The agony is over for The Barber.

After 43 days without a game, The FA's superfan joined a healthy crowd of around 150 at Tatnam last Friday - they'd all had recent check-ups - to watch Poole Town's pre-season friendly with illustrious neighbours Dorchester. They were so illustrious that it was five quid to get in.

Hamworthy equalise on Saturday.It signalled the start of my 49th football season, which was odd because I’m only 32.

Wessex League Poole used 24 different players on Friday, but none of them managed a goal. Dorchester, who play in the Conference South, put out a stronger team in the second half and scored twice. Magpies’ No.15 notched my first goal of the season, blasting a right-footer into the top corner in the 47th minute. A penalty two minutes from time, for a foul on the same player, made it 2-0.

I was the first person in the ground and the chap on the gate initially couldn’t give me change for a tenner. There was an interesting photo in the clubhouse – an action shot from Poole’s FA Cup match with Watford in the ‘60s which drew an attendance of 11,155 to "The Stadium", their old ground about five minutes’ walk away. Those were the days, eh?

I gave the beach rugby near Bournemouth pier a wide berth on Saturday morning and then took in another football friendly at Hamworthy, just west of Poole, in the afternoon. This one featured Hamworthy United of the Wessex League and Gosport Borough of the Southern League Division One South & West and ended 2-1 in the visitors’ favour.

The superfan has now seen two games this season. They were both away wins and they both had a penalty that was converted. His lifetime total has now clicked on to a crazy 5,537.

This coming weekend I’ll be up on Merseyside to see John, a friend from my time at Liverpool University. He’s now a vicar with four kids. We’ll go to the Gustav Klimt Exhibition at Tate Liverpool on Saturday morning and Marine v Tranmere in the afternoon.