Exeter 0 County 2

Plus! An interview with comedian Sam Serrano

Apr 08, 2025

Tuesday 8 April 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: Rotherham United – Saturday 12 April, 3pm

NEXT AWAY GAME: Peterborough United – Friday 18 April, 3pm

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

Dan Levy joins us today to reflect on County’s “routine” victory in Devon on Saturday, with Jon from The Big Bank Theory podcast providing the Exeter view.

I’ve also had a chat with comedian Sam Serrano, whose TV credits include Dave, Comedy Central and UKTV. Sam’s on the line-up for my second Desmond’s Comedy Club night at The Fingerpost on Friday 25 April. The launch night in March was fantastic, with loads of County fans in the audience. It would be lovely to see even more of you at my April gig. If you’d like to come along, drop me a message, call/text 07816 111150 or email thescarfmyfatherwore@substack.com. Tickets are £15, with the show starting at 7.30pm.

Today’s edition is sponsored by Pate & Lever Roofing. A big thank you to Barry.

Thanks also to Pro-Tech Print who sponsor our Exeter City 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: 253.75 miles

Total steps so far: 418,084

Total raised so far: £2,292

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

Photo courtesy of Mike Petch

✍️ Saturday’s match in one word

Jon: Disappointing.

Dan: Routine.

🤔 Pre-match thoughts

Jon: Well, we’ve been very poor this year, but our midweek win at Barnsley was one of our best performances for ages. I had a slither of optimism.

Dan: I thought we’d win, but didn’t expect it would be a walkover.

🧐 Post-match thoughts

Jon: How wrong I was to be optimistic. The usually terrible brand of Caldwell-ball. Defensive shape at all costs.

Dan: Walkover. Automatics are out of reach now, unless Wrexham have a breakdown (and wouldn’t we enjoy that). We’re going to be in the play-offs.

🔴 Verdict on Exeter

Jon: Just banal and pathetic really.

Dan: Completely toothless. Did they have a shot on goal, other than that one that trickled through to Addai? Their best chance was the underhit backpass to Addai midway through the second half.

🟡 Verdict on County

Jon: You looked solid but almost impossible to say more given how terrible we were.

Dan: We were dominant. Once we went two up (and certainly in the second half) we mostly just tried to avoid wasting any unnecessary effort. At one point, Ethan Pye seemed to be yawning – a boring day at the office without much to do.

🔴 Top Grecian

Jon: The match announcer who tried to tell us about the mad amounts of added time, without adding to our depression.

Dan: They were uniformly poor. If I had to choose, Josh Magennis, for not pretending to be doing more than making up the numbers.

🎩 Top Hatter

Jon: Fraser Horsfall always looks solid.

Dan: Diamond was fabulous, Moxon good while he was in one piece, and Tanto had their defence terrified. But I’ll go for Kyle Wootton – his usual excellent hold-up play, plus two poacher’s goals.

👂 Atmosphere

Jon: We’re in a terrible slump; supporters are starting to stay away or leave early. Despite some good efforts from the crowd, it was very very flat. Good away support though! Fair play to you. Lots of singing and noise.

Dan: Party atmosphere. Not sure about the dressing up for games thing, but if someone wants to pretend to be at the darts, so be it. We kept singing all game.

🙏 Hopes for the rest of the season

Jon: That our manager departs, taking the defensive mindset with him.

Dan: We’re going to be in the play-offs. Hateful things, the play-offs. I would have been happy with lower mid-table at the start of the season. We’ve exceeded expectations by a mile.

😀 Best part of the day

Jon: The cuppa at home afterwards.

Dan: To be honest the game was actually quite boring. It was just too easy. My son and I like a bit of culture on our tours, and it was great that there was only a 20-minute stroll from the cathedral (open, not charging for entry like Lincoln Cathedral) to the ground. I like Exeter, and I like fan-owned Exeter City. And their pasties. And it’s always fun to get a goal in the first 90 seconds.

😡 Worst part of the day

Jon: Conceding after a minute and knowing what was coming for the next two hours. Why do we do it to ourselves?!

Dan: The game wasn’t great. It would have been more fun if we had kept going and run up a cricket score against one of the worst teams we’ve played.

An excellent weekend in Exeter

The Scarf My Father Wore

Apr 6

Read full story

The British Library receives a copy of every single book published in the UK. In the same fashion, Des Junior believes a detailed record of every County game should be preserved for the history books. So here’s the full story of our 2-0 victory at Exeter City on Saturday 5 April, as told from his County-related WhatsApp groups…

8.03am:

8.29am: Gonna be one pissed up away end today.

9.08am: I am offering a coach respite express return journey for anyone in need. When I say ‘anyone’ I mean ‘anyone who won’t be really annoying, hasn’t been wearing fancy dress or consumed any illegal substances’.

9.11am: Nobody then.

3.03pm: We’re 1-0 up already.

3.24pm: Wootton again! I thought he was miles off but not the case.

3.55pm: Nose jobs all the rage this week at County. Moxon’s turn to have his face re-arranged.

4.58pm: Sounds like it’s been a party in that away end today.

8.08pm: Back home. We played that at half pace. Second half we just saved energy. Exeter were as bad as any team we've played this season. Even our team was bored.

8.09pm: Eight more boring 2-0s would take us to the Championship.

8.10pm: We won't be so dominant in most of our remaining games.

11.28pm: Where are you?

11.29pm: The Turks Head.

11.37pm: I came to The Turks Head thinking you'd come here. I've had a piss but can't see you. I'll get a beer and hunt you fuckers down. Don't ever sleep until I get you…

11.38pm: We’re still in The Turks Head.

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10 questions with Sam Serrano!

Sam Serrano, who’s been on Dave, Comedy Central and UKTV, will be on the bill at The Fingerpost on Friday 25 April for the next Desmond’s Comedy Club night. Here’s a quick Q&A.

1) Thanks for joining us Sam Serrano. How does it feel to be named after some Spanish ham?

It’s given me a great nickname for my cock.

2) You’ve done some work on Dave and Comedy Central. What was that like?

It was phenomenal, they both had a free bar! What’s not to love. In all honesty it was dead cool and the day after Comedy Central I did a gig to seven people at an open mic night which was humbling.

3) What’s been your favourite comedy gig so far?

I did my first 20-minute set at the Comedy Store and that was incredible. Such a milestone and had a fookin smasher.

4) And the worst?

So, so many I could put here. If you turn up and it’s eight people in a bar with the mic in the corner that’s doomed before it starts. Worst one of those I did was when they handed me a Bluetooth mic and when I asked where the speaker was they just kept saying “well it’s Bluetooth so it doesn’t need speakers”. I explained that’s not what Bluetooth means and they said “well just shout and it’ll sound like there’s speakers”. (Spoiler alert: it didn’t, it sounded like I was shouting.)

5) Who’s your comedy hero?

Doug Stanhope or Taylor Tomlinson.

6) Best thing about being a comedian?

The gigs. It’s genuinely great to make money doing this. Even when the gigs are poo it’s still so much fun.

7) Worst thing about being a comedian?

Northern Rail. And every rail service. And everyone who works on the trains. And everyone who gets the trains.

8) What’s your thoughts on the town of Stockport?

I’ve not been there too often but it seems decent. Some really nice bars and places to eat. Blossoms are from there as well so that’s really cool.

9) Where will you be travelling from for the gig in Stockport, how will you be getting there, and what snacks do you reckon you’ll be eating on the journey?

I’m coming from Wigan so I’ll probably eat the pills I’m given at Wigan North Western.

10) And finally, obviously I do these little interviews to sell tickets for the shows. Why should people come and see you at The Fingerpost in April?

Because nothing beats live comedy! I’m dead good. I don’t know who else is on but I’m opening so you’ll have your money’s worth after the first act. (I have crippling imposter syndrome and put on a mask of confidence to distract the world from thinking I’m never going to be good enough and I think about quitting on a weekly basis.)

➡️ Come and see Sam (and me!) at the end of this month. Drop me a message, call/text 07816 111150 or email thescarfmyfatherwore@substack.com.

Photo of the day

St James Park, Exeter

A topless Dave Philbin on the pitch on Saturday. He was well and truly robbed in his half-time race against an Exeter fan, but his knee slide in front of the away end was a thing of beauty. You’re a winner in our eyes, Dave.

5 questions with Chris from Pro-Tech Print

What was the best moment with your business in March?

Finally receiving the parts we needed to fix our DTF printer, which had a huge breakdown in January. I’m sure the Chinese send stuff via sloth carriers! It’s one of our main sources of income, which prints the images for the T-shirts and hoodies, so it’s a relief to have it back up and running.

What’s your plans for the business in April?

We’re in the process of launching our own clothing brand, Face Myself. Both Ben (my business partner) and myself suffer from PTSD, and with every purchase we’ll be donating to the UK’s only PTSD charity, PTSD UK. We’ll be doing two lines: casual and sports.

What would you like to promote The Scarf My Father Wore readers this month?

It would be fantastic if they could support the new clothing brand. We’ll be donating £1 for every T-shirt sold and £2 for every hoodie.

I’ve just spent a couple of nights in Exeter for the County game. What’s your favourite place in the UK for a weekend away?

It’s got to be Liverpool. The football, the nightlife, the history and the people. Awesome city!

I’ve got Tony Burgess headlining my next Desmond’s Comedy Club at the end of this month, who played the brother of Johnny Vegas in the BBC sitcom Ideal. What’s your favourite sitcom of all time?

Has to be Only Fools and Horses.

➡️ For any enquiries, please call 07714 999832 or email chris@pro-techprint.co.uk.

Today in SK

🥃 Food and drink

The Nelson Tavern (SK1) have a great range of offers throughout the week, including £5.50 for drinks off the Doubles Bar, a comprehensive range of shots for £1.50, and 3 for £7 on Jägerbombs. Also, double up for £2 on premium spirits.

Bitter £2.30 a pint all day at The Cross Keys (SK8).

A number of venues are featured on The Scarf My Father Wore such as The Crown (SK2), The Dog & Partridge (SK2), The Alexandra (SK3), The Crown Inn (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.