Andy Parky swapped King George's for a weekend in Edinburgh as Oswaldtwistle Immanuel took on Gastec Celtic in an attempt to get their season back on track after consecutive defeats to Stanley Ultras and The Station.
As Parky was checking out of his hotel and weighing up what to do for breakfast, it was Matt Hodgkiss leading the red and yellow army whilst keeping Parky updated as to what was going on.
The game started and Parky's nerves were tense. How were we playing? How good were Gastec Celtic? Would Pete Riding be able to stay luminous in the boggy conditions of King George's in November? Many questions run through the head of a manager who is 200 miles from his team.
Ten minutes in and as Parky and his better half, Sally, were heading to the Wetherspoons, the message Parky had been hoping for came through, '1-0 up danny m'. Matt Hodgkiss not going overboard with the description. But more importantly Immanuel were on their way and what a great way for Danny Mooring to mark his return from injury.
It didn't relax Parky too much though and the minutely checks of the phone continued despite him trying to negotiate the Edinburgh traffic in his search for a bacon sandwich.
When the bacon sandwich came it was as disappointing as the results of the past fortnight. Two rashers piled on top of each other rather than covering the entire teacake. Not the sort of bacon sandwich that would be served if Wetherspoons was managed by Andy Parky. More concerning though was the inactivity of the phone. Whatever was happening at King George's, it wasn't goals.
Next on Parky's agenda was to get rid of the ridiculous notes that pass as currency in Scotland before he crossed Hadrian's Wall and back into civilisation. They would be hard to spend once he was back home. The only thing less welcome than non-English money in a Hyndburn pub is non-English people!
Off to Waterstone's it was to invest in a book or two. And it was in there that the eerie library-like silence of the Classic Literature section was broken by the unmistakable sound of an iPhone 4. It was the one-armed Hodgkiss. 'Spenny has just scored. But we've been awful!' The result was more important than the performance and Parky was delighted. Immanuel were going into half time with a 2 goal cushion.
Would Immanuel be able to hold onto that in the second half. The messages began to dry up and Parky was struggling to find out what was happening. That was until midway through the second half when the message Parky didn't want to receive came. Gastec Celtic had pulled one back. Later reports explained that they had scored from a 40-yard free kick that despite being in a Whiskey Shop on Edinburgh's Royal Mile, Parky had got closer to than Matt Cook had. The nerves kicked in yet again.
That was until the next message, for which Parky nervously paced around for 20 minutes waiting, 'Macca just scored won 3-1'. It was wonderful how Matt could paint a vivid picture of what was happening with words. Parky almost felt like he was there!
The jubilation was short-lived for Parky though, as he bought 2 pepsi's in a bar called The Filling Station and was charged £5.50. Prices more suitable for a gram of coke than a glass of it!
All in all, it had been a day of learning for Parky. And he learned three big lessons. He learned that Oswaldtwistle Immanuel have the character to pick themselves back up when things don't go their way. He learned that if you are going away for a few days you shouldn't do it during the football season. And he learned that if you are going to Edinburgh for a weekend you need a bloody mortgage!
