎬 Cinema
Two films at The Savoy Cinema (SK4) with tickets available for just £4. Blink Twice (15) at 5.30pm, followed by Pulp Fiction (18) at 8pm. Click here for tickets.
The screening of Pulp Fiction coincides with Pizza Club. Tickets include a pizza from I Knead Pizza, a drink of your choice and an ice cream – all in the comfort of your cinema seat!
💿 DJ
Stockport’s biggest party at the weekend is at Bask (SK1), with DJ Gareth Brooks playing till 3am. Last entry 1.30am.
🍺 Food and drink
All pints £2.50 at The Cross Keys (SK8) from 6pm till 9pm.
If you’re simply in the mood for a couple of pints today, pop along to one of our featured venues such as AMP (SK1), The Crown (SK2), The Armoury (SK3), The Steelworks (SK6) or The Three Tunnes (SK7).
🎵 Karaoke
The Nelson Tavern (SK1) with Lee. From 8pm.
🎸 Live music
90 Proof at The Dog & Partridge (SK2). 8pm.
The Driscols at The Crown Inn (SK6). A six-piece covers band performing the greatest hits of classic bands including many 80s favourites. 9pm.
Random photos of County players at other clubs
#2 – Mike Flynn, Blackpool
Flynny celebrates Blackpool’s 2-0 win at Sheffield Wednesday in February 2004 (3-0 on aggregate) as the Seasiders book their place in the LDV Vans Trophy final at the Millennium Stadium. Blackpool (with Flynn in the team) also beat County at Edgeley Park on their road to Cardiff that season.
If you’re in need of any of the following products or services this month, drop a message to our sponsors
🪟 Blinds & Shutters: Bauhaus Blinds and Shutters
👷♂️ Builder: C E Building Services Ltd
🧱 Builders Merchant: MKM Manchester South
🧽 Car Valeting: Rub A Dubz Detailing Ltd
🧼 Carpet Cleaning: A Star Clean Ltd
🏠 Carpets & Flooring: Kingsway Carpets & Rugs Ltd
🐈 Cat Flaps: That Cat Flap Company Ltd
🧹 Cleaning: Beespoke Cleaning
🚙 Coatings: Colourtone Ltd
🧽 Commercial Cleaning: JFC Cleaning Solutions
🐶 Dog Trainer: Forever Home Dog Training
🚘 Driving School: CFN School of Motoring
💧 Exterior Cleaning: Impact Pro Clean Ltd
💷 Financial Services: The Mortgage Mill
🍦 Ice Cream: The Mobberley Ice Cream Company
💻 IT Services: Bridge Computer Services
🪚 Joinery: SAW Contracts Ltd
🔌 Kitchen Appliances: SW Appliances
📮 Leaflet Distribution: Wolf Distribution
🔑 Locksmith: APL Locksmiths Ltd
💪 Male Weight Loss: MAN v FAT
🖌 Painter & Decorator: BGM Decorators
🚑 Personal Injury: Parkers Solicitors Ltd
🧱 Plastering: DT Plastering Services and Damp Proofing Specialists
🚰 Plumber: S F Plumbing & Heating
🚚 Removals: ASAP Clearances
☀️ Solar Panels: Malbern Solar Ltd
👨💼 Solicitors: B.J. McKenna & Co
🍹 Spirits: Guerrilla Chicken Spirits
🪨 Stonemason: LM Stone Creative
🚕 Taxi Hire: Lynx Taxis
☀️ Travel Agent: PTF Travel Ltd
🧰 Vehicle Repairs: C J Motors Stockport
⚖️ Weight Loss: Slimming World Reddish & Bredbury with Shlean