London/Epping Part Two: In Which I Make A Belated Goodbye To The Boleyn, Go To The Orient And Buy Some Books

Hello there. Hope you're feeling well today.

Unusually for me. I actually had a plan for a Saturday when not working. The first part was simple. It had been the first opportunity to go to Upton Park and visit the Boleyn Ground since it's closure and West Ham's move to the Olympic Stadium.Pathetic though it sounds, especially for a fifty two year old man I wanted to say goodbye personally.

It was a grey day but thankfully did not rain which was fine with me. The underground journey was surprisingly swift and soon I was out of the station and face to face with an old friend.

Memories are made of this

Of Brooking and Bonds,Dicks and Cottee to name but a few. This was a place that once had a big part of my life when I was much younger.

A small tear was shed....in a manly East End way of course.

A Wistful Moment

Closest I could get

Nearby there is a statue of the legendary 1966 West Ham World Cup heroes. Had to get a picture of that as well.

The Heroes

And opposite the statue there is...

The Newham Bookshop !!!

Which is organised in the same higgledy piggeldy way I like bookshops to be. So that you, the reader,can revel in discovery.

The Search For Reading Treasure Begins

Unfortunatly wasn't sure what I was going to spend in the next main stop I was going to visit so couldn't splash out. So just bought a few individual essays by George Orwell and Anne Patchett

Today's trio

Upton Park is very much a multi cultural area as it was when I was young. So I didn't think that much had changed. Queens market for example.

Not that much different from when I was here last

So it was coming up to twelve o'clock. Hungry. What shall I have? A Subway? A Greggs? Ethnic cuisine? Well as it happened when I saw this it became a no brainer.

The Legend That Is Percy Ingle

I remember their cream doughnuts as a child....as you do.

Can't say anything has changed since I last went into a Percy Ingle. But nostalgia won. Ordered a cheese roll and a Lucozade.....living on the edge.

It was eventually time to go. Given that I'm living in Wales it's unlikely I'll be visiting Upton Park ever again unless there's a major unexpected swerve in my life. So thankyou Boelyn and Upton Park for the memories. I will always appreciate them.

Thankyou

Sadly No More

Given that it was one of the few times I'm in the area West Ham uncharitably were playing away at West Bromwich Albion. What that meant was that to watch a football match I had to go to the Orient.....Leyton Orient.

What I've realised recently is that Leyton Orient was the precursor to my views on Cardiff City,Swansea City and Newport County in that to me they were like being very friendly with a woman but not having an affair as you're faithful to your wife. It's the only English club I feel that way about. My views normally are mainly neutral (including Millwall) moving to dislike (Tottenham) and absolute hatred (Arsenal).

I regularly visited Brisbane Road when West Ham were playing away. The last time though was about 1996/1997 before I moved to Wales. The O's were playing Merthyr Tydfil in the third round of the FA Cup and I thought it would be a good idea to take the wife there given that she's Welsh. Who says I don't know how to treat a woman?

Anyway they were playing Yeovil Town FC and I made up my mind to go to BRISBANE ROAD (I really can't call it The Matchroom Stadium). I was in for a few shocks firstly ...

These are apartments around the ground

And then ...

All very modern

Went into the club shop (or Superstore as clubs like to call it now). Bought an Orient football shirt for my collection which I'll tell my wife is a Christmas present from her to me (I'll reveal it then), a pen and a match programme.

On paper, by which I mean the match programme, the Os were in the top half the division whilst Yeovil were in the bottom three position. So this should've been an easy victory for the home side.

Before I say anything else let me just say that I hereby claim to be the first person to read a Helene Hanff book during the breaks in a game at Leyton Orient. Here is the proof;

I rest my case

Obviously Leyton Orient were aware I'd last visited about twenty years back. What other reason could there be for the fact that the pre match music came from the Now That's What I Call Nineties back catalgue. Fatboy Slim anyone? Or perhaps you feel you want to "Jump Around"?

(A quick digression. The biggest cheer of the game came at half time when the announcer told the crowd that West Ham were losing three nil (eventually to lose 4-2). Obviously I'm bothered but will always keep the faith. That said. there will need to be a turnaround soon or else the situation will get worse and quickly.)

So to the match. In the first half Orient dominated but just could score. Yeovil occasionally moved forward but it had been mainly the home team. The second half seemed to go exactly the same way. Orient were by far the better team except in finishing. Either a pass went to fresh air or a shot to goal was so wayward the players must have thought that the ball was installed with Satnav so that it could be guided through the net.

BRISBANE ROAD!!!

And there was this. 

"MOVEMENT!"

A guy a few rows behind me kept shouting this throughout the match. And he had a point. What seemed to happen was that Orient would start to attack but whoever had the ball would stop as the player didn't seem to know what to do next. By the time he did the moment was gone.

"MOVEMENT!"

The guy shouted this so often I did wonder whether in a parallel universe he was a ballet teacher.

A draw seemed to be the inevitable result..... until in the seventy sixth minute Yeovil had a corner which they took short. The resulting cross reached the head of Tom Eaves and the away team had scored.

One nil then to Yeovil. With the first and only time in the entire game they showed a genuine piece of skill.

There was of course uproar with the home support. Some people even decided that there was about thirteen minutes left it was time to leave. Orient did try to gain a late equaliser and had a chance kicked off the line but it was to no avail. They had lost.

Boos rang out around the ground.

The player sitting down did not escape abuse

The fans anger then turned towards their owner Francesco Becchetti. "Becchetti out" came the cry. From an executive box he emerged and just waved the fans away as if they were peasants. The Roman Emperor approach it appears.

I'd enjoyed today. Aside of course from the results.

Until the next time.