Another convergence game and with Matt along. Went from Whitchurch expecting to change at Crewe and then have a rush change at Manchester only for Charlie to brilliantly spot our first train went to Manchester so pressure off. On the train from Manchester to Leeds we were surrounded by a bunch of lads from Wigan heading off to York races. They were hilarious and - of course - Charlie and I joined in the the banter. One of them even gave us one of his beers. Lots of noise, lots of laughs and the hour journey passed in a flash. Then one more train to Harrogate - again on time - getting us there in plenty of time for a gentle stroll (in glorious summer weather) through town and a pint at The Empress before a further 10 minutes walk across The Stray (common) to arrive at reception bob on 13:00. The ground looks a lot better than my last visit (when it was undergoing a major revamp) but still small and old school with everything single story presumably so as to not upset the local residents in their big fancy houses. The lounge itself is in a similar vein situation in a sort of cabin tucked into the far corner but the welcome (from host David) was super warm, the others in there convivial and chatty and the roast carvery lunch was truly excellent, Lots to drink too (probably a little too too) making staying awake through the first half very difficult. Not helped by the standard of football being pretty poor and Harrogate being outplayed and out muscled from the off. That the score finished as it did was a surprise given the visitor''s dominance. Then back into the lounge for a swifty before a taxi to the station for a pint in The Harrogate Tap. Managed to jump an earlier set of trains back to Crewe where I booked my first ever Uber to get us home to YTB. And in no time at all the fire pit was roaring and Suey joined us as we sat outside to chat and enjoy a final glass of before very late to bed to dream sweet dreams of wonderful footy days out. Harrogate First Time 2nd February 2019 FA Trophy versus Stockport County score 2-4 attendance 1,142 We decided to have a weekend in Harrogate as a break and so I could do the footy while Suey went to the hairdressers. It was excellent. Really nice hotel and two spectacular dinners in between shopping and snow. On match day I walked the half hour or so to the ground (on rotten painful knees) through the outskirts of Harrogate and across the common land they call The Stray. Snow from the previous night was still laying - not surprising with the temperature barely above freezing. It’s a nice little ground. Old school and quaint and currently under a major revamp improvement so they are ready (if it ever happens) for League football. On today''s showing they have no chance!! I had to stand behind the goal as all seat tickets sold out. But the crowd were pleasant - no bad language - and the man next to me just happened to have been brought up in Nantwich (on Welsh Row!!) and we chatted about travel and sport pretty much non-stop through the game. Ah, the game. Competitive and lots happening but Harrogate were completely outplayed by a team a division lower although, admittedly, vying for promotion. But after taking the lead (own goal) Stockport took control and scored 4 times (3 from defensive errors) and I left before Harrogate got a consolation second. I was FROZEN. And the walk back was tough hobbling on poorly knees with every bit of my limbs feeling like they were full of ice. I called into The Empress for an interim thaw (and a swift beer) before heading back (via a convenience store for a half bottle of very cheap whiskey) and into a warm hotel room, a hot bath and a spectacular England rugby display before going out for an excellent dinner at an Albanian restaurant called Sarande. How good can life get? BTW - Suey''s hair looked fab.