Gingerbreads

The second and final day of my East Midlands excursion began with a two hour early morning drift around Nottingham. I took in the cemetery, Anish Kapoor's Sky Mirror and a variety of boundary markers and post boxes among other attractions.

Then it was a short train ride east to Grantham which left me feeling a tad over dressed as most of rest of the passengers were heading for a Bank Holiday weekend on the beach at Skegness.

Grantham is one of those places that I've often sailed through on my way down to London on the East Coast Main Line, but I'd never visited. A few hours of walking around had me admiring gargoyles at St Wulfram's, various ghost signs and advertising remnants, doing my best (but failing) to avoid the birth place of Margaret Thatcher and finding no end of plaques and statues proclaiming that Isaac Newton had been to school here.

And being a Saturday, there was a football match to go to. Grantham Town are in the Northern Premier League (Level 7 of the football pyramid) and were hosting Whitby Town.

Their ground is a local authority multi-sports stadium and has the usual issues associated with football pitches sitting inside athletics tracks but taking a seat at the top of the main stand I had the bonus of extensive views over the Lincolnshire countryside.

The match improved after a dour first half, and Grantham eased to a 2-0 home win. The only NPL match I got to last season was at Blyth Spartans, who ended up promoted as champions. Perhaps I can be a lucky charm for Grantham too? "Forza Grantham Town - the Gingerbreads" as one of the banners in the stand opposite declared.