Having spent 18 months working in Peterborough back in the nineties I'm quite fond of the area, though the city centre itself hadn't changed much. The inclusion of the Brewery Tap pub, five minutes from the rail station, was new, and welcome.
Before that the trip was as easy as ever, Kings Cross for the 11.30, the sighting of a couple of Shrimpers, a couple in the McDonalds next door stocking up! Less than an hour later I was in the aforementioned Tap.
Meeting a couple of other lads already enjoying a couple of the large choice of real ales they have on offer at the micro-brewry we started talking about old Posh games. Pulling me up that Lawrie Leslie did not break his arm at the Boxing Day 1970 match but two years earlier. Oh God! The memories going! I needed another lovely Bishops Farewell while they stuck to the weaker Jeffrey Hudson Bitter, the wimps.
The wonderful White Dwarf, spotted in Peterborough
I also noticed they were selling an old friend of mine only previously drunk in Crewe's wonderful Borough Arms, White Dwarf. Seeing as it's brewed by Oakham Beers, local to the area, hardly surprising, we must play Posh again, soon. We'd better not go up then! Bugger, it's finished, then it had to be a pint of Inferno, I'd only been on the ride at Alton Towers, now I was drinking it! (They must be sponsored, they even had a pint of Oblivion!)
With the Thai restaurant on base pumping out the orders as well as other excellent pub grub it's hard to believe it's in a spot of trouble, the credit crunch hitting even this very good hostelry. Good luck, Peterborough needs you.
Charters, much recommended to enjoy your pint on land!
No trouble with the pub boat Charters, which we reached 10 minutes walk later with the floodlights in view, packed full of Shrimpers and Posh alike along with some locals who just like good beer! The bar was tough to get to, but I got a pint of White Dwarf at last, and with the sighting of spring like weather for the first away game this year many had moved outside where there was plenty of benches.
DoDtS was there holding court and reminding me he'd found something about Millwall in the twenties, blimey they were causing trouble back then!
So you could see I was in a mellow mood for the game, not expecting much really with Posh scoring freely while even after the great win at the Farmers we'd rather blown it at home to Crewe.
A real surprise for me was the sighting of my Bristol based mate in the ground, Yeovil or Cheltenham maybe but not Peterborough. However it seems he has a girlfriend whose parents lived a half hour up the road at the lovely town of Stamford, where I'd bought a house once but never moved in before I moved back South, and had cleverly arranged a meeting of the in-laws on the day of the fixture. Respect.
The game is now history and much better explained here: www.thelittlegazette.com/news/loadnews.asp?cid=TMNW&id=435069
It was an odd match though, or maybe it was the Dwarf. A terrible penalty decision by the ref, a tackle on Boyd had been pulled out of seconds before, but he went over anyway, what the hell, and got the decision!
We settled back, or stood back, how nice to be on a terrace again, expecting the worse, but Posh never pushed on and we grabbed an unlikely equaliser, an overhead kick by Christophe! Sacré bleu!
As the new miserly partnership at the back of Clarkey and the loan signing of the decade, stand up and taker a bow Mr. Dorian Dervitte, continued to take everything in their stride it was not that much of a shock when we actually took the lead. However, a moment Posh defender Shane Blackett will want to forget, what a deflection, thanks Shane!
Never looked like losing after that, the now obligatory Big Steve save aside, it's like having Darryl back, but taller.
Time for another Bishop's Farewell in the Tap before the packed 18.36 to London turned up as the England game in Ireland started on the big screen.
A celebratory can of Strongbow on the train joined by a few happy Shrimpers, flag and all, in the buffet carriage!
Home nearly as early as when I get back from Southend at 19.00, feet up and watch the tape of the Six Nations match. Fell asleep before half time, and this time it wasn't just the beer, blimey it was horrible! Luckily the dreams were of another Blues victory on the road.