Day Three

Another early morning saw us up and out of the Ipswich hotel by 6.10am. Norwich was first on the list and we arrived there at 7.20. Having had no email or postal correspondance from them we looked for security and thought of the right things to say. The guy was very helpful but did need a lot of nudging to eventually phone his boss to get the ok for allowing us in. He did, we went in, lots of photos and headed off to Peterborough.

Long slow journey through East Anglia ensued but we still arrived at London Road a few minutes ahead of what we'd planned. Reception were very helpful and allowed us in for pictures.

Onto MK Dons after and on entering reception I spotted Pete Winkleman (chairman) and pointed him out to Dad. A lovely lady from the trust department showed us round the ground and told us about future plans for progression. As we were leaving reception and driving toward the exit we noticed Mr Winkleman still standing down by the frontage so Dad grabbed the camera and raced down for a photo. Lovely guy and was very happy to talk and pose with the Great Ormond St bear.

Leaving on a high we set off for Northampton and were let in and back out and on the road again very quickly. Unfortunately a series of wrong turns saw us lose the 25 minute gap we'd manage to give ourselves.

Leicester and Burton Albion were both very friendly and happy to assist and Derby at 4.30 proved difficult to find but easier to drive away from after than we had expected. However, I did pull into the wrong car park here and found myself mounting the pavement and driving along the walkway, down a ridge at the pedestrian crossing and back onto the road into the main reception. Pride Park is a lovely stadium and our favourite of the day. The front really shows off the teams colours and logo's and makes you want to photograph it.

Off to Notts County next. We arrived at 5.10pm and went straight into reception. We were 20 minutes early but the lady on reception said our contact had left the club on Saturday and unfortunately the ground was all shut for the night. Dejected, i threw in another name mention in an email and it turned out to be the chairman. He was in a meeting though so it looked like we'd fail to see inside. At that moment the meeting broke up and first out the door was Sven Goran Eriksson.. We firstly asked him for a photo which he very kindly obliged to when he noticed the bear with GOSH on it and he asked what we were doing. We explained and said its a shame we cant get photos inside. He said "we can sort that i'm sure. follow me". So we did. He took us through inside Meadow Lane and chatted with us for a few minutes about why he took over and his influence in the Sol Cambell deal. We left moments later completely stunned. Walking behind my Dad and Sven having a talk whilst SGE gave us a tour of the ground was the most sureal moment of my life.

Onto Forest as the final stadium of the day and we arrived just as they were closing up. Fortunately the groundsman let us in for some quick snaps.

If we have a better day than this by the end, i'll be hugely suprised. I'm still on a different cloud.