Oh I can’t wait to report back on the happy band of stewards. Let's see if they have moved upwards and onwards in the ascent of man to being human this season! One can but hope.

Those were the lines that closed last week’s blog. Did hope spring eternal? Simple answer is no! With the rain teaming down in Nottinghamshire, the arrival of 23 official Boro fans and yours truly who slipped under the turnstile radar obviously sparked fear into the eight, yes, that’s right EIGHT stewards that were to be our “guardian angels” for 90 minutes.

It's hard to imagine quite how they could get worse that last year, but they went beyond that to actually excelling at obnoxious!

Cast in the far corner of a wet and windswept stand, we huddled at the very back in an attempt to stay dry. We didn’t really take up much space, but with due diligence, Neanderthal man ordered us to sit down with less than 45 seconds played.

In all fairness, I observed that they also dictate to the home fans. Little wonder when Mansfield visited us a few weeks ago, a couple of their fans asked us if there a chance we Eastbourne stewards could pop to Field Mill and show them how it should be done. The “sit down “ brigade exceeded all expectations at the beginning of the 2nd half when the pointing fingers were exercised on 36 seconds.  Surely this is a record of some description?

Not to be outdone, the car park officials seemed intent to carry the mantel of unwelcoming to a higher dimension. I tried to pre-book a space for what can only be described as a small minibus. The reply I got? “We’re full.” I also mentioned that we may have elderly or disabled on board. Once again, their reply was “We’re full”. Now, I didn’t actually expect a red carpet laid in our honour but when one considers how we treat visiting fans it’s a shame our BSP colleagues cannot follow suit. Maybe some of them still have a big club mentality that is sadly a thing of the past.

It was the second Saturday in a row that the heavens and the isobars played a major part in the scheme of things pitch wise. The fact that both teams managed to play a good game bears testament to the standard of players present in this league.

Tuesday evening at the Lane, and once again, the new drainage lived up to its expectations and despite prolonged downpours the game with Histon went ahead. Yet again the weather made it a bit of a lottery and like the millions of us that pick 6 numbers week in, week out Boro’s balls still remain in the drum! We just need lady luck to smile down on us and give us the scent of victory once more. With Joe Benjamin collecting a well deserved man-of-the-match award there are the signs of new roots peeping up from the turf and now we need to nurture them.

Our foes this week end are going through what must be every genuine fans nightmare. The financial plight of Chester is well known and as we approach the end of November their fate or future is still very much in the balance. Could we see a club removed from the league mid season or will it be repeat of the Weymouth farce when the Muff were forced to play their youth team as the 1st eleven. If that is what awaits Chester, then my plea is simple. Please start with the kids on the 28th!