Cod Almighty | Diary

It's the place to be

14 June 2023

Miss Guest Diary writes: Once every summer his nibs and I like to have a day out in Cleethorpes posing as trippers. Sometimes we do this on a day when there's an evening pre-season game, but this week's good weather coincided with Mr B having a few days off work so we went up on Monday. The temperature was perfect – hovering around 20 degrees with the occasional light breeze – for our walk along the prom, game of crazy golf, fruitless dally in one of the amusement arcades and, of course, haddock and chips (no mushy peas) at the Ocean Fish Bar. The day was topped off by a visit to Blundell Park to collect our new season tickets and buy a couple of things in the club shop. Perfect.

One of my purchases was a Grimsby Town tote bag which I had the pleasure of sporting around Lincoln yesterday. Today it will be making an appearance at Trent Bridge to taunt any Notts County fans in the house. Nottinghamshire are in danger of an innings defeat against Warwickshire after a dismal performance on day two of the current county game, but a gritty fight back yesterday has given them a slim chance of getting the draw.

With the cricket proving a bit up and down, luckily another of my summer distractions will be starting soon. No, not Wimbledon but the Tour de France.

I don't follow cycling the rest of the year but I have been watching highlights of Le Tour since it was shown by Channel 4 back in the 1980s. I watched it then for the scenery and the amusing little films about cycling history and customs, but gradually got drawn in by the drama of the actual racing. When Le Grand Depart was in Yorkshire back in 2014, we stood on the side of the road for about two hours watching the endless numbers of commercial and support vehicles pass before the peleton raced by in a matter of seconds. It wasn't quite blink and you'll miss it, but almost. If you've ever wondered what all the fuss is about I'd recommend the documentary series which has just been released on Netflix – Tour de France: Unchained – but be prepared to wince at some of the highspeed crashes.

In actual Town news, it was announced yesterday that Max Crocombe has declined to renew his contract. Some people have expressed surprise at this, but it seemed obvious to me that he wouldn't be coming back when he didn't re-sign as soon as the season ended. Max seemed to be a great character and will surely be missed, but it's undeniable that his form dipped in the second half of last season. I have every confidence that Paul Hurst will have a good replacement in mind, if not already signed up.

Josh Emmanuel is most likely signing for Peterborough, though in my view that doesn't really count as Town news. Yes we were the last club he played for, but he was only here on a short-term contract and I don't think anyone really expected him to drop down to our level permanently.

We also learned yesterday that over 3,000 season tickets have now been sold, which sparked a rather pointless argument on Twitter between those who think the club will match last year's sales and those who don't. They missed the real issue  – that the club continue to insist on calling them "passes". Sort it Stockwoods.

And finally, apropos of nothing more that my admiration for his writing and ability to get to the heart of an issue, here's Jonathan Liew's chilling verdict on the takeover of golf by the Saudis.