Fifteen brave souls. That was the number of hardy Boro fans that trekked to the far reaches of the North East and the 1st XI's latest away day.

It was a journey that I was thankful to have missed to be honest, as the reports back to Sussex were, to say the least, discouraging.

Instead of a 700-odd mile round trip, I opted to make the familiar jaunt to Priory Lane but the teams on display were far from the usual fayre served up on a Saturday afternoon. Since a fire ripped the heart out of their club, Westfield of County League 2 have been begging, borrowing , and cajouling the use of any local piece of grass with a pitch marked on it.

So with the ground at the Lane laying dormant, its use was sanctioned to host the cup match versus Clymping and with a few other Boro faithful that had opted out of 13 hours of travel I paid my £4 entrance and staked my place.

Actually, no-one really had to battle for a view as, and I know this will sound sad, I counted at kick off 56 fans ( it did increase to close to 66 with late arrivals!). With the PA system under Westfield control and the tea bar also occupied by alien staff it turned out to be an okay game of football.

It is odd that, for the first time this season, you could really hear the crunch of feet as the tackles flew in. Maybe I have got used to being among larger crowds and have forgotten the noise that boot on boot produces. Boot on leg also echoes more when the terraces are less populated, as do the expletives of the technical areas! We also witnessed three goals and a few wry comments were made along the lines of "That will knock the cobwebs off the nets"

I mentioned that the tea bar was stafffed by our visitors of the day and it took a few of us regulars a while to realise that coffee wasn't priced at a pound, but a bargain of just 50p! Most of us had handed over our usual tarriff and walked away, happy with a strong warm brew. If it put a few extra pence in the coffers then all well and good. I don't think anyone went back and demanded a refund.

The grim news from Gateshead trickled through and we retired to the bar to reflect on what we had missed out on by staying in Sussex. We all agreed. - nothing! With the England game in full flow, and watching the "Rio" fiasco, I decided to bid farewell to the club and make my way home.

Wednesday night offered the choice of two matches. Some international on the telly or live football under the floodlights. Crystal Palace reserves were in town for the third game of the season in the Totesport Combination. With two respectable 0-0s to their credit, Shaun and Jonno's boys were facing a side that had hit 12 goals in two games so far and with both sides still unbeaten one anticipated a cracker of a match. 240 fans weren't disappointed.

As I donned my bright yellow jacket for the night, I also cheekily placed my blue and red scarf round my neck, with a white eagle proudly on show. Comments ranged from "Unusual colour for toilet paper" to "Get that B#**@y thing off right now". Undaunted, it stayed in place for the entire 90 minutes. However, and it was a bizarre feeling, when the Eagles scored, I felt nothing. I was gutted to see the boys in red go behind.

When the second hit the net, I felt worse! When James Fraser hit the target for the Sports, I punched the air, well as much as a home steward is allowed to, and I found myself urging the lads on, under my breath of course. It went to prove one thing. I truly am a "Converted Eagle" these days and Borough is my team. For the second game in a row, the scoreboard read 1-2 at full time. Let's hope this weekend doesn't bring up the hat-trick!

So, we end this week's ramblings in true "News at ten" style with an "And Finally". There have been times when I have mentioned the referees with some scorn. Well, it's time to show the lighter side of the men in black. Firstly to the ref on Saturday. He strolled up the tunnel but instead of walking on to the pitch he veered towards the tea bar. I cheekily mentioned that he would be more use on the big green thing over the barrier. He grinned.

The match officials for the Palace game were witnessed to be doing some very dainty warm-ups and "Fingers" complimented them on their footwork and asked if it was "Strictly" for them on Saturday evening. Dan even asked the spectators near him for their votes. The final giggle was, when having returned to their changing room, Fingers told the ref, he didn't think much of his dance partner. The official looked round the dressing room door, looked back at Dan and replied " Nor do I". It just goes to show that some of the whistle blowing fraternity do have a sense of humour.

This week end sees Mansfield Town back in our neighbourhood. Fingers crossed the helicopter will remain grounded at Shoreham this year! See you all in seven days' time.