Mossley (pre season friendly)

Kendal? Mint
I’m in The Lakes today. Kendal Calling music festival to be precise. As the game kicks off it’s highly likely that I’ll already be four pints into the day and gearing up to see Brummie scallywags The Twang.
This is our third trip up here and the reason we come back is quite simple. In our 15 years of festival going Kendal is the best one we’ve ever been to.
It’s basically a chance to see semi-stellar bands in a fantastically compact country park without the premium price tag of say Leeds or Glastonbury.
Another plus point is the interaction between the stars of the show and the paying public. The festival’s intimate nature combined with a really friendly atmosphere often sees established bands milling around the bars and chatting to punters. Not a million miles away from how it is at Abbey.
Top of my must-see list this year are Northwich veterans The Charlatans, hip hop legends Public Enemy and guitar god Johnny Marr. I’ve heard the latter may even throw in a few Smiths tunes.
My ethos over the years has generally been the-more-the-merrier which is good because tales of last year’s escapades have spread and this time around there are almost 20 of us on the trip. Not bad going seeing as we’re all in our thirties. Just hope the weather stays nice.

Picture perfect
If you’re at a loose end this summer then you could do a lot worse than hop on a bus into town and take in football photographer Stuart Roy Clarke’s free exhibition at the National Football Museum in Cathedral Gardens.
I’ve been a fan of Stuart’s work for a number of years now and marvel at the way he manages to capture the off-the-pitch side of football that all-to-often goes unnoticed in the Sky Sports age. The oddities, the quirks, the expressions, the characters, they’re all there. He also sees the same beauty I do in a forgotten ramshackle non league main stand.
This latest series of photographs is called True Colours and was taken throughout last season. It captures the peaks and troughs of following a team home and away and subjects range from promotion joy at Cardiff to relegation battles at Oldham. He describes the work as “wanting to get across that feeling of first love...to show the raw affection and undying loyalty to clubs who put us through the shredder”.
Got to be worth a couple of hours in my book.

Home comforts
Me and the nephews were debating where the best viewing spot is at the Abbey Stad. A tricky one as all four sides have their pros and cons.
The main stand has the obvious advantage of a roof but can feel a bit distant from the action with its set back position. The Railway End is ace in the first half and offers a great option for latecomers with its proximity to the car parking area. There’s generally no one down here though so if you’re on your own it can get a bit lonely.
The clubhouse side is where the action happens. Always busy, this side is great if you fancy a brew but your view can sometimes be obscured when Gibbo climbs up on top of the dugout. He’ll tell you he’s trying to get a better view of the action but really he’s living out the rock and roll dream of being on stage. Watch out for his sly air guitar.
Finally the Entrance End, a part of the ground that’s right in the thick of things as far as second half excitement goes. The downside to this spot is that anyone who stands here becomes an involuntary ball boy and will inevitably spend the most exciting part of the match chasing wayward shots down the banking. That said, if you’ve got a nephew or two in tow to cover this duty then the Entrance End maybe shades it.
What? It’s raining? Right, I’ll be in the clubhouse watching from the window. Mine’s a Holts.