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Tim Allman

Mick Dennis, Mr TFA and some dodgy golden goal tickets

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We had a shocker of a journey to Norwich, starting at Stratford due to Crossrail works in London. We found out that the 11.05 train had been cancelled and was due to start at Shenfield, twenty minutes further up the line. The problem we had was that a few of the Capital Canary travellers leave it very late to make the train and the connecting train to get to Shenfield left ten minutes earlier than the Norwich train. So this meant a number calls to round people up and to spread the word. We lost three of our party in the mayhem. They all got the game though.

 

Being the travel officer means I have collect the money from everyone. This is not an onerous task but sometimes a hazardous one as there is the danger of being “Hiltoned” on the train. I made a schoolboy error of accepting their kind offer of an, er “cough” small one whilst they paid their train fares. The small one was anything but small, but it was a very fine brandy. I struggled through the quadruple and having had almost all of it, collected the rest of the fares, bumped to the “Wantage Whites” who were having a good old sing song and returned to finish my brandy.

 

By some miracle the glass had refilled itself so I struggled through a second quadruple whilst chatting away and was about to return to my seat when Chairman Gav turned up on a reconnaissance mission to rescue me. We had a chit – chat about some Caps business and before I could say “Stop”, my glass was re-charged and the level of the brandy in the bottle had dipped yet again. The train journey was flying by and as I was about to bid farewell to the Hiltoners my glass was topped up yet again and I was feeling decidedly light-headed.

 

(It should be noted that for those that know me and any child protectionists reading Gemma was not at the game. She’s not been put off by being coined at Millwall, but she was at one of her best pals’ party).

 

I wobbled off the train toward my lunchtime watering hole. It was encouraging to see a policeman checking the supporters at the steps leading down to the Nelson and I thanked them for keeping our pub safe from the Leeds hordes.

 

Still feeling very woozy I decided I needed a Stella or two to sober up from all the brandy. They went down very well and the drinks, plus a safety scampi and chips, set up me nicely for the game. I was in a very good mood walking down to the ground but it all turned very sour just after was had passed the bridge.

 

“Hello there, would you like to sign the Marham Petition?” I looked up and it was her. She looked much shorter in real life than I imagined her to be, but she’ll never ever have my vote. Maybe because my constituency is Brent North, but also because I sit next to John Cook, a very old family friend who is the Labour Party Candidate in Norwich North. For the record, I’m happy to sign the petition, but not for Chloe Smith.

 

As per usual I bought a golden goal ticket and a programme from Capital Canary Steve, the programme seller and losing golden goal ticket seller extraordinaire who works behind the Ladbrokes betting shop at the River End. On a whim I bought a ticket for Elliott, John’s nephew (he was the City away mascot at QPR), but more of that below.

 

A quick coffee and the game started, Leeds scored after a while and as is customary we scratch off the time of the golden goal after the goal has been scored, and never before. We thought we were close as but didn’t realise we were only 5 seconds out on Elliott’s ticket. Four seconds or less wins a prize.

 

(The only time I have ever won on a golden goal was when I got a “no goals” ticket, but we lost 1-4 to Bradford back in 2001, so I was £10 to the good)

 

City equalised and we scratched the time off – this time Elliott’s ticket was ten seconds out. Unlucky again

 

The game finished 1-1, and I wandered off to for some journey juice to keep the spirits up back to London. Little did I know that this was to be the highlight of the day as the man behind me commented on the game, I replied and we had a chat in Morrisons. I recognised him but could not place who he was (this was not due to brandy as a couple of pints of McNally priced coffee had returned my senses, but not my wallet, to good order). Suddenly I realised. “You’re Tony, aren’t you?” He looked more than a little non-plused (I think that may be an accountancy term). I explained that I’d seen his pic on the NCISA site and introduced myself; he had also heard of me. We passed the time of day for a few minutes and after we said our good byes I scuttled off to the beers section and Mr TFA asked one of the staff where the second hand umbrellas department was located. A jolly good chap he was, and it was good to meet him.

 

The day was far from over. It was a lively train journey back to the Capital and we post-mortemed the game with a couple of decent Leeds fans and although the journey takes an hour and forty five minutes it flew by. It’s just like being in the pub after the game with pals. We had planned to go the Red Lion in Islington for a few beers when we got back to London and as we waited for the underground train we bumped into Mick Dennis who had also been at the game. Mick has been a member of the Capital Canaries for years and knows quite a few of us, and we had a good chat about NCFC and how things were at Carrow Road.

 

The final leg of the journey was home was after midnight after a good end to the day at the Red Lion – the pub is owned by a member of the Capital Canaries and it’s great to have a place that we can consider our “home ground”.

 

That’s load of words about the day, and only a few about the football. Yes, the football is important and the reason we look forward to our Saturday afternoons but the social aspect is also a big factor, especially for an exile such as myself. The journey and meeting up with everyone is a huge part supporting a team.

 

Let’s hope we give Ipswich a hammering on Sunday.

 

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Great read Tim but you really musn''t go to too many games on your own as you need someone to keep all this riotous living in check.Sorry to hear that bumping into the earnest Ms Smith put a dampener on the pre-match enjoyment but I doubt the rest of the day was spoiled too much. I''m amazed that you managed to avoid being shorn of a few pounds in Morrisons by '' Mr. I can sell snow to the Eskimos '' , aka Tony. He''s been on the prowl with those NCISA Christmas Draw tickets for some time now so lurking in the aisles waiting to pounce on unsuspecting merry men such as your good self was a heaven sent opportunity missed. He really must try harder........Incidentally I would have liked to have come along to the Capital Canaries '' do '' yesterday but I had to be in Wiltshire today. Rolling home at silly-o''clock three sheets to the wind last night sounded quite attractive but the grief I would have endured as a captive in the car sailing down the M3 decidedly less so.I hope you all had a good evening.

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Excellent read Tim - reminds me of some good old Capital Canary trips I had in the 1970s accompanied by the likes of Greg Peck and Brian Monument!

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[quote user="Lord Horn"]Excellent read Tim - reminds me of some good old Capital Canary trips I had in the 1970s accompanied by the likes of Greg Peck and Brian Monument![/quote]Ah, yes Greg and Brian.........true legends in different ways.Greg for his amazing efforts with others in getting Capital Canaries -as it''s now known - up and running all those years ago. I think he can rightly be called one of the founding fathers of the whole organisation and many of us still miss him greatly today.Brian, aka Jekyll and Hyde. 9 to 5 weekdays job as an  immaculately attired solicitors clerk but come the weekend when the beer flowed something else. Somehow he always managed to avoid the Old Bill''s '' drunk and disorderly '' charge sheet perhaps mainly because he would always fall asleep, usually during the game itselfHe was on the London Supporters trip to Anfield when we recorded that famous 3-1 win in the 70''s. Unfortunately for Brian he missed almost all the action as he nodded off almost soon as the match kicked off and strirred, bleary eyed, with about ten minutes to go to enquire as to how we were doing.There were many other classic days out in Brian''s company but eventually he married a Filipino girl and disappeared from the scene. This probably saved his sanity but was terrible news for the brewing industry........

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[quote user="......and Smith must score."][quote user="Lord Horn"]Excellent read Tim - reminds me of some good old Capital Canary trips I had in the 1970s accompanied by the likes of Greg Peck and Brian Monument![/quote]

Ah, yes Greg and Brian.........true legends in different ways.

Greg for his amazing efforts with others in getting Capital Canaries -as it''s now known - up and running all those years ago. I think he can rightly be called one of the founding fathers of the whole organisation and many of us still miss him greatly today.

Brian, aka Jekyll and Hyde. 9 to 5 weekdays job as an  immaculately attired solicitors clerk but come the weekend when the beer flowed something else. Somehow he always managed to avoid the Old Bill''s '' drunk and disorderly '' charge sheet perhaps mainly because he would always fall asleep, usually during the game itself

He was on the London Supporters trip to Anfield when we recorded that famous 3-1 win in the 70''s. Unfortunately for Brian he missed almost all the action as he nodded off almost soon as the match kicked off and strirred, bleary eyed, with about ten minutes to go to enquire as to how we were doing.

There were many other classic days out in Brian''s company but eventually he married a Filipino girl and disappeared from the scene. This probably saved his sanity but was terrible news for the brewing industry........

[/quote]

I know this might be a bit morbid but do you know if Brian is alive and well - I shared a flat with him in Golders Green and I thought he''d be well and truly pickled by now.  Glad to hear that he got his act together at some point and would be overjoyed to know that he is still with us.  Classic moment for me was when I returned back to the flat after a weekend trip up to Norwich and it had been wrecked (allegedly) by Tony Booth (of ''Til Death Us Do Part and Tony Blair''s Father -in-Law fame) who used to drink in our local and had been invited back for a late night tipple by Brian!

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[quote user="......and Smith must score."][quote user="Lord Horn"]Excellent read Tim - reminds me of some good old Capital Canary trips I had in the 1970s accompanied by the likes of Greg Peck and Brian Monument![/quote]

Ah, yes Greg and Brian.........true legends in different ways.

Greg for his amazing efforts with others in getting Capital Canaries -as it''s now known - up and running all those years ago. I think he can rightly be called one of the founding fathers of the whole organisation and many of us still miss him greatly today.

Brian, aka Jekyll and Hyde. 9 to 5 weekdays job as an  immaculately attired solicitors clerk but come the weekend when the beer flowed something else. Somehow he always managed to avoid the Old Bill''s '' drunk and disorderly '' charge sheet perhaps mainly because he would always fall asleep, usually during the game itself

He was on the London Supporters trip to Anfield when we recorded that famous 3-1 win in the 70''s. Unfortunately for Brian he missed almost all the action as he nodded off almost soon as the match kicked off and strirred, bleary eyed, with about ten minutes to go to enquire as to how we were doing.

There were many other classic days out in Brian''s company but eventually he married a Filipino girl and disappeared from the scene. This probably saved his sanity but was terrible news for the brewing industry........

[/quote]

So as a result you decided to take it upon yourself to keep them in business [:)]

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I had to travel the opposite way early on Saturday morning (Norwich-London and beyond) and how the hell Stratford station is going to cope with the Olympics, I''ll never know. Must have left Norwich at about 8:30am, everyone had to pile off at Stratford to get underground connections through to Liverpool Street and were either being directed to the Central Line platforms (which were so overcrowded, I''m surprised no-one was pushed or fell onto the tracks!) else told to wait for trains going up and down the line for an alternative (Liverpool St? Kings Cross?) London destination, but no-one ever said, infact the staff at the station looked must aggreived at having to put up with everyone piling off the Norwich train and wandering around in a state of confusion...

Saw one Norwich fan bravely making his way up a staircase against a torrent of people, I think he must have missed his northbound train as he simply wouldn''t have got anywhere near it! Stratford is a big station, but they''ll have more to contend with than that in 2012, its so narrow and the walkways and staircases are not suitable for large crowds of people at all.

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[quote user="Kathy"]

[quote user="......and Smith must score."][quote user="Lord Horn"]Excellent read Tim - reminds me of some good old Capital Canary trips I had in the 1970s accompanied by the likes of Greg Peck and Brian Monument![/quote]Ah, yes Greg and Brian.........true legends in different ways.Greg for his amazing efforts with others in getting Capital Canaries -as it''s now known - up and running all those years ago. I think he can rightly be called one of the founding fathers of the whole organisation and many of us still miss him greatly today.Brian, aka Jekyll and Hyde. 9 to 5 weekdays job as an  immaculately attired solicitors clerk but come the weekend when the beer flowed something else. Somehow he always managed to avoid the Old Bill''s '' drunk and disorderly '' charge sheet perhaps mainly because he would always fall asleep, usually during the game itselfHe was on the London Supporters trip to Anfield when we recorded that famous 3-1 win in the 70''s. Unfortunately for Brian he missed almost all the action as he nodded off almost soon as the match kicked off and strirred, bleary eyed, with about ten minutes to go to enquire as to how we were doing.There were many other classic days out in Brian''s company but eventually he married a Filipino girl and disappeared from the scene. This probably saved his sanity but was terrible news for the brewing industry........[/quote]

So as a result you decided to take it upon yourself to keep them in business [:)]

[/quote]Some people can be so cruel you know.......

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[quote user="Lord Horn"]

[quote user="......and Smith must score."][quote user="Lord Horn"]Excellent read Tim - reminds me of some good old Capital Canary trips I had in the 1970s accompanied by the likes of Greg Peck and Brian Monument![/quote]Ah, yes Greg and Brian.........true legends in different ways.Greg for his amazing efforts with others in getting Capital Canaries -as it''s now known - up and running all those years ago. I think he can rightly be called one of the founding fathers of the whole organisation and many of us still miss him greatly today.Brian, aka Jekyll and Hyde. 9 to 5 weekdays job as an  immaculately attired solicitors clerk but come the weekend when the beer flowed something else. Somehow he always managed to avoid the Old Bill''s '' drunk and disorderly '' charge sheet perhaps mainly because he would always fall asleep, usually during the game itselfHe was on the London Supporters trip to Anfield when we recorded that famous 3-1 win in the 70''s. Unfortunately for Brian he missed almost all the action as he nodded off almost soon as the match kicked off and strirred, bleary eyed, with about ten minutes to go to enquire as to how we were doing.There were many other classic days out in Brian''s company but eventually he married a Filipino girl and disappeared from the scene. This probably saved his sanity but was terrible news for the brewing industry........[/quote]

I know this might be a bit morbid but do you know if Brian is alive and well - I shared a flat with him in Golders Green and I thought he''d be well and truly pickled by now.  Glad to hear that he got his act together at some point and would be overjoyed to know that he is still with us.  Classic moment for me was when I returned back to the flat after a weekend trip up to Norwich and it had been wrecked (allegedly) by Tony Booth (of ''Til Death Us Do Part and Tony Blair''s Father -in-Law fame) who used to drink in our local and had been invited back for a late night tipple by Brian!

[/quote]B*oody hell, M''lord, I think firstly congratulations are in order in celebrating the by no means small achievement of sharing a flat with Brian and finding that YOU''RE still alive. That''s a result...... Regarding the current whereabouts of Mr Monument I''m afraid I can''t help you. It was all a bit hazy as to how he became attached to his wife. Rumours abounded that some sort of '' introduction '' fee was involved but needless to say nothing was ever confirmed one way or the other. All I know is that the union seemed to work in damping down his excesses. I wonder if they''re still together ?As to his state of health like you I would be delighted to learn that he''s alive and well. '' Well '' might be a little optimistic but at the height of '' letting his hair down '' period his alcohol to blood ratio must have been such to preserve him for eternity so in that case there''s a good chance he''ll see us all out.

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[quote user="......and Smith must score."][quote user="Lord Horn"]

[quote user="......and Smith must score."][quote user="Lord Horn"]Excellent read Tim - reminds me of some good old Capital Canary trips I had in the 1970s accompanied by the likes of Greg Peck and Brian Monument![/quote]Ah, yes Greg and Brian.........true legends in different ways.Greg for his amazing efforts with others in getting Capital Canaries -as it''s now known - up and running all those years ago. I think he can rightly be called one of the founding fathers of the whole organisation and many of us still miss him greatly today.Brian, aka Jekyll and Hyde. 9 to 5 weekdays job as an  immaculately attired solicitors clerk but come the weekend when the beer flowed something else. Somehow he always managed to avoid the Old Bill''s '' drunk and disorderly '' charge sheet perhaps mainly because he would always fall asleep, usually during the game itselfHe was on the London Supporters trip to Anfield when we recorded that famous 3-1 win in the 70''s. Unfortunately for Brian he missed almost all the action as he nodded off almost soon as the match kicked off and strirred, bleary eyed, with about ten minutes to go to enquire as to how we were doing.There were many other classic days out in Brian''s company but eventually he married a Filipino girl and disappeared from the scene. This probably saved his sanity but was terrible news for the brewing industry........[/quote]

I know this might be a bit morbid but do you know if Brian is alive and well - I shared a flat with him in Golders Green and I thought he''d be well and truly pickled by now.  Glad to hear that he got his act together at some point and would be overjoyed to know that he is still with us.  Classic moment for me was when I returned back to the flat after a weekend trip up to Norwich and it had been wrecked (allegedly) by Tony Booth (of ''Til Death Us Do Part and Tony Blair''s Father -in-Law fame) who used to drink in our local and had been invited back for a late night tipple by Brian!

[/quote]B*oody hell, M''lord, I think firstly congratulations are in order in celebrating the by no means small achievement of sharing a flat with Brian and finding that YOU''RE still alive. That''s a result...... Regarding the current whereabouts of Mr Monument I''m afraid I can''t help you. It was all a bit hazy as to how he became attached to his wife. Rumours abounded that some sort of '' introduction '' fee was involved but needless to say nothing was ever confirmed one way or the other. All I know is that the union seemed to work in damping down his excesses. I wonder if they''re still together ?As to his state of health like you I would be delighted to learn that he''s alive and well. '' Well '' might be a little optimistic but at the height of '' letting his hair down '' period his alcohol to blood ratio must have been such to preserve him for eternity so in that case there''s a good chance he''ll see us all out.[/quote]Haha....I can imagine some sort of fee being involved with Brian obtaining a wife.  The man was a legend and a character never to be equalled.  He was the only person I know that managed to end up at the wrong end of the Northern Line to get out at Brixton instead of Golders Greens and then to be saved from a mugging......the mugging being carried out by a white guy and Brian being saved by a group of black teenagers.

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