Experiences

Catching up on my weekend away, starting with Southend-on-sea on Saturday.

This was always going to be an ambitious way to start the weekend, but after dropping the kids back at their Mum's I caught the train for the first part of a 220+ mile journey south.

The logistical rationale for the weekend lay in the fact that on the final weekend of the Football League season all of the League One matches kicked off at 5.30 on Saturday, and a full set of Championship games were scheduled for 12.30 on Sunday. This gave me an opportunity to make a small dent in the many London & SE grounds that I'll need to visit if I'm going to be serious about "doing the 92" over the next ten years or so (currently 21/92).

The journey as far as London was fine, but then things started to get interesting. Various underground lines were down for engineering, including those that would normally get me from Kings Cross to Liverpool Street, so I missed by connection. "What's the next train for Southend?" I asked. "Get the Clacton train and change at Shenfield," I was advised. I followed the advice, but on arrival at Shenfield I learned that there weren't in fact any trains to Souhend that day. More engineering works. So I was treated to a bus replacement, all stops to Southend, across half of Essex. That would be Billericay, Wickford, Rayleigh, London Southend Airport and so on. The only thing that vaguely reassured me was that there were other people on the bus traveling to the match and they didn't seem to be getting too anxious about the time. And I've never really visited Essex so I tried my best to enjoy the scenery.

We eventually pulled into Southend at 4.30 so I elected to head straight to the ground rather than locating and checking into my accommodation beforehand. Any aspirations that I'd had of fitting in a ride on the pier railway beforehand were well and truly dashed.

Southend United's Roots Hall ground is a traditional rectangle of stands tucked in between houses. The pitch seems significantly lower than the surrounding ground level which means that other than the floodlights you wouldn't really know that a ground was there until you're right up on it (extra). 

I took up my seat in the West Stand to encounter what is possibly my worst view at a football ground to date (extra); the low roof giving a letter-box format to proceedings, and the ladder to the TV gantry adding further character. It also filled up, and the seats seemed a tight squeeze, or perhaps Essex breeds a larger gentleman. So, wedged in, with a poor view and still not recovered from the anxieties of the journey I reflected that I wasn't really enjoying this occasion and was this really how I wanted to spend my relaxation time? The game was a dead rubber, with neither Southend nor opponents Bristol Rovers in any promotion or relegation permutation. A 0-0 score line summed up the afternoon.

By the time I got checked in to my accommodation and had grabbed something to eat, twilight had arrived. I headed down to the sea/estuary front to be greeted by a sensory explosion of fun fairs and amusements, but east of the pier I was able to get onto the beach and enjoy a modicum of peace and quiet. Walking back along the prom I enjoyed these light sculptures against the post sunset sky.

A day of experiences.