1) I was emailed back in April this year by the chap who runs a cricket club called The Quaggies who fancied a game against my club, Gentleman's Relish. As it happened, we found we could fit them in and played a very entertaining game last weekend in Kent. After the match, we were chatting over a beer when the conversation turned to the return fixture, and its possible location. I mentioned that we were nominally South London based but that unfortunately the pitch we used to use in Honor Oak had been redeveloped. After confirming the location, it turns out that our old pitch was also the place they played their very first game back in 1993 and his local pub back then was the Blythe Hill Tavern, which is now my local, due to being at the bottom of my street.
2) I was very kindly taken to see Arsenal v Bolton today as a guest of Thomson Reuters. The hospitality was excellent, the seats superb, the banter consistent and the result correct. After the game, we established that we were all heading back via London Bridge and decided to have a quick last beer at Hay's Galleria before we parted company. One of our number happened to be meeting his cousin who was also heading home from the Arsenal match, via the same station, so he too joined us for a swift one. I immediately recognised him from somewhere, but couldn't place him just yet. It bugged me repeatedly as we chatted amiably for a while until there was mention of our destinations. When I mentioned Blythe Hill, it clicked; he lives round the corner from me and we had both seen each other on Champions League evenings watching Arsenal at - guess where - the Blythe Hill Tavern at the bottom of my street!
Randomness abounds...
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