Cod Almighty | Diary

I never felt magic as crazy as this

6 February 2025

Everyone in the whole world (I expect) has been re-watching Danny Roses's ingenious goal on loop these last few days. But your Guest Diarist has stopped because, well because. Mostly because I am struggling to pigeonhole this prone reverse looping kick over the keeper into the goal with a succinct name. I am old-fashioned and anal maybe - I once had a long beer-fuelled conversation with a mate as we tried at length to differentiate a chip from a lob. And a lot of modern commentators seem to improperly define the half-volley which to me is a shot struck by the attacker at the precise moment the ball hits the ground. But Rose's goal seems to be a whole new genre of finishing. Cod Almighty's founding lifetime head honcho, Si Wilson, has gone on record on that Bluesky. He referred to it as a scoop-flick. Not bad actually. If anyone can be arsed to suggest summat, then shout up here.

It was freezing quite hard here this morning and I got caught short walking the dog at the allotments. Luckily there is a large wooden shed with a self-composting toilet that I brave in extremis. To my surprise and chagrin I discovered that a young chap is living in it. Homeless people are everywhere and there is always a story - this bloke lost his job, got evicted and has nowhere to go. If it stays cold enough, long enough then the council will put them up. But this winter, the local homeless charity tells me, has been one of sustained cold but only rarely cold enough apparently. I wanted to lend him my gas camping stove and the means to make hot drinks but gas stoves sulk if it is below 5 degrees (just when you need them most). Anyroad in a laudable effort to highlight the homeless a bunch of the Town staff are having a sleep-out this week. So please put your hand in your mouse pocket and click through to donate.

If I was a poet, or a songwriter, I would try to write an ode to three-up three-down. It has long irked me that relegation out of the football league is so damn difficult. Right from boyhood when the likes of Bradford Park Avenue and, yes, Grimsby Town had to 'apply for re-election' after finishing bottom of the pile. In the old days it was usually a formality, clubs in the league below were part-time with unsuitable grounds, etc. But nowadays the Conference is stuffed with ex-league clubs - outfits with professional stadia, with youth academies, decent fanbases and high overheads. Only letting two back in each season is just cruel perversion. The best thing to do would be to go back to a four division league, but a big step in the right direction is to allow three up, three down. And league clubs should be brave enough to not be turkeys voting against Christmas.

Speaking of poetry and Cod Almighty founders I spotted that our own much-loved Pete Green is having a couple of days in Grimsby soon. Pete is reading poems and bits of poems at LaCuna next to Willys on the 21st as part of LitFEST25. I have a feeling they might turn up at the Fleetwood game, so if you see them give them a warm welcome and a hug from me. That's it for today, I'm off to play Soft Machine 3 really loud because Mike Ratledge pegged it - probably not wise to follow my example, you had to be there. Cheer yoursen up with this instead. See yer.

May you never lay your head down without a hand to hold
May you never make your bed out in the cold