Some of the die-hards might remember me from a few seasons ago when I wrote the match reports for the Official website.. No? Well, alongside the reports, I also wrote Hannah's Diary which was basically all the gossip from our away trips - you can imagine the calibre of this, and it usually mentions Gordon's ability to sleep on a washing line. The latest addition to the press gang is photographer Zoe Hitchen (she's been sitting pitch side next to Martin Ogden since February) and she'll be looking for the best fan pictures and funny match action for the diary as well. You'll get the inside scoop on how we press folk travel around.. I'd say it was 'in style' but this isn't always the case since I got my own car.
My car, affectionately named 'Peapod' due to it being a green Ford Ka, made it to a few away games last season - she even got up to about 80mph on the odd occasion before she started to shake. She even made it to Darlington to be greeted by the 'are you on the list?' flourescent jacket lady (that's her full name) in the car park. Anyone who's been to the latest Darlington ground knows that they have car parking for roughly 5 million cars. However, in League Two, only about 25 of these are needed, and are tucked away on one side. It was very much a 'if your name's not down, you're not coming in' moment as this almost Geordie lady questioned Peapod's intentions. Safe to say we parked, and got a 2-2 draw. Exciting or what? The first away day edition of Hannah's Diary will also be from Darlo (spooky) so I hope to meet this lady again!
As this is the first installment of diaries for the new season, I have no away trip to tell you about, so I thought I'd just shamelessly plug it instead. I am told that this is also making waves in the programme this year as well, so if you desperately need some incessant ramble from me during the half time break, then get yourself a copy and check it out!
As we all know, this season celebrates our 125th year of existence, which is pretty incredible considering the rate at which clubs seem to be getting into trouble and disappearing these days. We are not alone, however, as Leicester City and Lincoln City are also celebrating their 125th anniversary, and so are Marks & Spencer and PZ Cussons, so it seems a lot was going on 125 years ago (not just football action; we had penny bizarres and soap to enjoy too). These anniversaries give everyone a chance to go all retro as we seem to have done with our new kits - the jury's still out on that issue with me. As with all fashion-related issues, I'll need to see it worn/in action before I make up my mind.
Apparently there's a credit crunch on at the moment - you might have heard about it. During times of recession, it's typical that people get a tad nostalgic and club together to get through. I hope we take our opportunity of a 125th anniversary to work together and have a fantastic season. The heartache of the playoffs is still fresh in all our minds, but we need to put that aside and get down to business against Bournemouth. We have a great shout in this league again this year, with a strong squad and a charismatic manager. Some fans would kill for that!
I have to miss the first game as I'm at a wedding, so give the boys a shout from me. If you have any ideas for the diary, such as the return of 'Quote of the Week' or anything else, give me a shout on the message board.
Until next time,
Hannah x
