Trapping off with a lovely Geordie girl and chocolate for breakfast… it’s Barrow away!
A Boxing Day trip to Cumbria
Thursday 11 January 2024
NEXT HOME GAME: Walsall – Saturday 13 January, 3pm
NEXT AWAY GAME: Notts County – Saturday 20 January, 3pm
NOTTS COUNTY COACHES:
Bredbury Con Club: FULL
Crofter: FULL
Fingerpost: FULL
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Dear County fans, Stopfordians, and anyone else joining us today, a very warm welcome to your Thursday edition of The Scarf My Father Wore.
Are you feeling ready to conquer 2024 yet, having dusted off the 2023 cobwebs? County are certainly looking forward, with yesterday’s 38-second video acting as a rallying call to Hatters as we approach the final 20 games of the season.
“An opportunity again to perform in front of our home supporters,” says Dave Challinor on the voiceover. “Twenty games to go one better than we did last season. We know it’s not gonna be easy, but we know what it takes. Those twenty games start now.”
Whether it’s the title, automatic promotion, or the play-offs (I’m not even contemplating the disaster of finishing 8th…), The Scarf My Father Wore will be providing plenty of great coverage every step of the way. I do have three final bits of business from 2023 to take care of, however. Away day tales from Barrow and Bradford, plus a fantastic long-read feature looking back at the whole year which should be ready this weekend for you.
With no trains running on Boxing Day, we’ve only got two away day tales from Barrow, rather than our usual three. We’ve pulled out all the stops to bring you two fantastic contributors, though. One drinks Unicorn for breakfast; the other eats chocolate. Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, I give you Simon George and Paul Wright.
Today’s edition is sponsored by Sophie Pavey Fitness and The Sleep Nanny. A big thank you to both Sophie and Lisa.
Sophie helps women achieve sustainable results through weight training. If any of our female readers would like more information, give Sophie a call on 07734 022670 or email sophie@sophiepaveyfitness.com.
Lisa specialises in helping children with sleep issues. If your little ones are experiencing any problems in that area, give her a call on 07958 756977 or email lisafoster@sleepnanny.co.uk.
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: 46.68 miles
Total steps so far: 83,302
Total raised so far: £1,037
Total completed streets so far: 24 (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
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🎶 “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 (well, unless it’s like Plymouth on a Tuesday night), 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.
Trains don’t run on Boxing Day (or most of the other 364 days of the year at the moment…), but we’ve still got a couple of write-ups from Simon George, who travelled on the Fingerpost Flyer, and Paul Wright, who drove up to Barrow.
⏰ Up
Simon: When my body allowed me. I didn’t look at a clock.
Paul: About 9am.
🍳 Breakfast
Simon: Unicorn at The Fingerpost. Does that count as breakfast?
Paul: Toast and chocolate. (It was Boxing Day!)
⬅️ Before
Simon: Drank a couple of breakfasts and got on the bus.
Paul: Just made sure I had enough fuel.
👕 Clobber
Simon: Our peppermint shirt. My general rule of thumb is home top for home games, away top for away games, and a retro top for cup games. I may need to review the retro top thing as we’ve not won the FA Cup yet.
Paul: I threw on my jeans and a tracksuit top.
🛫 Outbound
Simon: A long one, as it always is to get up to Barrow.
Paul: Easy.
🍺 Pre-match
Simon: I met a couple from Stockport (who were completely unaware County were playing in Barrow) visiting their grandparent, along with their cute small dog. After that I visited the pub where my partner and I stayed last year when I treated her to a weekend away. This time I trapped off with a lovely Geordie girl who now lives in Barrow.
Paul: Went to Asda to cash in a scratchcard. The snooker club was too busy so we went to the ground for a pie and a pint (shandy of course).
🏙 Destination
Simon: I’ve got a soft spot for Barrow as I holidayed there last year with my lovely. We couldn’t cross to Piel Island unfortunately… where I intended to become King.
Paul: Dull.
🏟 Visitors
Simon: The away end was much better with the gazebos.
Paul: Non-league but traditional.
1️⃣ First
Simon: Watched us surrender.
Paul: Switched from the terrace to the stand as my youngest wanted to sit down. Crap view.
🍿 Interval
Simon: Had an unexpected amazing pie. And beer.
Paul: Gossiped.
2️⃣ Second
Simon: Watched us recover.
Paul: Stood behind the goal.
⚫️ Us
Simon. Brilliant. Obviously.
Paul: It’s just the same generic songs at the moment.
🔵 Them
Simon: Cutest tifo ever. Small in numbers, work with what you have. Superb stuff.
Paul: Pretty good, although most of them were under the age of five.
🍻 Post-match
Simon: Got on the bus and opened a beer. That point could prove very valuable.
Paul: Straight home.
🛬 Inbound
Simon: You’ll have to ask others. I fell asleep. Somebody probably has a picture of their dick on my forehead.
Paul: OK, apart from taking a wrong turn to momentarily head north up the M6.
➡️ After
Simon: Went round to my brother's. Great night. He’s a season ticket holder at Citeh. Obviously I changed into the recently produced Patrick top in honour of our victory at Maine Road.
Paul: Watched United v Villa.
🛏 Bed
Simon: I haven’t got a fucking clue.
Paul: I was done in by 11.30pm.
💷 Cost
Simon: Probably a lot more than I want to admit to my better half. Can we exclude this question?
Paul: Including three young lads, about £100 in total.
🏅 Rating
Simon: Not as good as last time when me and my better half made a weekend of it. 7/10.
Paul: 6.5/10.
So there you have it folks, two tales from Barrow away, and it’s a victory for… THE BUS!
Are you going to Notts County next weekend? If you’d be happy to answer a few questions about your away day, please email thescarfmyfatherwore@substack.com.
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Book a £49 SOS call in January
Lisa Foster is a sleep consultant who helps families with their children’s sleep problems. Waking in the night, early rising or stressful bedtimes can be difficult for parents, but Lisa can support you to resolve the issues. She has a range of packages to suit every budget so please feel free to get in touch, to see how she can best get you the results you need.
For January, Lisa’s offering a £49 SOS call. This is a 30-minute call where you can speak to Lisa to look at making important changes to your child’s bedtime routine to help them sleep better.
Visit lisafoster.sleepnanny.co.uk for further details.
Photo of the day
The Queens, Bredbury
Will Mellor popped into one of his local pubs to watch the League Cup semi-final first leg between Liverpool and Fulham last night.
Bunch of fives
5️⃣ Will Mellor TV shows
1) Strictly Come Dancing
2) Coronation Street
3) Hollyoaks
4) Two Pints of Lager and a Packet of Crisps
5) Broadchurch
The top 5️⃣ in League Two this weekend
1) County (1st) v Walsall (13th)
2) Morecambe (17th) v Mansfield (2nd)
3) Wrexham (3rd) v Wimbledon (7th)
4) Sutton (24th) v Barrow (4th)
5) Crewe (5th) v Swindon (15th)
5️⃣ spoons
1) Soup
2) Table
3) Dessert
4) Wooden
5) Wether
5️⃣ members of The Beavers (who play Woodford Community Centre this Saturday!)
1) Adrian
2) Graham
3) Jack
4) Mark
5) Nick
5️⃣ things Scousers hate
1) Tories
2) The Sun
3) Stereotypes
4) England
5) United fans
Today in SK
🎬 Cinema
Two films at The Savoy Cinema (SK4) today. Anatomy Of A Fall (15) at 5pm, followed by Napoleon (15) at 8pm. Standard tickets £9.50.
💿 DJ
Guilty Pleasures with Lewis James at Bask (SK1). Plus, free pints of Bask Lager available between 8pm and 10pm. Free entry.
🥘 Food and drink
Whether you like it hot or cold, head down to Coffee Block (SK1) to get your matcha fix. 8am - 5.30pm.
Ignore the “beer police” and support your local pub in January. If you’re in Stockport today, pop into The Petersgate Tap (SK1) for a drink or two.
Lite bite meal deal at The Friary (SK3). Cod or haddock, served with chips, and a side of peas, curry or gravy. Plus tea or coffee. £9.95. 11.30am - 7.30pm.
Are you giving Dry January a go? The Crown Inn (SK6) have a great selection of non-alcoholic beers and ciders, plus nozeco!
Taster Thursday at TRUNK (SK7). Three tapas dishes and a glass of sangria for £20 from 5pm. Call 0161 222 9260 to book a table, and mention “The Scarf My Father Wore” to receive a 15% discount off the normal tapas menu.
Two main meals for £20 at Cheshire Line Tavern (SK8).
Enjoy a taste of India with Curry Thursday at Platform 5 (SK8). £14.45 for a curry, which includes rice, naan bread, poppadoms, mango chutney and a drink. 12pm - 8pm.
🎶 Free jukebox
Nelson Tavern (SK1). From 6.30pm.
🎱 Free pool
George & Dragon (SK7). 6pm - 9pm.
🎤 Karaoke
Enigma (SK1). 8pm. (And there’s a 10% discount on all drinks!)
DJ Des
This one’s for you, Odin!
Would you like DJ Des to play a particular song for you? Email thescarfmyfatherwore@substack.com with your requests/shoutouts!
Random County fan of the day #11 – Cozzy!
One final thing before you go… if you’re looking to learn to drive in January, or lose a few pounds after Christmas, or even get some work done at home, please contact our fantastic advertisers!
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💈 Barber: STUDIO26 Haircare
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🛠 Home Improvements: Menzies Develop & Build
💻 IT Services: Bridge Computer Services
🪚 Joinery: SAW Contracts Ltd
👨🍳 Kitchen Appliances: SW Appliances
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🚐 Minibus Hire: Westfield Minibuses
🧤 Oven Cleaning: That Oven Girl
🖌 Painter & Decorator: BGM Decorators
🧱 Plasterer: Tate Plastering Services
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⚖️ Weight Loss: Slimming World Reddish & Bredbury with Shlean
🪟 Window Cleaner: R ‘N’ B Window Cleaning
🏋️♀️ Women’s Fitness: Sophie Pavey Fitness
🧘♀️ Yoga: Greenshoots Yoga