Next week we are on the road to Villa Park with a trip to Hemel Hempstead in the FA Trophy. This will bring back memories of the Vase, following our third round victory there in 1997, and also of commentator Eddie Waring trying in vain to sound his “h’s” when the town featured on It’s a Knockout!

This is a very important competition for us, having gone out of the FA Cup early, and we will be testing ourselves against a club from a higher division (Southern Premier), therefore making this the “must get to” away fixture of the season so far.

Unfortunately I don’t think we can expect a glamorous premier division setting. Hemel Hempstead’s old ground was absorbed by typical 1960s and 70s south eastern office, industrial and housing sprawl, which characterizes the area.

The current Vauxhall Road ground in the Adeyfield area was built in 1972, and those that made the trip before may recall that it was not particularly impressive, with a very battered pitch.

The club does not have a history of great success or substantial investment, therefore the main stand and covered terracing are unremarkable low level constructions. The club has done well to recover from a fire in 1992 which destroyed the clubhouse and changing rooms. Constant battles with vandals have taken their toll, making the ground look older than its 30 years.

Hopefully the pitch will be better this time round – our Vase visit was the sixth successive home game they had hosted at the time. The club was also then still using temporary buildings following the fire, and a new clubhouse, two new stands and new changing rooms have since been built, so things should have improved on that front.

A final word, if you are not going on the coach – watch out for the roundabouts.