Earlier in the week, I checked the weather forecast for Boxing Day ahead of Bath City’s trip to Weston Super Mare. Being a local side, we are always paired with the seaside side at Christmas. The last two years, the away fixture has been postponed. Last year, I found out that the game was off when I was in bed, having just woken up. While a tad annoying, it wasn’t too bad as no money or time had been wasted. Two years ago, while sat on a coach just outside of Bath, we got a message to say that that match had fallen victim to rain. That did piss me off, especially as it was a beautiful sunny day, without a rain cloud in sight.

I shouldn’t feel too bad. We haven’t been the only side to be affected by Weston Super Mare’s pitch. Most famously, their recent FA Cup game against Doncaster was called off shortly before kick-off, due to a bit of water on the playing surface. The events yesterday, however, were hard to take…

I was initially worried whether the game would go ahead or not. As I have already mentioned, a few days ago I saw this on the BBC weather page, when checking the forecast for Weston Super Mare…

When Boxing Day arrived, despite a bit of frost, there was no problems. You could call it perfect weather for football. We boarded the coach and any worries about postponements were forgotten. It takes an hour or so to get to the ground. It is quite a scenic trip; driving through the Somerset countryside, passing lakes and picturesque villages – we even went past the Thatchers cider farm! As we approached the town of Weston Super Mare, it started to rain. Within minutes of getting to the ground, a fan on our coach received a text message from the Bath City chairman – GAME OFF.

How in the fuck did that happen? It couldn’t have been raining more than an hour and even then, it was hardly a downpour! We were so close to Weston’s ground, we continued with our journey, getting off the coach to see for ourselves and check it wasn’t some kind of sick joke. The only joke was Weston Super Mare’s pitch – the match was well and truly postponed. That’s THREE years in a row for a bit of rain. Some man in a suit came out of an office to inform us the game was off. No apology issued and no thanks for making the journey. I just walked off, loudly muttering to Claire how they should be kicked out of the league if they can’t sort out their pitch. I entered the clubhouse to empty the contents of my bladder, before getting back on the coach and going back to Bath.

Weston are near the bottom of the table. I really hope they go down and Bath City won’t have to put up with going to their amateur setup ever again.