Hi and welcome to the latest edition of TLFG.
Thanks for waiting, this is much later than I wanted it to be.
Coming into Sunday morning everything was looking good but then various things have happened to hold things up.
Most of Sunday was spent travelling to and from Actonians' game at Saltdean United.
I travelled down to Brighton with a friend who was going to the Brentford game at the Amex so we met up with some other Bees fans in town for some refreshment before going our separate ways.
Despite being November, it was an absolutely gorgeous day on the south coast with mild temperatures and hardly a cloud in the sky.
Saltdean is about a 30-minute bus ride east of Brighton and the route goes right along the coast so it was a very pleasant trip.
It eventually drops you off about 200-300m from the turnstile of Hill Park.
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| Actonians travelled to Saltdean United's picturesque Hill Park on Sunday |
The recently refurbished ground is really impressive for a men's 10th-tier club with a top quality 4G pitch and great new clubhouse. My only gripe is that you can only stand behind one goal - always a failing.
As for the match itself, Saltdean's women play in the fourth tier and were impressive in the first half, thwarting any attempt of creativity from the visitors despite a lot of possession.
At the other end, they didn't create much but executed well and were 2-0 up at the break - the A's unbeaten record looked certain to go.
However, it was a different story in the second half with two goals in a minute from former USA international Steph McCaffrey (one possible a OG) bringing the sides level before the hour.
Substitute Hana Lalani then put them in front and it looked like being enough only for the hosts to equalise with six minutes to go.
With the game into injury time, a McCaffrey free-kick put captain Georgia Griffin in on goal but the keeper couldn't hold her effort and Kat Turner tapped in at the far post to earn a memorable 4-3 win.
It was quite a game and it wasn't my only one.
On Tuesday I went to Loftus Road for QPR's slightly disappointing 1-1 draw with Burnley before going to check out Kensington Dragons on Saturday.
They recently upgraded their ground on the edge of Wormwood Scrubs and it's really good for an 11th-tier club.
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| The towers of North Acton act as a fine backdrop to the Dragons' Den |
With skyscrapers and other imposing buildings on virtually every side of the ground, the backdrops rival the much celebrated ones on the east side of town at Fisher and Sporting Bengal/SOUL Tower Hamlets.
Kensington were playing Harrow United in a Middlesex County League game and won 4-0. The Dragons are my nearest non-league club so I'll hopefully go back again soon.
THE NEXT SECTION CONTAINS DISTRESSING CONTENT
Yesterday (Monday) was simply busy so I couldn't publish but then something unforeseen happened at work today.
As some of you know, I work as a member of train crew and while travelling on a train (not actually working it) someone jumped in front of us.
When the emergency brake came on I knew something was up and then I really knew something was up when there was a strange rattle under the carriage I was in.
The driver let the crew know what had happened and given their relative inexperience, I got involved too.
After checking on the driver, we learned a trainee was actually driving at the time - welcome to the railway.
I then made my way to the back cab of the train just in time to see a member of the emergency services about to cover what was left of the individual.
We then had to sit tight and keep the passengers informed as the clean up began - in all it was nearly three hours before we were allowed off. Some passengers were becoming understandably agitated as the train's power began to run out, causing lights, air-conditioning and toilets to start failing.
I could go into more detail about what I saw today but I won't - writing this has been kind of therapeutic in its own way.
Anyway, that's almost all I'm prepared to write on anything at this point.
Just before I go though - Sutton United are charging just £2 (usually £21) for this weekend's National League game against Solihull Moors and I promised I'd mention it.
Have a great week.
As always, please make sure you check with clubs before you travel just in case a game has been called off or the venue or kick-off time has changed - this is highly possible for some of the lower non-league clubs and development matches. Also, please let me know if anything is wrong or missing.
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