Nov 1, 2023 | The Main Blog
When you’re at your local railway station, the word ‘cancelled’ usually triggers a feeling of dread, but on Halloween there was one notable exception. The plan to close most of the ticket offices at stations in England has been binned after more than 750,000 people...
Oct 23, 2023 | The Main Blog
After blogging about my favourite football books regularly during 2021 and 2022, I put the Reading the Game series on semi-permanent hiatus, but there are certain football books for which an exception should be made. The second volume of memoir by Pat Nevin, Football...
Sep 28, 2023 | The Main Blog
Regular readers of this blog will know that I rely on the railways to get around, which has been extra tricky for the last six months. The train I was using five days a week to get from Kirkby to Wigan has been starting and terminating at Rainford while the work to...
Aug 28, 2023 | The Main Blog
Regular readers will be aware that I’m a lifelong user of the railways and am eagerly awaiting the opening of the new station at Headbolt Lane. When Headbolt Lane opens to passengers, it will become the new terminus for the Northern service which, until recently,...
Aug 3, 2023 | The Main Blog
On 12 July, I wrote about the plan being rolled out nationally to close most Railway Station Ticket Offices. Because I’m currently commuting via Huyton, I based my arguments against the proposal on the likely changes to staffing there and, once I’d published the...
Jul 14, 2023 | The Main Blog
It’s a long time since I’ve reviewed a football book; going back to University changed my reading habits and meant that the writing time available to me was spent working on assignments. But, with the World Cup on the horizon and a summer break from my studies, I’ve...
Jul 12, 2023 | The Main Blog
As someone who relies on the railway to get to and from work because I’m medically disqualified from driving, I was alarmed to learn of the plan to close the majority of ticket offices of the network. The argument being put forward by the Train Operating Companies...
Apr 28, 2023 | The Main Blog
I’m currently studying an MA in Creative Writing at The Open University. This piece was my first attempt at ‘Place Writing’ and is the final version of my third assignment of Part One of the course. You can’t get to Glastonbury without making an...
Sep 10, 2022 | The Main Blog
A few weeks ago, I reviewed A Woman’s Game by Suzanne Wrack. It was one of two books about women’s football received from When Saturday Comes at the same time; the other was Football, She Wrote, an anthology of writing from a mixture of new and experienced female...
Aug 18, 2022 | The Main Blog
For the second consecutive Reading the Game, I find myself reviewing a book that’s only just come out, like a “proper” book blogger. The title in question is When Two Worlds Collide by Daniel Williamson. This history of the defunct and perhaps largely unlamented...
