I commenced last weeks Dome disclosure with a few lines passionately appealing to the Town fans to vote for our teams nominations in the League Express 2000 poll. I notice this request was augmented by further appeals via the site 'message board', and thanks to those fans for using the system so effectively on behalf of the Workington Town club. Hopefully a great many Townies took notice and have managed to vote Ant and Matt into the valued chronicles of our favourite NFP. That would be great news for the club.

What I don't however find very appealing are the farcical comments that hit have hit the message board since our teams setback versus Oldham. The perpetrators of such banal messages are in my book NOT TRUE TOWN FANS.

Isn't it so very easy to pour out negative detrimental comments, but only the clever ones include a positive outlook as a solution. Do you also not realise the players have access to this Town.net - what sort of reaction are they likely to have to the idiotic carping???? Having said that I suppose it is of course a world wide web of collusion. Indeed it probably allows the anti Townies a vehicle to churn out devious dross....Not for much longer I believe - because I understand the system administrator is to adopt some form of monitoring.

I must add that I took the Oldham defeat as badly as anyone, also being aware of Towns shortcomings on the day. And while sifting through the aforesaid messages (I'm dreading the phone bill..) I noticed one view that I conform with. That was the brief mention of Towns lack of a "ball playing/schemer" in the pack. I fully agree that this is something requiring immediate attention - but who can bridge this weakest of links?

Anyway all will seem blooming rosy in the Derwent Park garden if we out point the prime enemy on Boxing Day. I used to become an insomniac on Christmas Eve, didn't we all once suffer that affliction? Nowadays it is a more regular phenomenon on the night of the 25th when we are due to meet Haven the next day. Some of my fondest Town memories are of victories versus the marras, both at home and away - I'll include the match details at the page bottom - one lingering pleasant memory is the Easter parade of points we bagged at the recre in 1993. Aren't we due to give them a similar pasting here at Derwent Park? It would round off the Christmas festivities so well.

Please do have a very Merry Christmas, all the loyal Townies, see you in droves on the 26th....o.k.?

K.S.

Looking back - my wonderful Whitehaven whippings:-
August 28th 1967, Town 42 Haven 6
Town scorers:-
Tries: Wright 2, Kirkbride, Kitchin, Turnbull, Charlton, Southward, Bell, Edgar, Glastonbury (all one each)
Goals: Turnbull 3, Charlton 2, Glastonbury 1

April 11th 1993 Haven 10 Town 36 (Attendance 3807)
Town scorers:-
Tries: Mulligan 1, G.Smith 1, C.Armstrong 1, Marwood 1, McKenzie 1
Goals: Marwood 8