Jen and I didn’t do much of note in the few days leading up to the Krankenhaus festival as it rained heavily most of the time. There was a brief lull that allowed us to pop along to the Hawkshead Show, but a waterlogged field meant that it soon churned up with mud. I was pleased that we got there too late to get into the main car park as most cars subsequently needed towing out of there with a tractor.
Soph arrived with Harry and Isla midway through the week and Harry was happy to come along with me on the drive up to Whitehaven for a Thursday night game in the Premier Division of the West Cumberland Sunday League. It all sounds quite grand until you notice the ‘Sunday’ part of the title.
Initially we headed for the pitch used by Lowca Pirates, but it was soon apparent that nothing was happening there. A short drive to Moresby Rugby Club revealed that the Pirates were instead playing away to Moresby Rangers. We drove past a few elderly ladies walking their dogs and I wondered if any of them were the girl from Moresby that I briefly dated thirty odd years ago when I was working at Sellafield. None of them looked familiar.
The weather was little better in Moresby than it had been in Muncaster and so Harry and I spent most of the game inside of the car. One fella watched from alongside the clubhouse wall but, other than the subs and coaches, everyone else remained within their vehicle lined up behind the goal. Harry remarked that it was like ‘being in an executive box’.
The standard was just as you’d expect for the level, although with it being a mid-week evening, nobody appeared hung over and I didn’t see anyone vomiting in the way you might on a Sunday morning. There was little playing out from the back, which was understandable on a pitch where the ball was likely to unexpectedly stop in the mud.
The visitors were the better side and were three goals to the good by half-time. The players didn’t bother heading for the changing rooms and we were back underway after only four minutes. As the second half went on the crowd diminished as whenever a player was subbed, he just got into his car and drove home.
To the best of my knowledge the Pirates won 8-1, but I couldn’t be certain as I was occasionally distracted by watching subs trying to retrieve lost balls in the long grass or scrutinising the dog walkers to see if I recognised them from the early nineteen-nineties. Whatever. I enjoyed Harry’s company and it’s another ground for the list.
Trail of the Lion King 
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