Wasps, beer, Bank Holiday and...football!

IT does make you wonder why football fans in the Football League can’t be trusted to have a beer in view of the pitch during a game.
The latest stop on a sport fan career that’s included beers in Holland and Belgium while watching football, sipping a Stella on Centre Court at Wimbledon and best of all, getting stuck into the lager while watching Sydney FC back in 2007 came today watching Bury Town in the Ryman League.
I don’t want to harp on about getting wasted while watching live sport, simply the pleasure that comes from watching a non-league match on a hot Bank Holiday afternoon with a pint at your nearest club.
For the last three years Bury Town have been less than a five minute walk from my home. Norwich City home games involve a two-hour round trip, an hour walk to the ground and back and normally an obligatory stop over at my parents’ house. When you’ve tasted my mum’s toasted sandwiches, you’ll understand why I’m still at their house an hour before Carrow Road kick-offs!
Back to Bury Town.
Promoted to the Ryman League Premier Division before the summer, this was the first time I have seen them this term, and after watching a cracking game against Essex side Aveley, it was pleasing to see Bury get stuck in and come away with another three points which sees them unbeaten after four games and now sitting proudly in third place in the table.
Striker Chris Henderson’s 78th minute winner came just after the Essex side had equalised Craig Nurse’s first-half opener.
A scrappy first half was brought to life in the 33rd minute when Nurse headed home from a free-kick to give Bury a 1-0 lead.
I was busy snapping pictures – I’ve a new part-time gig covering events in the Bury area for a website funded by the same company behind the Daily Mail – and busy trying to avoid wasps who always seem to take a shine to me.
After the break it was all Aveley who had a dominant 20-minute spell midway through the second half culminating in their equaliser.
First Danny Slatter went close on 65 minutes before Piers Wikon should have scored with a header at the far post.
Home keeper Marcus Garnham kept out a well-worked free-kick from Aveley’s David Knight shortly before full back Scott Pethers drew the scores level.
That man Henderson responded immediately with a left foot drive from inside the box which beat Aveley keeper Matt Bennett to trickle in the net.
As the game got increasingly competitive – ie, both sides decided to crank up the heavy challenges and meaty tackles, Aveley centre half Tony Rusell clipped the bar with the header before Henderson went one-on-one with the visiting keeper before shooting wide.
Two days ago I watched Norwich at Nottingham Forest and was back at home five hours after the game finished, having driven from Nottingham via Norwich and then back to Bury.
Today I was back home in five minutes.