Closed

The idea of a closed weekend this early in the season seemed like a good idea when suggested by my wife. After all I had completed 5 Supply League assessments , led on a Basic Course for New Referees and attended a handful of meetings in the first 3 weeks of the season. A weekend sitting around catching up on films downloaded from SKY, maybe watch a game or two on the tv ... well not quite.

We left home almost as soon as I got in from work and made the 150 mile journey south to my in-laws where we deposited our dog, grabbed a few hours precious sleep and then headed for Legoland near Windsor. We paid extra on our tickets so we could effectively queue jump using the Q-Bot. It's a nice piece of tech, where you select a ride with a long queue, book your place and then wander around until the time slot you've been allocated. You then turn up and walk past all the people who have stood in line, straight to the front of the queue. It's absolutely invaluable when you have an impatient 5 year old who wants to be "doing something" all the time.

After 9 hours of fun and games, we headed to our hotel, the Holiday Inn at Reading. I was concerned that we might get caught up in the Reading Festival traffic but it was all clear on all routes and I found we were staying about 15 minutes walk from the home of Reading FC, the Madjewski Stadium. No football on there though!

Day Two and we headed for Chessington World of Adventures. This is a place I've always wanted to visit but when I got there it appeared slightly run down. To add to the disappointment, their equivalent of Q-Bot cost £40 per person which was just a little too much so we missed out on many of the "big" rides. Nevertheless, we had a good time and timed our sitting down for lunch perfectly as we watched the skies open and the torrential rain poured down as we sat inside the pizza/pasta restaurant abusing their "all you can eat for £8" option (18 slices of pizza ... a new record!!!)

Weary legs needed some rest after 7 hours wandering around Chessington so we headed to the swimming pool when we got back to the hotel, but we only got 30 mins in the water. It was long enough for me to injure myself (no surprise) as I slipped on the steps and raked my shin down the metal steps into the pool - it really brought tears to my eyes.

The final day saw us take a trip to London. Driving around north west London trying to find somewhere to park the car was a nightmare. Eventually a sharp turn down a side street, saw me pull up at a cobbled strip. As I checked for traffic, I realised I was driving across Wembley Way with the huge stadium on my right still decked out in the banners, etc. from the rugby league Challenge Cup Final which had been played 2 days previously. Then it was on to the tube and into the capital.

We had booked a "flight" on the London Eye. It was my third trip and Liam's first but he wasn't that impressed, spending time drawing a picture of the Houses of Parliament and Big Ben. On "landing" he insisted we go see a street entertainer he had seen, who was dressed as Darth Vader. His grin spread from ear to ear as he jousted with "Vader" before being patted on the head. His next treat was a trip into County Hall for the last day of the London Film Museum display.

It was a great treat for all of us and Liam's highlight was finding some Stormtrooper armour, being allowed to "film" inside the Tantive IV and marvel at Batman's costume from Batman Begins. Our weary legs finally carried us to the Science Museum which, like Chessington, was a bit of a disappointment. This time it was as much through our own exhaustion but some bad signage and information found us in a deserted basement, with routes to other areas blocked instead of a display area.

We decided to forego plans to visit the Notting Hill Carnival as we were all exhausted, so it was back to the car, up the M1 to the in laws, collected the dog and home. I've learned my lesson though ... no more closed weekends, they're just too tiring!

Another busy one

After completing my assessment last weekend I launched myself into a week of football.

On Monday night the RA guest speaker was Ted Ring who has many years of experience in refereeing and has been mentoring my development as a Supply League assessor. Ted produced and amusing and interesting presentation drawing on the experience of the junior, senior and retired (me!) referees in the room. One of the best speakers we have had all season without doubt. On Tuesday it was an emergency meeting of the Sunday League management committee where we had a number if issues to deal with. Not least of which was arranging the replacement of the 4th official for one of the cup finals ... I got the job!!!

On Wednesday I attended the District FA meeting and contributed to the appointment of the referees for the semi finals and finals of the District Open Age competitions. On Thursday I watched Everton get knocked out of the Europa League or whatever it is they are calling the Fairs Cup these days. I also advised of my closed dates for assessing in April and received my appointments for March. I have three dates, two longish Saturday trips and a Tuesday night closer to home.

Friday was a rest day and on Saturday I headed to Leeds to assess another promotion candidate. This one was going from 7-6 and is also a member of my RA but often can't get to meetings because of work commitments. Today I had planned to watch a local game, see the District FA representative side play their latest fixture and enjoy the late afternoon watching two friends officiate in the Carling Cup Final.

As things turned out the game I wanted to watch was moved to another venue, so I set off to see James in his game. On arrival I was asked to look after a game where the referee hadn't turned up. I did the game, awarded two penalties (and had a re-take), issued two cautions, made a team re-take a free kick as it hadn't left the penalty area and had a real laugh verbally sparring with a few of the players. It turned out that the representative side game was off so I went to watch a Dad and Lad show in a District FA Junior competition semi final before heading home to catch the second half of the Carling Cup Final (thought it was a 4pm kick off!!!).

So yesterday's assessment is complete, the caution report has been mailed and now I'm putting my feet up before another busy week which includes another Sunday League management meeting on Tuesday and our first Cup semi final on Thursday. Weekend off next week though ...

Admin, admin, admin

So important it needed saying three times.

I've sent my availability form back for my local Sunday League. I've opted to take the 3rd Sunday of every month off. That means if I don't receive any District Cup appointments then, I'm available to do some assessing.

If I'm not needed for assessing, then I might have a lie in. I'm hoping that by cutting back on games this season I can avoid the many tweaks and niggles I experienced last season.

My second bit of admin was to check with the County FA regarding sanction for tonight's game I've been asked to referee. It seems neither club have sought sanction so I'll not be refereeing it!

Last bit of admin for this morning, at least, was to advise the County FA that my pre-season friendly which prevented me from attending the Supply League Assistants evening on August 4 has been moved. So I can now attend. Phew ... busy morning and it's not even 10 o'clock!

Closing Dates and Changing Plans

Closed my dates with my old Supply league tonight as I'm expecting only to officiate as a referee for them next season. It didn't have seem strange as I used to close maybe 5 dates a season with them and tonight I closed 5 in one month!

Fat Lad rang lateish to say that he had a game booked for tomorrow night but it clashed with an appointment booked for his Level 4 development group. He offered it to me and I gratefully accepted it. It's a chance to try out some new man management stuff before the season starts!

Finally, Thursday night's training session is off as Chuckle Elder has to train earlier than usual because he has an end of term meal booked with colleagues. Fat Lad asked me if I fancied attending the School of Excellence, but I'd rather wait for an official invite then have the potential embarrassment of being turned away.