Unusual circumstances

It was the start of the new football season in the UK,we were all visiting my mother in Cheshire

This itself was not a familiar visit,it was more common for the children and their  mother to be

visiting their Grandmother we were living in South Wales then and I was usually too busy on the 

                Farm,so it was one of the odd times we were all together.

It was never a straight forward journey when the children used to travel with their mother, before

they had travelled very far there was always an argument among the children as to who should sit 

next to the window and it was about the same spot each time where mother would stop the car 

and read the riot act,'do you want to go and visit your grandmother  or do you want to go back 

home' ? the thought of missing out on a trip to Cheshire and visiting Grandmother and other's 

                                  usually returned a promise to behave

Manchester City was playing at home that weekend so I thought it would be a good opportunity

for the boys to watch a live game,I had been to the Manchester United ground before but not to 

the City ground,with no real plan and no tickets we set off,we were travelling in the fast lane on the 

motorway and there was a loud bang ,a tyre had blown so we pulled over onto the hard shoulder 

and changed the wheel,we were just pulling out onto the motorway and this car passes us with 

blue and white scarves waving through the windows,follow them they must be going to the ground

immediately came to mind,which we did ,it wasn't long before they left the motorway,I remember 

thinking they must know some short cut,we continued to follow them until they suddenly turned 

off the main road and onto a housing estate,and eventually stopping in the driveway of one of the 

properties,the driver came across to us with a big smile realising why we were following him.

They were calling to take their father to the match,no problem we are close to the ground if you

go back onto the road,and he continued to give us directions,we took his advice but not the right 

direction,realising we were travelling against the main flow of traffic,turned around and 

approaching the junction we had previously left,who should turn out in front of us was the car we 

were following before,we followed him to his favourite parking spot near to the ground.

As if all the circumstances leading up to us arriving at the ground were not surprising enough,

It turned out that his father was our local policeman in the village where I was born,and he lived 

there for some years before retiring,we had parked the cars and were walking through the side 

streets in deep conversation and at the same time trying to remember where it was we had 

parked the car,don't worry he said we will walk back together,they were going in at a different

gate on the ground,but he promised to meet up after the game at an arranged spot which we

did,what an interesting and exciting day that was.one of many involving the 'Beautiful Game'.