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| The Steel Park Main Stand, one of many highlights on the Corby Town Modernist Trail |
So another top day out at the home of Corby’s new-improved '
2023 Steelmen Mens 1st Team' (as they're rather catchily known), maintaining our impressive home record of '
played one, attended one, per season, so long as it's still warm'. Fair weather fans we most certainly are! But first a few numbers from the day.
Steelmen 0 : 4 Trawlerboys
2023 Fan Tally: 4 Stout Village Men
Corby Pubs/Clubs Saved: 2
Pints Raised/Breweries Saved: (approx figure, no one was counting): 23/1
Football Pies/Soup Consumed: 0/0
That last figure would prove critical for some of us, me in particular. Never football on an empty stomach is my advice, and with Soup at just £1 a cup (flavour unknown), nobody should go hungry at Steel Park, though we did, obvs'...
Footballing tradition dictates that several pints must be consumed ahead of the three o'clock kick-off, so we started the day at a pub. Not just any old pub though, arguably one of Corby's finest, the mighty
Shire Horse just round the corner from Steel Park on
Willow Brook Road. Reassuringly unchanged since my last visit, beer choice still revolves around very tall, dangerously knock-over-able glasses of
Sharp's Atlantic Pale Ale, (
Doom Bar with the colour removed?). It's an OK beer, unremarkable if perfectly drinkable, so we just had the three pints... and a jamboree selection of crisps, the last solids that would pass our lips till tea-time. Yikes!
With a full complement of Baggie Pete, Richard 'I've got a childrens party to go to so can't get drunk', and Cymru-nr-Great Oakley-nr-Corby Ian all present and correct, thoughts turned to the serious business of the afternoon, football. However, only Pete is an actual football fan, a West Bromwich fan at that so none of us had any real experience of the game. Inevitably the conversation turned to safer ground, Michelin Star restaurants and high-end analogue photography, the stock in trade of football fans everywhere I'm sure. So with heads now in the right place for a hotly contested FA Cup preliminary, it was off to Steel Park, a short amble down Rockingham Road, friendly locals offering hand-gestures which inexplicably misjudged our number by a factor of 2!
With the tasty
Salt Brewery Jute seemingly gone from the
White Hart, and hence Corby’s craft beer status currently hanging by a thread, it came as no surprise to see that the
Club House bar remains thoroughly on-trend, dropping the
quite nice
Greene King East Coast IPA in favour of Corby's new favourite,
Atlantic Pale Ale. They've also adopted the new continental style queueing system that's sweeping the nations pubs, for which traditionalists like myself can merely grumble and join the lengthy slow-moving queue of dissent. Better a queue than a serve yourself vending machine though, or one of Elon Musk's robot waitresses, particularly as the staff at the club are as jolly and friendly and lovely as ever. They really are, never replace them with robots please!
Wobbly pint skiffs in hand we managed to blag executive seats in the reserved upper-echelons of the Main Stand, just below
Sir Chuck of Middleton natch', but slightly above basking range of the hot afternoon sun, so not quite the good fortune we first thought. Good view though, I'll make sure and bring a 'Warm Blanky' next time.
Terrible result of course, Corby somewhat outclassed by the men of
Lowestoft, though it was pleasing to see that even when four goals down and sinking, the Corby faithful remained firmly in their seats. In fact many hung around for post-match drinks and shenanigans in the Club House Bar, reflecting both good solid local support, and surprisingly comfy seats in the Main Stand.
By post-match shenanigans I mean the Black and White Army launch night, a chance for fans, players and management to mingle and enjoy a 5-6pm Happy Hour. Plus other stuff of course, including a terrific set of Indie classics by one-man rock machine James Kennedy (below). We stayed for another pint. And another pint I think, difficult to tell at this stage. Really should've had some Soup...
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