As an honorary life member of Hethersett Athletic Football Club and a former club chairman for many years, I have at times lived and breathed the football club before retiring and taking very much a back seat.
It was very strange therefore on Saturday to support another team against Hethersett. But family ties and all that. We were there to watch grandson Elliot play for Wymondham Under-9s against Hethersett.
It was lovely to see the Memorial Playing Field awash with people - youngsters playing and parents/grandparents watching. There was also Norfolk cycle speedway championships taking place. It all got me to thinking.
Firstly there were no toilets open and no refreshment available and that is certainly missing a trick. Coffee and bacon rolls would go down very well and also be a good fund-raiser for individuals or organisations. There's one main reason why this isn't possible at the moment and that's the antiquated and unfit pavilion which, for a village of our size, is an absolute disgrace.
Thankfully plans for a new pavilion are well advanced and hopefully that particular dream will become a reality in the not too distant future.
There were so many people there that cars were parked on the roads around the field with the car park full to overflowing. It does make driving through that area tough at times but there really is no alternative. Having a successful park generates traffic.
Quite a few of the vehicles were parked partly on the pavement in order to allow passing traffic to get through. If legislation is brought in to stop pavement parking it could cause more problems than it solves.
I fully understand the nuisance and danger pavement parking can bring to residents with pushchairs or wheelchairs but the other side of the coin is at times people park vehicles partly on a pavement to help rather than hinder others. It's a very prickly subject and I can see both sides of the argument.
I was away for much of the weekend but did manage to get back in time for the first in the new season of films at the village hall put on by the Hethersett Village Screen Group. Chairs were well spaced out, there was a relatively small attendance (I'm sure this will pick up when the word gets around) and we had to wear masks which was a tad uncomfortable for well over two hours. There were no teas or coffees but juice/water and biscuits were available.
You will note I have avoided mentioning the film. Well it was the latest adaptation of Jane Austen's "Emma." I have tried - I have tried in every way I know - to like Jane Austen and I have failed miserably. I know many people love her writing but I find it at times ridiculous and her characters vacuous and trifling. I think I will just leave it at that! Next month's it's another classic that gets the modern treatment - this time David Copperfield. I will have more details of the time and date in the next Hethersett Herald an in a coming blog.
The other big event in the village over the weekend was the Big Pick Litter event which saw over 30 people taking part in two picks - one in the morning on Saturday from the Methodist Church and one in the afternoon from the village Hall. More about this later.
The cricket match between Hethersett and Tas Valley and Swardeston Seconds which I mentioned in a previous blog was called off as Swardeston couldn't raise a team.
Finally today a couple of self indulgent family pics taken at Cromer of us with the grandchildren - well it is my blog after all.