Saints' Play-off hopes dashed

Another busy day today. After breakfast Sara and I went into Salisbury together using the excellent Park & Ride Service from London Road. We both had dental appointments and so after we had both visited the bank to deal with some essential financial transactions, I left her to visit the dentist first whilst she spent an hour in the library reading some theological books. My appointment was actually with the dental hygienist who did not seem at all impressed on my suggestion that I should replace my somewhat crooked teeth with dentures. She spent some considerable time with me (more than my allotted 20 minutes) whitening my teeth and giving them a good clean to try and dissuade me from having them removed. Whilst they are not cosmetically very attractive they, and my gums, remain healthy. A rethink and a second opinion is called for. When I left her I found Sara in the reception having already had her check up whilst I was still in the chair - despite our appointments being nearly an hour apart! After leaving the dentists' we had a leisurely coffee together in Cafe Zero putting the world to rights and discussing theological issues - yes really! The effects of Spring Harvest and the terrible APCM on Sunday remain in our minds. It is good for us to spend time like this and it helps me remember what a great soul mate Sara is. We can actually be ourselves in these moments and not Tom's and Mary's parents - which seems to be the label we mainly wear. We called in on Max after coffee and were given a cup of tea - no wonder my teeth are not so white with all the coffee and tea I seem to drink in a day. Max has suffered a close bereavement and it was good to spend time with her and to give her our condolences. A quick stop was made at Halford's for a new puncture repair kit and then home to pick up Mary from school - the day simply whizzed by! I fixed Tom's bike with the new kit and afterwards Mary and I went for a short bike ride to the Bentley Wood picnic area and back - my daily exercise and another chance for Mary to stretch her pedals! Tonight Tom and I went to St. Mary's for the Saints v. Oldham Athletic game. Before the game started Andy (Twiggy's husband) related his horror story of having been stranded in Rome because of the Icelandic volcanic eruption which is currently disrupting all flights to and from the UK, with Twiggy and some friends and having to get a train to Genoa; hiring a Ford Ka for four of them and their luggage; travelling 12 and a half hours in it from the French Riviera to Paris; sleeping rough on the streets of Paris for a night; getting a Eurostar to Brussels and then eventually back to London on the Eurostar - all, he quipped, to get to the Saints game. Southampton played their hearts out tonight but some bad refereeing (again!) and a defensive style of play from Athletic (they simply wanted a point to preserve their League 1 status) led to a 0-0 stalemate and really means the end of Saints's play-off promotion hopes. They need to win all their three remaining games and hope Huddersfield lose two of theirs and draw the remaining one. As Huddersfield have Stockport County amongst their three, then three points from that match alone secures their play-off place and keeps Southampton out. Still, Saints have done remarkably well from their pitiful position at the beginning of the season. We can now relax for the remaining two home games - unlike Grimsby Town.