Derby bound...

I will be up early tomorrow, possibly rivalling the birds and aiming to be on the road for around 6am. Probably singing, to the tune of the old Typically Tropical song from 1975,  'Woh, I'm going to Derbados'...

I look forward to having lunch with a friend (and fellow supporter) before making my way to my hotel and a rest. Assuming things have gone to plan, I have a nice room overlooking the hallowed turf at Derby, with a short walk to follow to the ground each morning. 

It will be lovely to be there again and meet up with friends old and new. Do please stop me and say hello, if you see me wandering around the ground on the first three days of the fixture. I am always happy to chat and a great deal of the enjoyment I have had from doing this blog has come from the many friends that I have made over nineteen years.

Since the passing of my parents, I don't get down there as often. But in this sixtieth year as a supporter, I wanted to mark it with a trip to Derby and to Chesterfield, where it all began on July 10 and 11 in 1967. A bit of an homage to my old Dad, who never realised what he had started, at least not then.

This week the blog went past seven million views and I wrote the five thousandth post. I wonder where that time went - and how many times over those years I have typed 'Madsen'...

Actually I tend to speak it now and let my phone microphone do the work. It saves my arthritic hands, even though the phone struggles with certain words in my accent. 'Madsen' usually comes out 'Madison', 'Aitchison' it hears as 'HSN' and 'Aneurin Donald' becomes either 'annoying' or 'a night in'. Though astonishingly it gets 'Ghazanfar' every time, I know not why..

Anyway, even after all this time, readership levels continue to grow and wherever you read it, thank you SO much for your involvement. Special thanks to those who contribute comments and a little aide memoire to PLEASE add your name to them. I will reserve the right not to publish critical comment if there is no name added. 

A few people have asked me if I will always do the blog. Honestly, there is a challenge in trying to be upbeat when the subject is more worthy of Nightmare on Elm Street at times. Perhaps twenty years, by the end of next season, is a good place to stop. I don't know, I will see how things go but it would be nice to write about another trophy before I wrap things up. Which perhaps commits me to another decade...

Anyway, hopefully see you at Derby. Drop me a message on X (@peakfanblog) or an email to peakfan36@yahoo.co.uk if you fancy a chat, a brew or whatever while I am down, before, during or after the day's play. Or just grab a seat next to me, or stroll as I get my steps in over the day. Can't have the dogs think I am slacking!

Hopefully we see an upturn in our fortunes.

And the sun shining, of course!