Day of rest and football - must be Saturday

Saturday 3rd March 2020

Richie met George at the station and they headed out for the Fulham v Preston match, at the Craven Cottage. Apparently it was a good twenty five minute walk from the station to the ground, so Richie didn't get a rest day after all. George’s brother, Kevin very kindly gave his season members ticket to Richie. George bought another ticket for Kevin but it was in the stands, with the hoy polloy, so he stood in the freezing cold rain and wind to watch the match.

here we go, here we go, here we go

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If you look closely you can see Kevin in the stands

In the mean time, I took a stroll up North End Rd and discovered about five different charity shops. They look quite different to our charity shops. They don't seem to be big names like Good Sami’s etc. except Oxfam and they are quite high end - no one pound racks here. I did however discover the £1 shop and bought a few supplies.

Late in the afternoon, I caught the train to Hammersmith tube station and met Richie, George and Kevin at a local pub. It was empty when I arrived, but quickly filled with Fulham supporter, moaning and whinging about the game. We had several rounds of drinks and cheese and onion crisps (well Kevin did) followed with another curry and lots of old Fulham stories. I almost feel like I grew up in Fulham now😝.

catching up with old friends

Walking an average of ten to fifteen kilometers a day, for five days, was starting to take its toll. Whilst it was great getting up and out of our accomodation early, we still only have enough energy for about six hours of walking. So on Sunday morning, we rested and lounged about our lovely warm apartment.  Around lunch time we headed out to a local pub, that was chosen by Julian, to meet half the Ajayi family for lunch. It was a great success and went on until 8 pm. It was a lovely catch up - all the ‘kids’ who are now all nearly thirty years old, were there and it was great fun getting to know them. 

Nearly all the Ajayi men. From LtoR Eliot, Julian, Richie, Anthony, Franky.

Today we are meeting Andy for his sociological tour of London. Last time we were in London (more than ten years ago) Andy took us on a tour, he’s really knowledgeable and it’s great for us because we don’t have to think and can just let it unfold. 

I managed touch base with Shona and we are catching up for lunch on Thursday. She is travelling to London with Sanjiv and her little daughter Sophia. 

And tommorrow we are going to Oxford for the day - it’s all go here !