I will always remember my driving instructor telling me: ‘Never take your eye off the road son!’ These words of advice came back to haunt me as we sat in a three mile tail back of stationary traffic on the A1 near Stamford in Lincolnshire. Now this hadn’t been our chosen route after leaving racing HQ an hour earlier...

Daughter Jo wanted to get back to University a week early and spend some time settling into new digs with her friends in Loughborough before the new term starts at the end of September. The original plan was to drop her off and get in a local match at either Church Warsop; Basford United or Ruddington Village Football Clubs, before returning later in the afternoon for tea. But all this soon changed as we approached the slip road at the Brampton Hut interchange...

Fran had just pulled out a family-sized bar of Cadbury’s Dairy Milk from one of the Tesco's shopping bags nestling beside her feet. For a self-confessed chocoholic, the temptation was going to be too much; recognising the distinctive purple wrapper was one thing but the opportunity to savour a couple of chunks was something far too good to miss! Alas, the mis-timed handover (reminiscent of a British Olympic relay team) caused the hefty bar to fall to the floor. Even if I had saved some extra calories, the lack in concentration had proved costly. In that split second and with gaze averted, a motorcyclist appeared seemingly from nowhere and swerved sharply in front of us, blocking our intended path to the slip road. This was in truth a really scary moment. In a flash our chance to turn left had gone. Instead of heading north using the M1 we were now resigned to continue up the A1 and make a cross-country journey into Leicestershire…

It wasn’t long before we hit those dreaded road works a few miles from the Burghley House roundabout. The enforced delay of forty-five minutes had drastically affected the afternoon’s ‘hopping possibilities. Looking at the road atlas soon revealed to us that the distance we still needed to travel was going to be too much in the time we had left; a trip to either Church Warsop or Basford United looked impossible without access to a helicopter. Instead it would be easier to settle for the Notts Senior League game at Ruddington Village FC, located a few miles south of Nottingham on the A60. In the end it proved to be the right decision.

Luckily we made it to Elms Park in very good time before the Senior Division match against Kimberley Miners Welfare started. Like many grounds in this league the social facilities tend to be better than those at pitch-side. Ruddington Village Football Club (formerly Ruddington United) is no exception with a large and impressive pavilion located in the centre of the expansive sports field. There are two main pitches on site: a local pub side use the one nearest to the Elm Park road entrance and the first team play on a pitch which runs lengthways directly behind the club house. The main playing area is bordered by a cricket square to the left, with trees and houses on the opposite side and behind the goal at the far end. The larger-than-average pitch is fully roped off on all sides and is maintained to a really high standard by full time ground staff. It really has a superb surface and looks in terrific condition. 

The game was an uncompromising battle between two sides struggling in the lower reaches of the Senior Division. Village desperately needed to earn some points to lift them off the foot of the table after a terrible start to the season. Tempers frayed as early as the fifth minute following a ‘rash’ challenge. Both players involved went to ground and were motionless. It didn’t look too good from where I was standing. Premature thoughts of an abandoned game came quickly to mind. Physios were employed for a full five minutes but to everyone's relief the injured parties were declared fit and the game re-started. The visitors opened the scoring after 10 minutes when a direct free-kick on the edge of the box was met with the perfectly timed header to deflect the ball off the post and into the roof of the net: the stuff you find in top drawers! Ruddington got back into the game (32 minutes) following a fast break to make it 1-1 at half-time. Kimberley then took the lead again on the hour mark after some great build up play. Despite being put under enormous pressure by the hosts for the rest of the match the Welfare boys managed to hold on for victory. A draw would have definitely been a fairer result in what was a tough physical encounter.

The fixture attracted about 30 spectators, many of whom basked pitch side in T-Shirts and shorts, enjoying the late Indian Summer. A phone call earlier in the day revealed that the club issue programmes for all home games. By the time we got there though these had sadly all gone, leaving just a handful of ‘outer shells’ (24 pages of adverts without their inserts) in the pavilion lounge. We were given these as free souvenirs - not quite the same as a normal programme I know but at least offered some consolation as we purchased our half-time cuppas in the tea bar!

A great tick! It was only a short trip back to Loughborough (10 miles from here along the A60). Thankfully we managed to return Jo safely to her digs, before getting a quick bite to eat and then heading back home down the M1. We might try and get to Church Warsop or Basford United for a game on our next visit in a few weeks time. Now where’s that milk chocolate bar?!!?!