Cod Almighty | Diary

Have you seen your Mother baby, standing in the shadows?

7 September 2023

I was out dead early as usual this morning, this time watering to beat the heat and keep a long row of cauliflowers happy. I thought about this diary as I worked and wrote something that seemed half-decent in my head. It had tonight there's gonna be a jailbreak somewhere in this town in it and a couple of film references - one to de Niro in the Cape Fear remake and another to the cinema film of Porridge which had someone (I forget who) hiding in the luggage compartment of the team bus. But the de Niro comparison was best as he clung to the underside of their car for mile after mile hellbent on revenge. The lad who got out of Wandsworth yesterday probably did it just for the hell of it and had no thought of revenge. Let's hope so.

But that diary I wrote in my head was knocked sideways when I read our Chairman's piece in the Guardian. Jason's Mum's passing was the central theme and that sort of thing brings up memories of your own experiences. My Mum, who was sort of in my mind anyway because I had my birthday earlier in the week and was a card and a phone call short again, never went to Blundell Park at any time in her long life. But she was a Mariner like the rest of us always reading the back page of the Telewag and listening to a bit of Humberside on a Sat'day afternoon. Just enough, so when I called round or rang her she was able to chat about how Town were doing. I miss that more than I realise.

It's a recurring theme of mine in these diaries that not all Town fans go to games and I don't believe you should think the lesser of them for that. Not everyone is comfortable in noisy crowds where purple-faced men launch screaming, profane diatribes at regular intervals. As Neil Young so succintly put it in 1974: I need a crowd of people but I can't face them day to day. Me and my old Mum both; maybe you can go for us Gentle Reader.

The always excellent Twitter bloke @onthisgtfcday reminded us this morning that this is the anniversary of when Town thumped poor old Scunny 7-1 back in 1966. I was there that day at one of my earliest home games, spending my birthday money. Tees, Green and Brian Hill were fabulous all match, just tearing Scunny apart. That summer, after winning the world cup as well, it seemed like anything was possible. The football, the music, it was all banging. Have you seen your Mother baby, standing in the shadows was the Stones single that month and here they are with another new single now. After first listen it sounds very formulaic - I'll stick to their old stuff I think.

Finally, your Guest Diarist was extremely passive-agressively disappointed to read that some young bloody oiks have desecrated the fantastic Town street art on the North wall. It was probably those young ruffians who used to shout "Gyppo! Gyppo!" at me when I walked from the Rutland to Blundell Park. Oh, hang on, they must be about 40 now. So, not guilty. See yer.