Category Archives: B

A night at the Am Drams

28 Wednesday Nov 2012

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Tuesday 27th November 2012 19.30

Beauty & The Beast

at The New Theatre, Oxford

Performed by Oxford Operatic Society

The New Theatre and I go back a long time, 1980 to be exact, when I appeared in the first of six Gang Shows there. Even then, as a 9 year old I was fascinated at the difference in appearance from the glamorous art-deco front of house and the frankly grotty back-stage, where we were told in no uncertain terms that if you touched the floor you should wash your hands immediately, as there was no lack of rat poison put down there.

I will never forget peering through the glare of the stagelights to spot Mum, Dad, and sister Elizabeth in a packed house during the Saturday matinee, and hearing Dad’s distinctive guffaw during one of Ralph Reader’s jokes. That and the crate of beer that was delivered to the Assistant Producer’s dressing room, conveniently placed on the ground floor….

Times change, and in recent years Mum’s health has begun to fail. Alzheimers and a crumbling hip have restricted both her movement and concentration. Any journey more than a few yards requires a wheelchair and she now finds even a quiz show almost impossible to follow. The doctors have told us to keep her active, but I drove to the theatre with a certain amount of trepidation- what if she got bored? What if the painkillers she takes for her hip wore off early? My unease was not helped when the wheelchair lift to take Mum to the stalls initially wouldn’t work, and when we got to our seats she asked for a painkiller 3 times in 5 minutes.

But when the curtain rose, for two hours she was transfixed. I became aware of her foot tapping along to the songs, and for a brief moment in time, she was the little dynamo back at the Gang Show all those years ago. For that I give thanks.

The last train from High Barnet

04 Sunday Nov 2012

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Saturday 3rd November 2012 ko 15.00

FA Cup First Round

BARNET 0

OXFORD UNITED 2 (Constable 56 Rigg 80)

Att 2,246 (834 away)

Entry £21

Programme £3

Tea £1.50

Teamsheet FREE

I have connections with this part of North London, my grandfather grew up in Sebright Road, just a stone’s throw from Underhill. Back then Barnet was a village in Hertfordshire, set on the lip of the artesian basin that London itself sits in, and was connected to the metropolis by the Edgware, Highgate and London Railway. Nowadays Barnet is part of Greater London, swallowed up by the big city and the railway is a terminus of the Northern Underground line. As games are played at the local football ground the trains rumble in and out of High Barnet station above the pitch. Seeing an underground train from below is rather counter-intuitive, but does make a trip to Underhill unique. Continue reading →

Football under water

28 Tuesday Aug 2012

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Wednesday 22nd August 2012 ko 6.30pm

Gloucestershire Northern Senior League Reg Davis Cup 2nd Round

BOURTON ROVERS 4 (Catling 18 Teague 24 60p Acock 39 )

RAMBLERS 5 (Parsons 6 12 63p Modic 70 Nicholls 83)

Att 27 (h/c)

Entry FREE

No Programme

Tea 70p

For a small boy growing up in Oxford over 30 years ago, a school trip to the Cotswold village of Bourton-on-the-water was an annual treat. Whether the trip was to Birdland, or to the model village, the sun always seemed to shine, and as I drove in via Stow I couldn’t understand why everything seemed so much taller. It took a few seconds to work it out, it’s because on every other occasion I’d visited, I’d been sat on a coach!

The ground is notoriously difficult to find Continue reading →

Procedure

29 Sunday Jul 2012

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Tuesday 24th July 2012 ko 19.00

Pre-season Friendly

RAF BRIZE NORTON SELECT 2 (Rockley 7 Groves 47)

CARTERTON FC 3 (Fitzmartin 68 74 Duerden 72)

Att 21 (h/c)

Entry FREE

No programme

Bottle Diet Coke £1.20

The normal procedure to get into an RAF base is to simply turn up with photo ID and time, and after checks as to your address and purpose of visit you’ll be allowed in. That was the case when I watched Benson Lions at RAF Benson, but with the Olympics imminent all military bases are on “Heightened” alert, so more stringent procedures are in place.

I phoned the Carterton manager Martin Wilkinson, and its purely down to his kindness that Lee and I were able to watch this game at all. The base asked that over and above the normal procedures, that all players, coaches and spectators should submit details for scrutiny before arrival, and that everyone should arrive en masse.

That meant meeting at Carterton’s ground, Kilkenny Lane, and driving in convoy to the base, around 5 minutes drive away. The check-in at the guard post was remarkably efficient, and in was interesting to see the departure board, exactly as you’d see at a domestic airport, but with destinations such as Camp Bastion, Afghanistan. I considered the memorial garden just outside the main gate, now in use since repatriation flights moved here from Royal Wootton Bassett. My fun evening, suddenly had a dark edge. Also of interest was the list of what you can’t take on a flight to Afghanistan. I quote, “The Sun, FHM etc.” Innocuous enough to western eyes, but not to an ultra-orthodox Islamic state.

From there we drove round to a large sports ground. Two football pitches, the remnants of an artificial wicket, and a positively gargantuan assault course. Lee took pictures, I chatted to the referee, the RAF’s Billy Moggach, and a bored WAG settled down with her copy of “Fifty Shades of Grey.” It turns out that there are many links between the two sides, indeed the Carterton reserve keeper was playing for Brize tonight! The Brize team consisted of members of the 3 teams that play on the base, in military leagues, which I pondered must mean when the base is on “Heightened” alert it must be virtually impossible for a civilian to watch a game!

With the Hercules aircraft providing a spectacular backdrop, Brize made by far the better start and deservedly opened the scoring when Aaron Rockley’s curling
shot found the top corner of Damien Mulhall’s net. The hosts looked far better organised and it was of little surprise that they double their lead just after half time, Phil Groves having all the time in the world to walk the ball in.

The game was turned on its head as late as then 68th minute, when the visitors finally learned to play together. A neat one-two set up Ben Fitzmartin on the
edge of the box and he blasted home. That was followed up by Mike Duerdon’s shot from a similar position, and the victory was won just 6 minutes after the comeback begin, with Fitzmartin doing well to follow-up a Lewis Brownhill free kick to nod home.
On a worrying note Carterton right-back Aaron Perry had to be taken to hospital suffering with breathing difficulties, manager Wilkinson missing his side’s come-back to take him, but I understand he suffered no ill-effects.

All in all this was both an interesting and spectacular evening out. I’d like to thank Lee for spotting it, and Martin Wilkinson for allowing us on the guest list. Martin, I promise I’m not scouting for anyone!

Codebreakers

16 Monday Jul 2012

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Saturday 14th July 2012 ko 3.15pm

Pre-season Friendly

CROCKENHILL 3 (Golding 9 43 A Triallist 67)

BETHNAL GREEN 0

Att 17 (h/c)

Played at Blackheath RUFC 3G pitch, Well Hall Sports Ground, Kidbrooke Lane, Eltham

Entry FREE

No Programme

Coffee £1

From Chislehurst it was only about 3 miles to Eltham, passing the stunning 1930’s built Art Deco Eltham Palace on the way. As the central London skyline came into view the suburban landscape lost some of its foliage but at no time did I feel in an entirely urban environment.

As a drove into Kidbrooke Lane I felt I recognised the place, but couldn’t place why. I went and had a look at the reconditioned stand, that looked familiar, but it was only when I looked at the clock on the outside wall of the clubhouse that the penny dropped. The clock still says Thames Polytechnic, the former owners of the ground, and I played there as a student for the Polytechnic of North London FC! In those days Thames Poly played in the Kent League but my encounter wasn’t at those dizzy heights, it was in a game for PNL’s 6th XI (I was captain though!) in the SEETECH league and we lost 20-0 to Thames Poly’s 3rd XI. I’d like to say that the scoreline flattered our hosts but my abiding memory of the fixture was the kindly referee finding all sorts of spurious reasons to disallow home goals! Thames Poly FC withdrew from the Kent League in 1992, and the institution is now the University of Greenwich. That was in the days before 3G, in fact the only plastic grass around then was part of a meat display at the local butcher! With the pitch beyond the stand, it looks a redundant edifice.

It’s the oval ball that dominates here now. That said Blackheath do have a small but significant role in the formation of the Football Association. In 1863 a series of meetings was convened in an attempt to create a common code of rules for football.

Blackheath were one of eleven clubs invited and Francis Maude Campbell of Blackheath was elected Treasurer. After a series of meetings Campbell refused to eliminate “hacking” or tripping an opponent and kicking his shins, from the rules, and commented that to do so would,  “Do away with all the courage and pluck from the game, and I will be bound over to bring over a lot of Frenchmen who would beat you with a week’s practice.” A week later Blackheath withdrew from the FA and Campbell’s rules were incorporated into what is now Rugby Union. The club still plays home fixtures at nearby Rectory Field.

That would explain why the 3G pitch was marked only nominally for football, and why there was space to walk behind both goals. 5 or 6 hoppers arrived fully expecting to see Crockenhill take on Bromley Green, it was on the Crocks’ website after all, but instead we got Bethnal Green, a week early! Not an issue, and it proved to be an entertaining afternoon’s entertainment. I will never know though how Bethnal Green failed to score, a 3-3 result would have been more than fair but the visitors were guilty of missing a string of gilt-edged chances, and were made to pay as Ryan Golding hit them twice on the break, and missed an absolute sitter later on. That didn’t matter as a trialist made it safe, and ended the game as a spectacle.

Incidentally Crockenhill’s normal home, Wested Meadow, near Orpington I cannot recommend highly enough. From the scarf collection in the clubhouse, to the stand seemingly built without recourse to a spirit-level, it’s a gem of non-league. Do pay them a visit.

Schmälkoch’s consolation

11 Monday Jun 2012

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Saturday 2nd June 2012 ko 16.00

Oberliga Neidersachsen

VfL BÜCKEBURG 2 (Buchwald 33 Schmälkoch 90)

VSK OSTERHOLZ-SCHARMBECK 3 (Ordenewitz 6 71 Manah 86)

Att 247 (h/c)

Entry FREE

Programme FREE

Badge €5

Pennant €6

From our base in Dortmund, we found a tiny bar on the way to the main station, for beer-for-breakfast before catching a commuter train to Minden. From there we caught a suburban service one stop to the pretty town of Bückeburg. Its situated in Lower Saxony, on the border with North Rhine Westphalia. It was once the capital of the tiny principality of Schaumburg-Lipp, and was the residence of the Princes of Schaumburg-Lippe. Although the Princely family surrendered political power in 1918, they still live there today. The palace, part of which is open to the public, is a major tourist attraction, and houses works of art and a library.

I can only assume that the residents were either at the football or the castle, because the town seemed deserted as we took the 5 minute walk from the railway station to the Jahnstadion. On arrival that was a bonus that it was free entry (normally €6) as part of the club’s centenary celebrations. It struck us all that as a marketing tool it worked well, as we all bought something; beer at €2, or a currywurst, or something from a well stocked club shop.

As a ground, it was notable that there was only one raised area, an uncovered terrace on one side, an end was closed off, and the other end provided a fairly impractical viewing piont due to a net. Most activity seemed to be taking place on the near side, with a cafe and beer seller doing brisk trade. I just wondered where people would have positioned themselves if it’d been raining.

The game, in the 5th tier of German football, saw two sides at the lower end of the table, but safe slug it out in a game where the result would see neither side relegated. And to be honest, while it was decent enough fayre, there was little to stir the passion for long periods. Marco Ordenewitz gave the visitors the lead early on, and for the majority of the game, Osterholz-Scharmbeck looked in control.

Nevertheless Bückeburg found it in themselves, through Tim Buchwald, but once Ordenewitz restored the visitors’ lead, it looked all over as a contest, particularly when Mahmoud Manah gave Osterholz-Scharmbecka 2 goal lead.  All that changed with introduction of the unfortunately named Bastian Schmälkoch with 2 minutes left. He scored one, missed another, and in stoppage time we were treated to home keeper Tim Engler coming up for a series of corners. His opposite number Ole Pasbrig made one tremendous save to keep another Schmälkoch effort out, and the game finished with even this cynical neutral wanting 5 minutes more!

Powerwalking

07 Monday May 2012

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Monday 7th May 2012 ko 2.30pm

North Berkshire League Charity Cup Final

ARDINGTON & LOCKINGE 0 James sent off 70 violent conduct

BERINSFIELD 2 (Ingram 40 Saunders 74)

Att 195 (h/c)

@Abingdon United FC

Entry and (8 page) Programme £3

It’s only about a mile from Abington Town to United, so I was in plenty of time for this one. In the car park I found a salutary reminder of the fact that no-one remembers a loser, a discarded runners up memento from the previous day’s Upper Thames Valley League Alan Alder Memorial Trophy.

If Abingdon Town has the cover, then United have both the clubhouse and the pitch. With only two areas of cover and a crowd over double that of my morning game, it was fortunate that the rain ceased, and the crowd could make use of all of the surround.

As is always the case, the committee was there en masse; why can’t other leagues do that for their blue riband events, and I witnessed the high levels of administrative efficiency as they made sure each player’s name did correspond to the number they were wearing.

And while all this was happening one person cut a nervous figure. Whilst Berinsfield’s AJ Stockford oozed confidence, club secretary Jackie Cullen paced nervously. Before the game, she kept busy putting up red and black balloons, during it she powerwalked round and round the pitch. So many finals, so many miles covered.

The game saw Berinsfield take on another Division 2 outfit more than capable of scoring goals. Ardington & Lockinge may be better known for racehorses, but they’re making their way back up the NBFL after spell away from the league. They made the brighter start too, Jonny James’ cross-cum-shot took a slight deflection and hit the bar. Berinsfield hit back as David Murphy fired  just over the bar after his intial effort was blocked by Ardington keeper Andrew Burt.

And as the half wore on Berinsfield worked out what would work for them. Captain Mark Ingram got an iron grip in midfield, and he fed AJ Stockford on the right who regularly outpaced his marker Ian Marshall. However, it was a different combination that created the opener. Brian Rawlings’ glorious cushioned lob bisected the Ardington defence and Ingram headed in, running through for a goal that would grace any stadium.

After the break Berinsfield made a fast start with Chris Murphy’s low drive grazed a post before the normally prolific David Murphy beat the offsite-trap to toe-poke the ball towards the goal. Burt somehow stretched behind to claw the ball away  then smother the loose ball just as Stockford was about to pounce. All the while Jackie paced…..

Although Berinsfield were very much in the ascendancy at 1-0 anything could have happened. The pivotal moment cam on 70 minutes when Jonny James chased a through ball, hugging the right touchline. He received close attention from Mark Ingram who shepherded him over the line none too gently. James’ reaction was to swing a punch at him. That missed, but it was not lost on either referee John Barlow, or linesman Adam Dewar, and James quickly was dismissed.

Luke Saunders replaced an exhausted Stockford and within 5 minutes he got Berinsfield’s winner. Again it was Rawlings who was the provider, his cross taking a slight deflection before finding Saunders who prodded the ball past a beaten Burt. The same combination saw Saunders’ bullet header hit the crossbar, before Burt saved brilliantly as Shane Harris followed up.

So the third trophy of the season, and as the final whistle went, the fans cheered, the players hugged, and Jackie finally stopped walking. She’ll have to go through it all again though, its the League Cup final. Same time same place, would you bet against Berinsfield making it 4?

Airplay

01 Tuesday May 2012

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Tuesday 1st May 2012 ko 6.45pm

North Berkshire League Division Two

BENSON LIONS 1 (Taylor 25)

BERINSFIELD 8 (Ingram 22 Stockford 24 49 Rawlings 44 Kenny 47 Saunders 62 73 Marshall 75)

Att 23 (h/c)

80 minute game

Entry FREE

Nothing for sale

It would be easy for the unitiatied to confuse Benson AFC with Benson Lions. There isn’t much distance between the two grounds, about a mile or so, but there’s one massive difference, the Lions are a Forces team, and play their football within RAF Benson. That of course means you have to get through security.

All it takes is a little forward planning. You need to produce photo ID at the guardhouse, and they’ll take your photo and issue you with a pass to flash at the gate. From there, it’s a short drive through the Domestic Site of the base to the sports ground on Lancaster Way. There’s football, rugby and cricket, as well as a fitness trail, and its as sick and span as you’d expect at a military base. This game was played on a different pitch than normal, as with cricket taking precedence, the football was shunted away from the clubhouse.

The security factor didn’t stop a fair few Berinsfield fans from making the short trip to follow their team, in fact one admitted she’d driven past her “Weightwatchers” class in Benson to attend this game. However I’ve been sworn to secrecy as to her identity!

With both sides normally wearing red, Lions opted to change their kit, only to discover their green change kit was dirty. So they decided to wear the RAF Benson team’s new 2nd XI kit. Have a look at the photos, it’s quite something!

The afternoon had seen the pitch used for an inter-base game. This had two impacts on our game. Firstly there was a small muddy pool in one goalmouth, the second proved pivotal. 4 Benson Lions players played in both fixtures, and while Berinsfield as befits the divisional champions were worthy winners, the fatigue had an obvious impact on the hosts.

Berinsfield took the lead, Mark Ingram’s deft flicked header, steering AJ Stockford’s cross from the left past Gillespie in the Lions’ goal. It was quickly 2-0 as Stockford’s cushioned volley after a quickly taken free kick wrong footed a Lions defence arguing that the free kick was taken in the wrong place. It was, but play to the whistle lads.

Lions, found a lifeline as Dan Dixon parried a shot right to Matt Taylor who stabbed in at close range. At half time the servicemen were unfortunate to be losing as they’d matched their visitors.

All that changed as the players visibly tired, during the second half. Simon Kenny fired home to make it 3, and Stockford tapped home to get himself a brace. Lions bad evening got worse when Steve Morley collected a second yellow for elbowing David Murphy, putting unnecessary strain on an exhausted team. The Lions bench had seen it coming, the assistant manager had offered a £20 bet. There were no takers, but they couldn’t substitute him as they has to prioritize the players who’d played in both fixtures.

Substitute Luke Saunders collected a late brace, both times Gillespie got something on his shot, but both times he watched the ball trickle agonizingly over the line. Ian Marshall’s late strike was a neat coda to a league season that’s seen Berinsfield lose only twice.

After the game I had long chat with Benson Lions about how they could host a NBFL groundhop game. The base does have procedures for open-days, but security isn’t something that can be compromised but that I’m sure that can be worked with, and the club have great plans for the visiting hoppers.

To finish, I need to correct one element of my previous reports on Berinsfield. They had let me know that they have only been asked to leave one league, not the three I previously mentioned. I apologise, and am happy to set the record straight.

Community Champions

26 Thursday Apr 2012

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Wednesday 26th April 2012 ko 6.30pm

North Berkshire League Division Two

BERINSFIELD 4 (Stockford 21 79 Ingram 39p 62) Ingram missed penalty 42

BENSON LIONS 0

Att 57 (h/c)

80 minute game

Entry FREE

Programme (by Mick Birt) FREE

Tea-in-a-mug 50p

Bacon Roll £1

With the amount of times I’ve seen Berinsfield, it was about time I paid Lay Avenue a visit. At work in Banbury I watched the rain pelt down, and as I left the streets were flooded. It couldn’t be on, could it? It was on, and best of all it was being well publicised by secretary Jackie Cullen on the social media, and by Jackie picking up the phone to each of the gaggle of hoppers that nervously checked before heading out. As it happened, the pitch was in superb condition.

The village of Berinsfield lies about 7 miles south of Oxford on the road to Reading. It occupies the site of RAF Mount Farm, a satellite of RAF Benson, initially used to train bomber pilots. It was later taken over by the United States Army Air Forces, who used it as a reconnaissance base. From here stars including Bob Hope, Dorothy Lamour and Glenn Miller took off to entertain the troops in Europe. Miller performed for the US service personnel at the base in December 1944. From there he went to RAF Twinwood, boarded a Noorduyn Norseman single-engined aircraft, took off for Paris – and was never heard of again.

In 1957 the Air Ministry sold the airfield for civilian use. Bullingdon Rural District Council decided to build a new village – the first in England for 200 years – to be named after Birinus or Berin, a local saint. The word ‘field’ was added because the Americans called their base an airfield. To this day the village is markedly different to the obviously affluent villages that lie adjacent, Berinsfield is working class and proud of it, and the football club with its friendly welcome reflects this.

The club actually uses two pitches at Lay Avenue. This was to be the last game on the pitch used this evening, despite it facing the tea bar which did a roaring trade. The pitch will be rotated through 90 degrees, freeing up space for a children’s pitch. The “other” pitch will be used for first XI fixtures, and the rotated one for the club’s new reserve team. The club have just been turned down for floodlights.

It’s always more interesting watching a game with something riding on it, and with Berinsfield needing a point to take the Championship there was a real feeling of anticipation. With Benson Lions second from bottom it didn’t look likely that Berinsfield would miss out, especially when AJ Stockford (why does he always find a way into my reports?)  was at the end of a slick passing move to open the scoring. This was a very special game to watch, with a good playing surface helping both sides to play attractive passing football. It would be easy to paint the Lions as the fall-guys in the piece, but they matched Berinsfield pass for pass, and only missed out on a point from great keeping by Berry’s Toby Coffey, and bad luck.

Berinsfield doubled their lead from the penalty spot after Stockford was brought down. Captain Mark Ingram slotted away the penalty to end the first half and was asked to repeat the feat in the opening salvo of the second. This time, the kick was weak, and the shot was saved by Andy Gillespie. He made up for it after 62 minutes, heading home at close range.

I should apologise at this point to David Murphy, as in my War Memorial Cup Final report I stated that there are only 3 things in life are guaranteed, death, taxes and David Murphy scoring for Berinsfield. It was therefore inevitable that Murphy would fail when I saw him next! He came close though, dancing through the entire Lions defence, only for his blocked shot to fall kindly to Stockford who made no mistake from a full yard out.

As the game wound down the club made a lasting impression on the 5 or so hoppers present. Jackie Cullen came out with a tray with 5 portions of sausage and chips for the hoppers that had visited. She commented, ” You’ve come to visit, the least we can do is feed you.”  That’s 5 friends that club’s made for life, and reflects brilliantly on both the club, the league and the village itself.

As I drove out of the car park, something happened that summed up Berinsfield perfectly. I spotted 2 young lads wearing hoodies hanging around. I was just wondering, but then one of them grinned at me. It was AJ Stockford telling me to get home and start typing! Great people, great club, and congratulations on your championship.

 

 

 

Run In Stillettos

25 Wednesday Apr 2012

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Tuesday 24th April 2012 ko 7.45pm

Sussex County League Division Three

BROADBRIDGE HEATH 2 (Wrigley 37 Samson 90)

SALTDEAN UNITED 3 (Dan Smith 16 Loader 59 Watton 65)

Att 51

Entry & Programme £2

In so many ways my attendance at this one didn’t make any sense. Why travel 100 or so miles to watch an intermediate level game in the middle of an athletics stadium, near Horsham. Factor in also, that with the clocks long since gone forward there was no lack of non-floodlit alternatives closer to home. The answer is of course the clarion call of the bulldozer, as Broadbridge Heath Leisure Centre is set to close leaving the club with an uncertain future. Of course with me being me, on arrival I discovered that far from this being the club’s last home game here, if they do move it’ll be in around a year’s time. Still, its been done……

Broadbridge Heath is the birthplace of the great romantic poet Percy Shelley, a great influence on more modern poets and authors such as WB Yeats, Thomas Hardy and George Bernard Shaw. Mahatma Gandhi’s policy of passive resistance was apparently influenced and inspired by Shelley’s non-violence in protest and political action in the poet’s lifetime, cut short by his drowning aged 29.

I’m no fan of football pitches in the middle of athletics tracks, although regular trips to Sweden where they are far more prevalent means I’ve almost got used to them. This is a particularly bad example, as there’s quite a distance from the stand (the one legally viewable side) to the long jump pit and then on to the track, then finally the pitch. There is at least a decent pitched roofed stand with some elevation, but the saving grace is the people who run the club, a friendlier bunch you will not meet.

 The programme was worth £2 on its own, and it being the Sussex County League the evening’s line-ups were posted on a whiteboard. I asked to stroll round the stadium before kick off and take some photos, to which the club readily acquieced. I did enjoy the notice that said that high heels should not be used on the track. Given that there was just the one elderly gent using the track before the game, I did wonder…..

The game went pretty much to the form book. When I was researching this game, I was surprised to see Saltdean in the County League’s bottom flight, and they look to be making a rapid exit up and out of it. This win puts them 2 points clear at the top with just one round of games to be played this Saturday. They started the stronger but once Dan Smith had given them the lead Heath came on strongly and their equaliser was fully deserved.

The interval came at completely the wrong time for the hosts as Saltdean notably upped the tempo after the break. Dean Loader pounced on a defensive error to restore the lead, and Richard Watton snaffled the winner following a free kick. Jamal Sultan’s goal for Heath was so late in stoppage time so as to create no impression of a comeback.

So, not the kind of ground that a hopper normally would make a beeline for but don’t let the threat of the bulldozer be the only reason to visit. It really is better than that.