The Dorset town of Poole is only a 12-minute train ride from Bournemouth and it’s a short walk down the Wimborne Road to reach Tatnam, home of "The Dolphins". On the way you pass Poole Stadium on your left, their former home in the halcyon Southern League days.

Poole finished fourth in last season’s Wessex Premier and they are managed by Tommy Killick, an FA Vase winner at Wembley as a Wimborne Town player in 1992. Last Thursday evening’s friendly opposition was Dorchester Town from the Conference South and admission was £5. There was a substantial programme for an extra quid.

The home side were good value for a 1-0 lead at half-time and a shock (well, a little one) was on the cards. But the Dorchester "Magpies" levelled on the hour when Poole’s No.15 diverted a left-wing cross into his own net about a minute after coming on.

Poole start this season’s FA Cup trail with a home tie against Dawlish Town on 18 August. In the 1920s they met Everton in the Third Round at Goodison Park and Dixie Dean scored. An astonishing 731 clubs will take part this time, beating the previous record by 44.

There was torrential rain all day on Friday, with another heavy burst on Saturday morning as I walked from Boscombe Pier to Bournemouth Pier and back again. I had to pick my way through puddles to get to The Fitness First Stadium for AFC Bournemouth’s friendly with Southampton in the afternoon – but at least the rain had eased off by then.

Saints, a player short after an 18th-minute red card, edged it 2-1. Darren Anderton was a class act in midfield and Bournemouth had enough chances in the last ten minutes to have won the match. In a packed East Stand (£10) I was sitting behind a girl with a flower in her hair.

In the Surrey town of Leatherhead on Monday. Not for a match, but for a funeral. Alan Wilkes, our Disciplinary Manager who had been at The FA since 1971, lost his fight against cancer a couple of weeks ago. More than a hundred people squeezed into the chapel for the service and we’ll all have our special memories of "Wilko", a genuinely nice guy.