Martin is with me as usual - Chris was to have been with us too but he and his girlfriend Suzy are on the last leg of their tandem ride from London to Darlington (via Burton). Hopefully they'll still be engaged when they reach Darlo.
An early departure means an early arrival into Darlington - Tony meets me at the station and we wander into town and pick up some pies at Taylors.(left) Tadhg Purcell takes on Hereford defenders
In the Quakerhouse today we have Marston Moor Little Owl; Keltek Grays Best and Beechers; Hadrian and Border Byker Light, Jarrow Brewery Slake, Ringwoods Boondoggle; High House Farm Auld Hemp and Matfen Magic and Summerskills Hopscotch.
The pick of the bunch for me are the beers from Keltek - amber beers full of flavour - in fact there are quite a few malty brews on offer today with very few golden ales.
Tony is quite smartly dressed today as is Steve who meets us in the pub - the reason being that that we're in a hospitality box for the game - I've made the grand concession of ironing my t-shirt because as far as I'm concerned I'll look plain scruffy whatever I'm wearing.
John, Bev, Neil and Trevor then join us as the pub finally starts to get busy - as usual, Number Twenty-2 is shut on bank holidays so there are a few refugees from there joining us.
We get talking to a Hereford fan who remembered me from my last visit to the Barrels in Hereford last season - like us they're looking forward to the end of the season but only because they're going nowhere. Lucky buggers!
All but Tony and I leave early for a meal in the Ron Greener lounge - we're both quite happy to stay and have a few more beers. Lesley joins us for a quick pint and then we're on our way to the game.
At one time DAFTS used to take a box once or twice a season - it's always fun to see the other side of the club though you do feel a little cut-off from the fans - but we've not done it for a season or so.(right) Old boy Ryan Valentine tangles with Curtis Main
We finally got to meet Damon Shaw who is the club's Community Liaison Officer and who seems to be doing a decent job in acting as a conduit between the club and the fans - something that's been a bit of a poisoned chalice in the past.
He had pooped in to hand over Steve Foster's away shirt that I had been sponsoring until his departure a few weeks ago. For the rest of the season I've moved my affiliations over to Gareth Waite who was duly struck down with injury and is now out for the rest of the season - typical!
The atmosphere at the game was a bit muted despite a larger than normal attendance - by recent standards - and the game was much the same.
Despite keeping faith with the side that won at Burton - or maybe perhaps they were all knackered after such a hard-working performance - the Quakers and the Bulls more or less cancelled each other out.
There were few chances for either team in the first half - certainly nothing of note to tempt Tony and I out from the warmth of the box and the delights of Jeff Stelling - although Hereford probably made Redmond work harder than his opposite number.
In the second half, Darlo hit the woodwork after the keeper got fingertips to a shot from John Gray who continues to impress since Stuanton's departure. Purcell also went close with a header.
Hereford then took the lead - Pugh ran at the defence and was given space to shot past Redmond across the goal - White content to watch the striker run at goal when he should really have been closed down.
Our third Smith of the season, Michael of the youth team, was given his debut outing and both he and Gray made tentative runs towards goal but nothing to trouble the Hereford defence.
Darlo probably didn't deserve to get beat but as for most of this season, we failed to show enough invention when attacking and if we can't score, then it's going to be very hard to win games.
Of course, it offers Simon Davey the chance to witness the squad and see the issues we've been having all season - I'm sure he wasn't fooled by the win a few days earlier.
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