After chugging along from Waterloo for 20 minutes or so the train pulled into Barnes Bridge station and as I got off, I could hear what sounded like hundreds of people cheering. But how did they know I was coming?
It turned out to be a line of people on the bridge, mostly females with long scarves, who were watching the rowing. I stopped too and found it really interesting for about ten seconds. Then I walked along a couple of sodden paths covered in leaves that took me round some tennis courts and into the Civil Service’s massive sports ground.
There were bird droppings everywhere, from geese I think, and I had to pick my way carefully across to the "Enclosed Pitch" (which wasn’t particularly enclosed) on the far side. On that bright, crisp, surprisingly mild afternoon EIGHT football matches were being played simultaneously.
The big one, involving Civil Service’s first team, attracted a crowd of three. Well, three is a crowd – just. I sat in a little stand for the first half as CS piled on the pressure and finally "broke the deadlock" (as we say in the business) with a blinding volley from the edge of the box on 33 minutes.
At one point in that half the ball went behind Ignatians’ goal and the ref wasn’t sure if it was a goal-kick or a corner. The lino turned to me from a few yards away and said: "I think he’s waiting for the audience vote". He was probably alluding to a TV programme like "X Factor" or "Strictly Come Dancing" – but I’d need a gun to my head to watch either.
Legendary film-maker Alfred Hitchcock and Beatles record producer George Martin are amongst the alumni of St Ignatius College but the footballers were a little short of inspiration on Saturday. They went down 3-1, scoring their goal in stoppage time, and could’ve conceded six or seven.
I saw Civil Service lose 6-0 at Carshalton Athletic in a London Senior Cup tie in the ‘60s, accompanied by a boy from school called "Prune". On my only previous visit to Dukes Meadow, probably in the late ‘70s, they played Chessington in The FA Vase. CS don’t take part in those competitions now but I can see them doing well in this season’s AFA (Amateur Football Alliance) Senior Cup.
Sunday was wet and windy in the morning and though the weather did buck up later, I stayed in to watch the Salisbury v Forest FA Cup match on the box. And the draw afterwards, of course. I saw Macclesfield, then in the Cheshire County League, play First Division Fulham in a Third Round tie at Craven Cottage in 1968. The Silkmen went 2-1 up in surreal fashion before losing 4-2.
Now they return to the same part of London for another tie as overwhelming underdogs.
Last night’s FA Trophy replay at Maidenhead was my 5,211th match.