Views from the Sieve

For my retirement gift my family is flying me to Dagenham for two weeks in August. I finally get to see the Daggers in person.

Will there be anyone in the stands? Will there be a manager in place by then?

I am not sure of the exact dates. I only found out a few hours ago when my wife mentioned it at my retirement breakfast.

First fixture is 9th of August in the league.

Don’t suppose you fancy the job of head coach?

Bring your boots, you'll probably get a runout.

BB-Dagger wrote: Wed May 28, 2025 6:48 pm Don’t suppose you fancy the job of head coach?

I was thinking that. I can't do any worse, and I don't even know all the rules well enough to be head coach.

DAGGER2003 wrote: Wed May 28, 2025 6:38 pm First fixture is 9th of August in the league.

Flying over 14 August and leaving 28 August.

I have the Daggers on the agenda hopefully twice at home, and It would be fun to do a coach ride to an away game if that is even going to be an option next year. (It was a real punch to the gut with the relegation as I know Victoria Road will not be the same this coming year.)

Greenwich Observatory to see the Harrison watches, and over to Slough to visit the Herschel Museum. I have given some talks to my local astronomy club about the Herschel family so I can't miss that.

I am not sure how much trouble it will be to get to Coventry but being 55 years old, I caught the very tale-end of the 2-Tone music scene. That might be the train ride I take, as I love trains. I am like a 5 year old, to be honest, around trains.

Notice the top of the list is the Daggers. I am not sure if my sister lives in walking distance to Victoria Road but they are by there often enough, though they are the least sporting people I know, so they are in a car and not in the stadium. (It is probably close enough to walk for a European but an American would have a fit it asked to walk that distance.)

I am open to suggestions of what to do. I try to visit working class labour sites when I visit cities in the US. I am certainly up for that as well.

ARNU wrote: Wed May 28, 2025 8:33 pm Bring your boots, you'll probably get a runout.

Fly thousands of miles and spend more than I have ever spent for one segment of travel by myself. Get to the stadium and given the bum's rush within minutes of kickoff. That would be almost comical.

If you have access to a car for days out or at least one is possible by tube, there are several Heritage Steam Railway lines and museums you can visit in and around Essex about 20 to 40 miles away.
Google Heritage Steam Railways near Essex for individual opening times etc.
The town of Maldon on the Essex Blackwater Estuary is a decent day out by car. Olde Worlde pubs and eaterys as well as quite an interesting Museum of Power.
If the fixtures are kind you may even catch Elliot Justham playing for Maldon & Tiptree Fc.

On another day a 40 minute rail trip via C2C line to Leigh on Sea (Old Leigh) is a quaint cobbled town on the Thames Estuary known for its seafood and old pubs. Hope this helps in planning your itinerary.

Look up sites like What’s on in Essex or London are also quite useful to aid planning between certain dates.

McLeansvilleAppFan wrote: Wed May 28, 2025 6:13 pm For my retirement gift my family is flying me to Dagenham for two weeks in August. I finally get to see the Daggers in person.

Will there be anyone in the stands? Will there be a manager in place by then?

I am not sure of the exact dates. I only found out a few hours ago when my wife mentioned it at my retirement breakfast.

Great news. I am sure we can roll out the Daggers Red Carpet in some form or another.
I think the fixtures will be out 9th July 2025, so you can plan from then.

ThatRoundThing wrote: Thu May 29, 2025 6:43 am If you have access to a car for days out or at least one is possible by tube, there are several Heritage Steam Railway lines and museums you can visit in and around Essex about 20 to 40 miles away.
Google Heritage Steam Railways near Essex for individual opening times etc.
The town of Maldon on the Essex Blackwater Estuary is a decent day out by car. Olde Worlde pubs and eaterys as well as quite an interesting Museum of Power.
If the fixtures are kind you may even catch Elliot Justham playing for Maldon & Tiptree Fc.

On another day a 40 minute rail trip via C2C line to Leigh on Sea (Old Leigh) is a quaint cobbled town on the Thames Estuary known for its seafood and old pubs. Hope this helps in planning your itinerary.

Look up sites like What’s on in Essex or London are also quite useful to aid planning between certain dates.

I should have access to a car at times. A thanks for those suggestions..

Auntie Merge wrote: Thu May 29, 2025 12:06 pm

McLeansvilleAppFan wrote: Wed May 28, 2025 6:13 pm For my retirement gift my family is flying me to Dagenham for two weeks in August. I finally get to see the Daggers in person.

Will there be anyone in the stands? Will there be a manager in place by then?

I am not sure of the exact dates. I only found out a few hours ago when my wife mentioned it at my retirement breakfast.

Great news. I am sure we can roll out the Daggers Red Carpet in some form or another.
I think the fixtures will be out 9th July 2025, so you can plan from then.

It would be fun to meet the commentary team. They give me a shout out every now and then along with a few other international fans.

Ooh nice one..but two weeks in Dagenham hardly a present..only kidding..,we've chatted in DMs and as you know I'm from Coventry and we're the same age (wish I could retire!) and we chatted Ska and The Specials. It's an hour from Euston and the museum is not far from the station, if you're a fan it's worth paying homage to that terrific musical movement..

RM1Dagger wrote: Fri May 30, 2025 8:58 pm Ooh nice one..but two weeks in Dagenham hardly a present..only kidding..,we've chatted in DMs and as you know I'm from Coventry and we're the same age (wish I could retire!) and we chatted Ska and The Specials. It's an hour from Euston and the museum is not far from the station, if you're a fan it's worth paying homage to that terrific musical movement..

I am going to see The Beat in early August. They are playing in a city where a daughter lives. I could see General Public a few days before The Beat but the tickets are for a festival and not cheap so I may have to pass.

I hope we get to chat in person and talk music. I will clearly make it well known what fixtures I will be attending. I would love to meet as many of you as I can.

I picked up a pen-pal here a few years ago when I first started following the club. I am not sure if he still posts on here much but we will certainly get to a match together. I am not a beer drinker but I think the plan is to do a pub before or after the game. Do it right. Give me the full treatment.

As far as retirement I am not going to really feel retired until August when school starts back and after this trip I likely will pick up a part time job. I am not sure it would be good for my physical or mental health to still not be working. I have worked since I was 16 and worked a good bit in college. It is just a matter of finding what I want to do and how much I want to do, with the freedom of not having to work if I really don't have to I guess.

Back to ska. My sister is 3 years older and never got into it like I did but she will have to know this is on my to-do list.

I will have a month of activities to do before I arrive. My maternal side is from the Isle of Skye and Mull but also some German in the mix from both sides of my family.

Bonus for anyone into Shakespeare. I will recite a few lines so you can hear what it would have sounded like in his day. It is a bit of a myth and a bit true that the Southern Appalachian Highlands accent that I have is likely as close to Shakespeare as one is likely to find in the current world.

It will be great to see you. Post on here where you'll be pre game and I'm sure we can get a few of us to meet you. Plus if we tell the powers that be at the club( who are they going to be btw?), they'll make sure you have a great trip involving the Daggers.

Keep the faith. COYD

digdagmalc wrote: Fri Jun 06, 2025 10:17 am It will be great to see you. Post on here where you'll be pre game and I'm sure we can get a few of us to meet you. Plus if we tell the powers that be at the club( who are they going to be btw?), they'll make sure you have a great trip involving the Daggers.

Keep the faith. COYD

Don't worry, within a few days of the schedule being posted for the season I will make plans for which home matches and maybe an away match I would like to attend. I took about 3 sips of a beer Thursday night as I will be happy to do a pub visit before or after a home match based on what is normally done. (I am not a beer drinker.) I am wanting the full experience. Songs, chants, whatever is done at a Daggers home match. I want to experience it.