A busy day for Ben, as The Warren Reds FC had a friendly end-of-season match in the morning at Westerham FC, which proved an exciting sign-off to a few months of squad development. Ben had started the game in midfield, but Westerham proved tough to handle at set-pieces and The Warren were 2-6 down at half-time. Bill the manager made a few changes during the break, one of which was to move Ben to right back. The second half proved a revelation as The Warren, displaying very creditable spirit, fought back to level at 6-6!
The boys had finished seventh in the ten teams in their league (Under 13 Central, Tandridge Youth), but this was always likely to be a period of transition as the two squads that had started the season had become a single set of around 20 players following the decision to pull the under-staffed Blues from competitive matches. Hopes are high for next year and our thanks go to Bill, Bradleigh and Alex for all their had work and encouragement.
The afternoon was spent at Purley go-karting race track for Ben’s 13th birthday event. His friends Gabriel, Oscar and Charlie were dropped off at our house and Julie and I drove the boys over to Croydon in our Focus and the van I had hired for the weekend.
We had the track to ourselves and after a brief introduction to the karts, the foursome were soon zipping around the outdoor track. Ben clearly has inherited his Uncle Chris’s love of speed as he raced ahead of the others, one of whom was struggling a touch with his kart after a crash on a tight corner. The lad withdrew and I agreed to join them for the second period of driving. Ben proceeded to lap me three times! The thirty minute session was soon over and we all headed to Purley Way and a classic party pizza.
