4/3/2008

News

Wally Swan - non-league football fan

Wally Swan.

I was quite reluctant to write a blog at first.

Following Walton & Hersham is quite a specialist hobby, as the vast gaps on the Stompond Lane terraces show, and I wasn’t sure I could come up with anything exciting, mildly amusing or entertaining to inform our readers.

As the new Molesey reporter for the paper, I also doubted that advertising my support for the top team in Elmbridge (sorry Molesey fans…or should I say fan) was the best way of endearing myself to my contacts.

Luckily my editor agreed that I could obscure my face with my Walton scarf, both to protect my modesty in the unlikely event of the blog taking off, and to guarantee my safety when next traipsing round Molesey for a story.

It’s just as well as tonight sees the bottom-placed Moles make the short journey to promotion-chasing Walton, for the match that everyone who follows the two clubs has been waiting for all season.

There are other local clubs like Walton Casuals and Met Police in the same division but nothing beats the rivalry between Molesey and the Swans.

One of the first people I met in my new job was councillor Mick Burgess, who sadly died last month. He kindly agreed to drive me round Molesey to look at the broken streetlights.

Not knowing he was "Mr Molesey FC" himself, having both played for and managed the club, I mentioned I was a Walton fan. Luckily, he didn’t hold it against me though and decided not to kidnap me (imagine the effect that would have had on attendance).

It was clear that Mick was very popular at Molesey, with a musical tribute played for him before their last home game, so let’s hope they put in a good performance for him tonight.

Not too good though.

First printed in: News and Mail Online