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Diary - Thursday 23 December 2010

23 December 2010

You would have had a Thursday diary but Durham Diary has obviously forgot. Come back tomorrow for your weekend Christmas bumper Guest Diary. Oh, he's turned up with something. This just in...

Hello everybody. Sorry this is so late. In an email-checking, present-buying, soup-drinking chat-astrophe I missed my call to write. It's several years since I last splashed musings all over this page, so forgive my rustiness as well as my tardiness while I attempt to keep my mustiness and mardiness under wraps.

Those of who you perused this website in the mid-to-late noughties may remember me as Durham Diary, although since I no longer reside in Durham and haven't visited for aaaages that moniker is a clear contravention of the Trade Descriptions Act 1968. The way this is going so far you'll be lucky to get the 'diary' bit out of me, either. Although if you've read this far you might be praying for that by now!

Your third paragraph today is the point at which I finally admit there's nothing to tell you. Not even the delay in going to print has saved my bacon with a story from leftfield. Town's superb new official site is helpfully reminding fans that the match away at Mansfield is all-ticket for Town fans. Helpfully, that is, were the Boxing Day game not going to be called off for the second year running at tomorrow's 10:30 pitch inspection.

You may remember last year's Boxing Day cancellation was at Notts County, which is where Chelsea youngster Michael Woods has ended up on loan. This being Michael Woods, nephew of Neil. Come on Woodses, surely he can recommend us a player or two? Boooo, sort it!

A DVD of the 1997-98 season (surely the greatest in the club's history? Certainly the greatest in my time as a Mariners fan) is on sale from the club at the fairly reasonable price of £9.99 plus postage and packaging. Why the club has announced this now, when most people have already finished Christmas shopping (no, not me: most people), I don't know. It's a shame. I would have quite liked that in my stocking and my birthday's not until September. Still, by then there may be a DVD of our promotion-and-FA Trophy-winning season. Yes, alright, alright, it is silly season after all!

I'm going to go and curl up in front of the fire and fall asleep. If I'm lucky I might dream of Paul Groves rising highest to head the ball so hard it bursts the seams of the Pontoon goal behind the opposition goalie. Do goal nets have seams? I don't even know! Merry Christmas from me, everybody, and see you on Sunday if global warming kicks in before then.