The alarm went off at 7am, less than 24 hours after arriving back from sunny Cape Town and a 12 hour flight.
Going to watch the Shrimpers play at a cold and fifth placed Huddersfield was madness, but the 2 x £13 train tickets had been bought the previous
November, it seemed like a good idea at the time.
Oh why not? It was an easy journey, the 9.40 via Manchester Piccadilly, and we might catch them er, cold. They hadn't played since a cup tie on January 2nd, though we hadn't seen any action since before that, December 28 and the 2-1 win at the Borient.
Nearly three weeks away and I hadn't actually missed a game!
The mountains looked magical covered in snow as we shot through on the Trans-Pennine Express, and I was buying my first pint in the wonderful Head of Steam inside Huddersfield Station by 12.30.
Honestly, it's better inside
The West Yorkshire brewery Ossett's Pale Gold, 3.8% at £2.50, for starters; then another local company, Daleside, and another golden ale, again at £2.50 but 4.2%, provided the finishing touch before the short walk to the stadium.
After days of fizzy Castle lager this was heaven indeed, 4 degree temperatures or not!
Always a lovely ground to go to, helped by moving the more vivacious home fans away from right next to us to a place at the side, I wasn't expecting the number we took away last season, especially as the pub was packed with Shrimpers then but only a few this time around.
It was all so serene, could we snatch a rare goaless draw, of course not! Step up Jordan Luke Rhodes with a brace when left completely unmarked on both occasions, these being only his 16th and 17th goals of the season!
Poor Osei never looks like he's going past the first third at the best of times but not being fully match fit he never looked like moving out of his own personal patch of grass, he'll look better at the weekend.
We did deserve a point as Tilly says, but if you give goals away in such a manner, you must expect the worse.
Good to see Clarkey and Theo who received warm applause, which our still player-of-last-season responded to in like.
We were still letting in goals as we were Saturday even with him in the side so what's there to be upset about, and Theo didn't do much when he came on and might be on his way to Millwall, so we could see him again in a weeks' time!
Scott Spencer; as available in a cigarette packet at a newsagent near you
Young Spencer though, what a revelation when he came on, took his chance very well and may be worth a start against Wycombe, especially with Barney feeling all lonesome up front at the moment.
Moose would have to go wide again, for the team Franck, while I'd stick with Laurent and place Scannell back on the bench. Harsh, as the Frenchman's done very little in the last couple of gamnes, at least Damien gets stuck in, but you never know what those Bambi legs may do, and when Francis does get it right there isn't a League One full back who can live with him.
Time for a pint back at the station before getting back to Manchester and sitting on the 18.32 to be nicely back in London by nine.
Glad to see this bloke didn't get a seat
Sadly, not. A suicide somewhere, trains delayed, no train crew, for the next hour!
In fact it was 19.55 before we left, at least I'd grabbed a seat at no extra cost in first class, with the train packed full of ManU supporters from a rare 3pm Saturday kick-off, going back down south of course.
So it was after eleven before I reached the sanctuary of home, completely knackered and vowing never to travel by Virgin again.
Still time to turn on the PC though, haven't booked anything for Hartlepool yet.
