Imps head in an Eastleigh direction.

Well it’s rather nice to be getting neck ache from looking upwards at the table, early days as it is and I suppose we can describe Saturdays encounter with Eastleigh as a top of the table clash. Certainly the home side are top of the table after the opening games and City are just outside the play off places.

Chris Moyses underlined what we were saying in this blog previously, it’s his team and he sinks or swims accordingly:-

It's nice to be going to Eastleigh with our own people and knowing what we want to do," He told the Echo
"It is going to be a tough fixture as they proved last season they were a good side and they are now one of the favourites.
"We have to respect that and do the right preparation beforehand to make sure we can come out with something from the game."

This next game will undoubtedly be tough but an early opportunity to establish Imps credentials although a draw would be highly satisfactory and keep City moving along whilst remaining under the radar.

The last article on this blog was, as usual publicised on twitter and I was very pleased to have the trailer favorited by none other than Lincoln City FC official twitter account so maybe Mr Moyses will see this article and berate me for my lack of ambition in which case I’ll prepare for the hairdryer treatment.

It’ll be an honour.

Imps defeat the Iron to gain first league win.

No, not that Iron and not that league come to think of it, City maintained their unbeaten start and good form against Braintree Town last night to record their first league win, away in typical City style having drawn at home in the match against Cheltenham.

Not having been there myself (see earlier article) I believe a home draw against recently relegated league opposition and to come from behind to boot was a decent result. City followed up last night with an expected (by some) away win to get off the mark nice and early and hopefully set the tone for some probably hopelessly optimistic cheerfulness.

Chris Moyses is a happy manager after these opening skirmishes and of course this is his make or break season, it’s his team, his selection and his players:-
“When we went to the Army camp in pre-season they talked about being robust," said Moyses. "They talk about become hard to break down and I think that is where we are. The lads put their bodies on the line and they are a great group of men.
"The experience in the side helps the young lads along, they are learning how to win games of football and the team becomes stronger.
"It is early days, but we wanted strong characters in the team and we certainly have got plenty of them.
"The backline have been resolute and more importantly, as a back four, there is a lot of good talking and communication, which makes life as a defender a lot easier."

What of the game The Echo asked :-
"Matt Rhead had a great game," he said "He led the line like he does. He wins headers, causes problems and brings players into play – that's what we got him for.
"It was an instinctive finish for the first and came from a great ball from Craig Stanley. It was really well played.
"There was no arguments about the penalty. The defender had to bring him down otherwise Rhead would have scored and then it was topped off by Stanley's goal."
"I wish we had put the first penalty away and they were slightly fortuitous with their goal, as it took a deflection, but it turned out okay."

There’s a long long way to go but the lengthiest trek starts on your own doorstep and City are starting to get a bit of distance travelled already. Long may it continue.

Fan-fare for Moyses.

Well the new season is upon us and Mrs A has organised a nice weekend at the seaside for us. This despite years of careful training and planning I find myself at Scarborough rather than Sincil Bank. Hey ho. Mind you there was a time when early August meant picnics and sandcastles rather than football it is all rather early.

So how does this blog view the upcoming fare I hear you ask, will it be a pitch invasion for all the right reasons come the end of the season? The Lincolnshire Echo is optimistic quoting Chris Moyses, now divested of that inconvenient director tag, who has introduced a new look professional mantra to go with hopefully superior fitness:-

"They are simple little changes, but they make a big difference in the atmosphere," said the Guvnor. "The standards in cleanliness and timekeeping create a professional environment and that rubs off on the players.
"As a result we are seeing a committed bunch who are getting in early to training and putting in the extra effort .
"But they can also cut loose with the fines court providing plenty of fun and banter, but it also instills a sense of self discipline."

The fines court being a jokey do-it-yourself style system the players will administer themselves to deal with minor misdemeanours, something Moyses hopes will boost morale.

The Echo states excitement levels are building amongst the fans but veteran superfan Chris Ashton as ever has his feet planted firmly on the ground:-

"This is Lincoln, we're not the sort of people to go shouting from the rooftops that we are going to win the league," He said. "There are plenty of other clubs out there who are doing that.
"We will go about our business and hopefully be looking towards the top of the division rather than the bottom of it as we have done in recent years."

Ah the Oracle, how we miss his column in the Football Echo and how we miss that publication too. His full title was of course The Oracle of Optimism, is he optimistic? I think I detect a frisson of anticipation.

As ever, this being Lincoln City, financial concerns are never far away and if there is any real sign of a thaw in the relationship with the Coop Bank I haven’t heard about it but Moyses isn’t letting that bother him quoting “Team Lincoln” as his epithet:-

"We are 'Team Lincoln'.We cannot worry about others, only ourselves. And we all need to come together.
"I feel that is happening. I am a fan, I know what this club means to people and I have its best interests at heart. I will be doing my upmost as I know others will.

"We will not be successful as individuals, we will only taste success as a team and we are all part of that team."

Now what happened the last time we titled ourselves Team Lincoln. Oh yes……..

I’d like to Proclaim I’m a fan.

Off to the Drill Hall last Sunday night, an inconvenient night for those of us of the working classes I have to say, for the visit of stridently Scottish minstrels The Proclaimers. I say minstrels for the Caledonian duo seem to spend their lives on the road these days, which is a good thing for us lovers of live music as they provide a very acceptable level of entertainment and so it proved once again.

They’re political, vehement in their espousal of Scottish independence, the recent referendum doesn’t blunt their zeal and they’re socialists which is a concept that has largely died out south of the border although Mr Corbyn, cause celebre of the upcoming Labour leadership election might have something to say about that.

So, political, socialist and very Scottish but can they entertain or are they a version of Billy Bragg with an Edinburgh (I should say Leith to be completely accurate) accent?

A packed house at the Drill Hall gives the answer to that question. We last saw The Proclaimers at Leicester a couple of years ago in a totally different setting, a large seated hall. Here we were back to the old days, the seating stowed away at the back of the hall and the audience on their feet. It felt like we were in the halcyon days of Top of the Pops without the vacuous young ladies “dancing” and equally vacuous DJ. It was all the better for that.

Charlie and Craig rattled through their old staples and we, the audience duly warbled along with them but there were lots of new songs with their message of distain for the treatment of Scotland at the hands of the English (funny how we think it’s the other way round isn’t it?) the exodus of talent from north of the border and other touchy subjects the twins are unafraid to bring up but it’s all marvellous entertainment and we can’t mind that much or we wouldn’t turn up in such numbers. They are also quite touchingly endearing. In addition, how many top acts, and I think you have to put them in that bracket through sheer longevity and the sort of gigs they do, Glastonbury etc, would deign to appear in the foyer after the show to greet their fans and sign autographs?

That full house should guarantee they will be back in a couple of years, I do hope so.

If the shoe fits. Ballet Cymru.

Cinderella at the LPAC.


Normally an evening out watching Cinderella would entail shouting “he’s behind you” and “oh no your not” but it was the ballet this time, a genre well received in Lincoln and it was another virtually full auditorium at the LPAC on Sunday to see Wales’ finest prancers.

This was a relatively minimalist production, fairly traditional but with a stripped down musical accompaniment and quite a small troupe so no big finale which you usually get with a ballet but charming all the same and very well received by the audience of mainly mums with young daughters, mums with older daughters, culture vultures like us and a good smattering of ladies of a certain age with very well defined calves, worth it just for those calves.

There was a bit of a twist to the usual Brothers Grimm tale in that there was an ugly sister and a brother, he provided some good comedy in the scene where the ugly sisters try on the glass slipper, except it was a ballet pump and there was only one sister and I have to say if she was ugly there must be some damn good looking girls in Wales.

It’s a sign of a good night that it seems to be over before it’s begun, that’s certainly how it seemed at the LPAC as the production rattled through. There were ice creams at the interval and only £2, Theatre Royal please note. Of ice cream there were none at the last ballet at the Royal, we had to hoof it round to Tesco Express and when there are they’re certainly not that cheap.

So all in all a very good nights’ entertainment. We saw an old school friend of my wife’s at the show and she said she couldn’t get her husband to go, well that’s his loss. Good looking ugly sisters, ice cream at £2 (Dennett’s as well) and those shapely calves. What’s not to like?

Spent three hours at Sincil Bank and loved every minute – it was Madness!

As regular readers will know I spent a very soggy few days last summer at Glastonbury. Once you’ve done that it’s easy to get sniffy about smaller gigs. So it was to Sincil Bank the other Friday evening to see the opener of Madness’ Grandslam Tour. Our wives commented on how big the stage was to which of course my Glasto friend and I said, you ain’t seen nothing. I do have to say, in terms of entertainment and energy there was nothing at Worthy Farm to top what we saw and heard on Friday.

Lincoln must count itself as fortunate indeed to secure such a prestigious gig and the profit that went with it. Previous attempts by the football club to promote performances have proved to be money losers but City were on to a winner this time with a venue hire fee and a cut of ticket sales.

I don’t know whether the university has had an effect or we’re all feeling better off but such enterprises seem to be met with much more enthusiasm in Lincoln these days and so it was that something approaching 10000 were in place on the pitch or in the stands to see the 80’s sensations Madness.

I’m not going to list the numbers but all of the hits and some new stuff was heard. Not however my own favourite which I keep trying to introduce to Lincoln City FC whenever they ask for suggestions as to what the team should run on to, “In the City”, which I think would produce just the right blend of up tempo and humour. Come to think of it that describes Madness to a tee and they ripped through their programme to the delight of the audience displaying a professionalism and musical excellence that have kept them in the public’s mind for over thirty years.

This tour, taking in some of the lesser lights of the nation’s sporting venues will give people who do not normally have easy access to an evening of top line entertainment especially when you consider the main support was Scouting for Girls, a top line act in themselves, and hopefully those of us who don’t get such a prestigious gig on our doorstep will snap up the opportunity. Lincoln did and I hope the rest of the tour is a huge success.

Hopefully also Lincoln City might be encouraged to put themselves forward for similar opportunities in the future. Not to do so would be, well Madness.

Arrivederci Roma.

Well that’s another one off the bucket list, our trip to Rome is over and we did everything we wanted to do.
We decided not to book a city centre hotel, having checked the prices and realising we could have a full week in the Rome area for the same price as two or three nights in a hotel, by booking through Eurocamp who are our main holiday providers. They gave us a substantial discount on a second holiday. We duly found ourselves at Gatwick Airport, a three hour trip in the early hours and flew to Rome.

We’d booked a car transfer from Rome Airport and this proved very grand with a suited and booted driver holding up a card with our name on it in arrivals, we’ve always wanted to do that. We sat back in the luxury of our big black Mercedes getting the holiday off to a fine start.
We stayed at Camping Fabulous, just outside the Eternal City and whilst not entirely living up to its billing it was a very restful and comfortable alternative to city centre accommodation. The pool was closed until our last day but that didn’t matter and there was a decent if understated restaurant. There was a shop on site, bar and all the usual amenities of a continental camp site. The mobile home was top of the range and all in all it was a good choice.

Travel in to Rome was by way of bus, stop right outside the camp, followed by the Metro, the camp site were able to sell us tickets that provided for all our travel needs, for less than a bus ticket in Lincoln. We also visited the coast and a shopping centre.

The first gobsmacking feature of our holiday was exit from the Metro stop for the Coliseum, the huge monument was right outside, towering above us in a memorable and spectacular setting. We were immediately set upon by selfie stick sellers, sunglasses and scarves, followed by touts for tours around the Coliseum. We resisted all of them and settled for a stroll round the monument and a look at the Forum and Palatine Hill.

Next day we visited Ostia, on the coast and the site of the ancient port serving Rome. Like most of the Italian coast this was occupied by private beaches, bars and sports clubs and there is very little access to public beach but in any event the sand didn’t hold a candle to Mablethorpe even if it was a lot warmer.

Next it was back to the city for a look at the Spanish Steps and the adjacent Keates/Shelley house, Trevi Fountain, which unfortunately was scaffolded up, Pantheon and another wander during which we discovered a lovely deli and

gelateria which we visited later on too.
By way of light relief (I must have been in a really good mood) we then visited a shopping centre which kept us occupied for the day given that we were generally at the point of collapse come 5 o’clock. That evening we visited the Roma Tourist Office on site to buy tickets for the Vatican. We got a bit of instruction what to do which, if we’d stuck to the brief next day might have saved us quite a bit of time.

One thing about Rome is you are absolutely besieged by people who insist they are official guides and who can save lots of money and time. Well they may be guides and they may be official in some sort of fashion but their role is to relieve the tourist of money. So it was that we were led quite a merry dance by a very talkative man who almost persuaded us that a tour guide, on top of the money we paid for entry, was essential. It was only the fact that our tickets were not tickets or at least needed to be stamped and a sticker attached to us to gain access to the Vatican had to be sorted out first. We were thus released and told to return but we didn’t.

We were directed to the ticket office in St Peters Square (see instructions from the Roma Tourism Office on camp) were we were informed that they would be taking us past all the queues and we could arrange a tour guide or hand held guide device, once in. So that’s what we did.
Words can’t describe the sheer wealth of artistic embellishment on the walls, ceilings, paintings and frescoes unfolding before your eyes as you pass through not to mention the views of the inner workings of the Vatican. There’s far too much to take in at one go. The tour reaches a crescendo in the magnificent Sistine Chapel with its ceiling by Michelangelo. To be honest I was suffering with sensory overload at this point and felt ever so slightly underwhelmed. As an art lover I’d expected almost to be in tears at the experience but some of the earlier rooms impressed me more although the thought of this great artist on his back week after week, month after month painting away was mind blowing.

As if the Vatican was not enough on the Friday we returned to the Coliseum, armed with our recently acquired experience we swept past the ticket touts and presented ourselves at the queue where we were approached by a young man who really was an official guide and he told us that if we wanted to book a tour or rent an audio guide we could go straight to a separate desk which we did and once again we were straight in. The Coliseum reminds me a little of the old Wembley but bear in mind this structure was erected 2000 years ago. It’s lasted a lot longer although the only excruciating experience Wembley offered was watching England fail to perform. The Coliseum’s purpose was much more grisly. The ticket also allowed entrance to the Forum and Palatine Hill, the most ancient part of the city. Up there looking down I could imagine Lincoln in its time as a Roman Colonia

Once again I can’t begin to describe the sights that awaits the intrepid tourist, I hope I may have put the idea in your mind to visit this wonderful city. Like Italy itself it’s chaotic fervent frantic restful manic and civilized. Put it on your bucket list.