I went up to Liverpool for the weekend, staying in Hunt’s Cross with John, a friend from my time as a Liverpool University student in the ‘70s. Plus wife Avril, son Mark, son Peter, daughter Katy and two guinea pigs called "Patch" and "Nibbles". The plan for Saturday was to go to the Gustav Klimt Exhibition at the Tate in the morning and then take the Merseyrail up to Crosby for the football in the afternoon.

It was seriously windy as John and I walked from James Street station to Albert Dock. You couldn’t move for people who had come to watch the Tall Ships Race and the "2008 European Capital of Culture" was jumping. Quayside we saw performers on stilts dressed as lobsters and a lady in a mermaid costume smiling coyly and blowing kisses as she was being photographed. Her skin was blue – but that may have been the cold.

We had lunch in a charming little café about 50 yards from The Arriva Stadium in College Road and were some of the first fans inside the ground soon after two o’clock. I saw several Marine games as a student, including a friendly with Liverpool to officially open the floodlights, but this was my first visit for 31 years. I was wondering how different it would be.

Well, there used to be a stand behind the far goal as you go in, but that’s gone. There’s just a bit of terracing there now. Both sides of the ground, right up against houses, are exactly as they were. The big change is a magnificent stand behind the nearside goal and it was pretty packed on Saturday. There were lots of Rovers fans in their replica shirts and they saw their team win 4-0 in the warm sunshine. It was a fair result on the play.

I’ve now been to three games this season. They’ve all been away wins and they’ve all had a penalty that was converted.

We got back to Hunt’s Cross in time to watch a big chunk of Liverpool’s game with Wisla Krakow on the telly. I had "Nibbles" on my lap, a black and white guinea pig, who was taking more interest in a carrot that I was holding for him. After nibbling his way through that, he thought he’d start on my shirt. In the confusion we both missed Kuyt’s late effort that the ‘keeper saved at full stretch, leaping to his right.

July was too early for Sunday morning football, so I walked to Liverpool South Parkway station to examine what used to be the site of Holly Park, home of South Liverpool FC. I watched them regularly in the Northern Premier League in my student days – I remember a famous 1-0 win against Altrincham – and I was curious to see if there was anything left of what was quite a substantial football stadium.

Alas, nothing at all. Not one brick, not one tuft of grass. All gone – just like my youth.