Sporting continue to struggle at the wrong end of the Kent League table and I was one of 22 fans in the half-light at Mile End Stadium to see them lose 4-0 to VCD Athletic last Wednesday. Both sides had a player red-carded, but those office blocks to the right are still an endless source of fascination for 'The Barber'.

With the lights on in every little office, they look like huge magic lanterns in a Japanese ornamental garden. I must remember to take a picture next time. The ground at Mile End is one of the most accessible from Paddington and I was back and cosy in the hotel before ten.

When the last World Cup was on in Germany, the hotel was packed with tourists from all points of the globe and they were all interested in media coverage on the tournament. I suggested to the management that they create a place where people could go for information and, sure enough, the next day I saw a little room with 'WC' on it for 'World Cup'.

I went inside and to be honest it was more like a toilet. There didn’t seem to be anything relevant to the tournament at all.

Dulwich was the intended destination on Friday night, for a Ryman League fixture with Leatherhead, but I lost interest after it took 50 minutes just to get from Soho to Paddington. The main problem was a person taken ill on the train at Tottenham Court Road. In all fairness though, I’d rather be delayed than taken ill, so I wasn’t complaining.

It was down to Eastbourne on Saturday to see Town lose 3-1 to Tooting & Mitcham United at The Saffrons. I’ve always liked Tooting. My first game at their old Sandy Lane ground, an Amateur Cup tie against St Albans in 1963, came after I hadn’t seen any football for weeks because of the infamous 'Big Freeze'.

In the next round, they walloped Welton Rovers 11-0 at home and I was there for that one too. A friendly player called Roger Warnes spoke to me outside the players’ entrance before the game and he had a great game, notching four goals from left wing.

The heavy rain in Eastbourne on Saturday night left all the local pitches completely waterlogged the following morning. The grounds at Larkins Field and Paradise Drive were deserted except for a million seagulls and I walked about three miles in drizzle in the hope that Old Town Rec would still be staging a President Cup quarter-final. It wasn’t.

Hanwell were good value for their 3-0 win against Welwyn Garden City in last night’s Spartan South Midlands League fixture at Reynolds Field. When the referee did a 'drop ball' close to half-time, both players kicked the ball simultaneously before it had even touched the ground and it flew up to hit the ref in the face.