So Good To Be Back Home Again
Jan. 5th, 2026 09:06 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
eiffel_71Over the Christmas season I checked out the Instagram of Atlético London - the women’s team formerly known as London Seaward, formerly known as Leyton Orient WFC - and spotted that Rea Laudat is still at the club and that Jo Butler-Williams returned in November.
So yesterday there was only one place to head for. Barkingside, for Atleti’s match with Dussindale & Hellesdon Rovers Women.
Oddly, Atlético are kicking off their home matches at 3pm these days. I’d set off bright and early to be on the safe side, so it was a bit early for lunch when I reached Waterloo. I got the tube on to Stratford, deciding to have a look around (since I lived there many years ago) and get a bite to eat there.
Exiting the station the first thing you see is the giant Westfield shopping centre. Reaching the Stratford Centre, my old haunt, meant a walk across a bridge. For the first Sunday in January, there were masses of people about. On the bridge a busker was playing ABBA’s I Have A Dream on a hand-held keyboard. I went over and put a pound in his paper cup, but sadly although he thanked me he stopped playing immediately and was still silent when I reached the other side. I hadn’t paid him to stop.
The Stratford Centre had quite a few people walking around, though it’s now very much second fiddle to its bigger, upstart younger sibling. A few of the shops are the same ones as in the 90s; most are different of course. I found the entrance that leads out onto the Broadway and cast a quick glance at the church and, beyond it, the old familiar frontage across the main road. There’s a branch of German Doner Kebab just by the entrance to the Centre; I almost went there for lunch but spotted a Romanian street food stall across the pavement so gave them a try. Had Romanian sausages - very tasty. They came with a bowl of mash with an oily sauce, with some cubes of meat in.
I meandered back through the Stratford Centre to the tube and travelled on to Barkingside. There was nobody staffing the turnstile or the entrance to the ground; the metal gate was just open for me to walk straight in. The only people in sight were a man with a Southampton FC backpack and three young women, all behind the goal.
In the clubhouse, of course Groundhopper Dave was there and I went over to wish him a Happy New Year. I got a Kopparberg from the bar. Gary and Richard arrived, both happy to see me back. I noticed the girls come out onto the pitch and headed outside. I made my way to the far side of the pitch just as they arrived by the dugout. I called out hello to Rea and Jo. They both came over and high-fived me, Rea thanked me effusively for coming and Jo said “We’re going to get a clean sheet today.”
Dussindale had a couple of early chances; Amber Provan made a superb block to thwart the first, and, joy of joys, Jo cleared the second off the line. On 25 minutes, from a corner the ball fell to Brooke Haylock 25 yards out and she volleyed home a rocket. Five minutes later Poppy Hartwell recovered the ball after a clearance from a corner, and threaded the ball through to Rea who fired home another screamer.
The second half was all Atlético and Rea added a third from a goalmouth scramble. Dave had offered to introduce me to the management team after the game, so after saying goodbyes to Gary and Richard I waited with him by the corner of the pitch. We congratulated the girls as they drifted towards the tunnel after warming down. Rea warmly thanked me for coming again and she and Jo both fist-bumped me.
The management team hung around the dugout for a while after the players had gone in. Eventually they came over, and Dave introduced me to Jason the manager and Billy the general manager. They were both delighted when I told them “I live in Gosport but I’m an Atleti fan”. Jason had to head for the dressing room but I got a bit more of a chat with Billy. I told him I’d been following the team since 2018, when they were known as Orient and playing at Mile End, so I know Jo and Rea to say hello to, and that this was my first visit this season. Billy said he was glad Rea was back from injury and that Jo had come back and that both had been impressive today.
And I knew I was back were I belonged. Atlético para siempre.
Dave walked part of the way from the ground with me. In the car park he said how the club indeed don’t charge for admission now and that they don’t issue programmes. He added “Not paper ones, at least”, but when I asked if they do online ones he said yes but didn’t seem to understand my further queries. The only social media the club’s active on nowadays is Instagram and I’ve never seen links to online programmes on there, so I doubt it. On the bridge over the Tube station Dave said he’d found the name change bizarre. He pointed out that, as well as now playing in red and white stripes, the team’s new badge is clearly based on Atlético Madrid’s. I asked if there were any Spaniards involved in the club but again he didn’t comprehend. Then Dave turned off to walk home while I rounded the corner towards the Tube station.
Travelling home an hour later than previous seasons thanks to the 3pm kickoff, I hoped that would mean a less crowded train. Well, there at least weren’t people standing in the central aisle this time. The train was busy enough for me to have to share my bench between Vauxhall and Woking but after that it wasn’t too bad. Just a delay of nearly a quarter of an hour thanks to a late-running train in front of us.
So yesterday there was only one place to head for. Barkingside, for Atleti’s match with Dussindale & Hellesdon Rovers Women.
Oddly, Atlético are kicking off their home matches at 3pm these days. I’d set off bright and early to be on the safe side, so it was a bit early for lunch when I reached Waterloo. I got the tube on to Stratford, deciding to have a look around (since I lived there many years ago) and get a bite to eat there.
Exiting the station the first thing you see is the giant Westfield shopping centre. Reaching the Stratford Centre, my old haunt, meant a walk across a bridge. For the first Sunday in January, there were masses of people about. On the bridge a busker was playing ABBA’s I Have A Dream on a hand-held keyboard. I went over and put a pound in his paper cup, but sadly although he thanked me he stopped playing immediately and was still silent when I reached the other side. I hadn’t paid him to stop.
The Stratford Centre had quite a few people walking around, though it’s now very much second fiddle to its bigger, upstart younger sibling. A few of the shops are the same ones as in the 90s; most are different of course. I found the entrance that leads out onto the Broadway and cast a quick glance at the church and, beyond it, the old familiar frontage across the main road. There’s a branch of German Doner Kebab just by the entrance to the Centre; I almost went there for lunch but spotted a Romanian street food stall across the pavement so gave them a try. Had Romanian sausages - very tasty. They came with a bowl of mash with an oily sauce, with some cubes of meat in.
I meandered back through the Stratford Centre to the tube and travelled on to Barkingside. There was nobody staffing the turnstile or the entrance to the ground; the metal gate was just open for me to walk straight in. The only people in sight were a man with a Southampton FC backpack and three young women, all behind the goal.
In the clubhouse, of course Groundhopper Dave was there and I went over to wish him a Happy New Year. I got a Kopparberg from the bar. Gary and Richard arrived, both happy to see me back. I noticed the girls come out onto the pitch and headed outside. I made my way to the far side of the pitch just as they arrived by the dugout. I called out hello to Rea and Jo. They both came over and high-fived me, Rea thanked me effusively for coming and Jo said “We’re going to get a clean sheet today.”
Dussindale had a couple of early chances; Amber Provan made a superb block to thwart the first, and, joy of joys, Jo cleared the second off the line. On 25 minutes, from a corner the ball fell to Brooke Haylock 25 yards out and she volleyed home a rocket. Five minutes later Poppy Hartwell recovered the ball after a clearance from a corner, and threaded the ball through to Rea who fired home another screamer.
The second half was all Atlético and Rea added a third from a goalmouth scramble. Dave had offered to introduce me to the management team after the game, so after saying goodbyes to Gary and Richard I waited with him by the corner of the pitch. We congratulated the girls as they drifted towards the tunnel after warming down. Rea warmly thanked me for coming again and she and Jo both fist-bumped me.
The management team hung around the dugout for a while after the players had gone in. Eventually they came over, and Dave introduced me to Jason the manager and Billy the general manager. They were both delighted when I told them “I live in Gosport but I’m an Atleti fan”. Jason had to head for the dressing room but I got a bit more of a chat with Billy. I told him I’d been following the team since 2018, when they were known as Orient and playing at Mile End, so I know Jo and Rea to say hello to, and that this was my first visit this season. Billy said he was glad Rea was back from injury and that Jo had come back and that both had been impressive today.
And I knew I was back were I belonged. Atlético para siempre.
Dave walked part of the way from the ground with me. In the car park he said how the club indeed don’t charge for admission now and that they don’t issue programmes. He added “Not paper ones, at least”, but when I asked if they do online ones he said yes but didn’t seem to understand my further queries. The only social media the club’s active on nowadays is Instagram and I’ve never seen links to online programmes on there, so I doubt it. On the bridge over the Tube station Dave said he’d found the name change bizarre. He pointed out that, as well as now playing in red and white stripes, the team’s new badge is clearly based on Atlético Madrid’s. I asked if there were any Spaniards involved in the club but again he didn’t comprehend. Then Dave turned off to walk home while I rounded the corner towards the Tube station.
Travelling home an hour later than previous seasons thanks to the 3pm kickoff, I hoped that would mean a less crowded train. Well, there at least weren’t people standing in the central aisle this time. The train was busy enough for me to have to share my bench between Vauxhall and Woking but after that it wasn’t too bad. Just a delay of nearly a quarter of an hour thanks to a late-running train in front of us.
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Things are tough out there. Money is tight, groceries are expensive, and day by day products are getting worse and worse. These days, you get far less bang for your buck.