ATTENTION TO DETAIL

Printed in the National League South game V Dover Athletic 12^th August 2023. First home game of the season. We lost 2-1 in front of 778.

I don’t usually bother with friendlies but with the rain saving me hours watering our vegetable gardens and my little ‘un on summer camp, how could I resist the charms of Charlton U21s?

Everyone is waxing lyrical about the changes that have happened at the club. New owners that have brought a new energy, while harnessing the hard work from the volunteers that were already at the club. A winning formula if you ask me, rather than a wrecking ball of we-know-best clear-the-decks that some clubs in our league have done.

I decided to pop into the Wheatsheaf beforehand - which proudly displays the clubs colours - just to make sure it hadn't been closed down. I never thought the real ale Rose and Crown would shut and certainly not the forward thinking busy desi Asian run pub the Three Tuns. Now its the turn of the Herschel, whose landlord is retiring after rows with owners over rent. So will the last publican standing in Slough, please turn out the lights. And what do you think Wetherspoons will do to prices when they have totally captured the market?

Luckily the visit to Arbour Park didn’t disappoint. The fast paced attacking football Scott Davies has gone for is going to be a crowd pleaser, the street food vans, the season ticket deals - and then the programme. Which has always had good content but has had a make over which will make it award winning. There’s now a programme WhatsApp group so we can bounce ideas around and it's these small attention to details that gets the best out of everyone. I left Arbour Park with a big smile on my face and a stomach full of halloumi burger.

So saying I was excited about our first game of the season was an understatement. And then the train companies decided because of an overtime ban they would close every station in Sussex.

As you can imagine Pride is quite a big thing in Brighton. At the last one, as I travelled along the coast line to Havant and Moanystewardsville, every station was packed with people covered in glitter and glam (unlike at Havant, where everyone had Pompey tops on). By the time I returned, Brighton looked like Glastonbury had landed on it.

So no trains for Brighton Pride was a big thing with the council and MPs going apoplectic with rage. Even on strike days there’s a limited service so why the management nuclear option when the unions said they could work round it? But this dispute isn’t just about pay but the way public services are delivered in this country. The fact that the train companies want to close every ticket office or rely on workers doing overtime to function; want to get rid of wifi, no longer do food on most trains, im amazed there are still toilets on board or even chairs as they strip out everything while continuing to put up prices. The attention to detail is just another cost that they don’t want. Infact running a train service seems too much to ask of them. Well apart from a float at pride to show how inclusive they are, which they decided was best to cancel along with all their trains.

But Pride, Storm Atoni and no trains wasn’t going to stop this intrepid traveller. My monthly work bus pass would swing into action, and hurtle me to Tunbridge Wells train station. I managed to find the worst cafe in England and at a quick half pint pit stop in Tonbridge, I found the worst smelling pub toilets. The whole population of Tunbridge seem to want to get on this train as I read Top tips from the towns lifestyle magazine - get rid of cancer by moving to a vineyard and drinking thyme tea. Simples (which could also describe the author of this new age guff).

Maidstone has a bewildering number of train stations and I managed to pick the wrong one and read my map upside down. But a walk along the river Medway and the dual carriageway that cuts through the town found me finally at the Flower Pot to meet Bill and Ben otherwise known as Martin and Alan and Spreadsheet Stu. They had sniffed out a great little boozer near the ground but another in nearby Hope Street was bordered up, sold by the brewery and destined to become flats. Sadly too many Slough had gone straight to Wetherspoons when this little pub would have massively benefited from their custom.

I know I sound like the drunk bloke at the bar, but pubs have a special part in our DNA, but just like everything in this country, they are being asset stripped and closed down just like all the ticket offices. The Tories like to wrap themselves up in the British flag while flogging off everything. It’s a perverse sort of patriotism.

Like Slough, Maidstone spent many years homeless, and this was my first visit to the Gallagher Stadium. Smack bang in the middle of town it didn’t disappoint. While everyone concentrated last season on the National League Wrexham and Notts Country stories, Maidstone's wasn’t such a fairytale, finishing bottom of the pile.

Kent sides always seem well supported and there were nearly 2,000 in the ground. As we assembled behind the goal, for once the hoards of Slough would be out-sung as we rattled through our greatest hits album with some new crowd pleasers (we haven’t learnt Nick the Trumpets Station Jim song yet).

We put on an impressive display but a tame penalty and a sending off undid us against the full time side. I hate losing but I really liked what I saw from a revamped, full throttle Rebels.

When clubs like Torquay and Yeovil get relegated, you know you have to be on your game. Attention to detail this season for every club will be crucial – something which we are getting at Slough Town in bucketfuls and which bodes well for the season. Enjoy!