Dr Ben Ives
Ben
Gallin holds a misted glass to his face, quaffing the last few mouthfuls of chilled water, all the while his eyes point upwards, fixed on the outsized, old-worldly clock hanging high above the kitchen door. Its large hand clunks gracelessly down to mark 12.27pm. Gallin places the glass down on the table and scooches his chair back across the tiled floor causing a mild screech. ‘Right, I’ve got to go.’
‘Don’t scrape the chair on the kitchen floor like that,’ Alice scolds. ‘And how many times do I tell you? If you make porridge, let the pan soak afterwards.’
‘Yes, light of my life,’ replies Gallin with a blithe acerbicness. ‘I will try to be a better husband from now on.’
He rises and goes to kiss Alice on the cheek as she rigorously scours the saucepan.
‘Get out of here,’ Alice jests, jovially turning her head to avoid his kiss, ‘and have good game.’
‘Yes, dear.’
Gallin troops out of the kitchen and into the hallway, turning to face himself in the full-length mirror adjacent the front door. His eyes scroll down from shoulders to toes, scrupulously inspecting every inch of his attire; the black polyester mesh polo shirt, with gleaming-white Nowhere County FA badge stitched onto the left breast, tucked neatly into matching tracksuit bottoms meeting the ‘out-of-the-box’ white Nikes, worn only for match days.
‘You look fine,’ Alice’s voice looms from the kitchen causing a smile to creep across Gallin’s face. ‘Your bag’s by the stairs.’
‘I know.’ Gallin shouts back adding a deliberate hint of vexation to his voice. He always knew where his kit bag was. And exactly what was in it, and in exactly what order it had been packed.
‘Then go!’
‘I’m going!’ Gallin turns from the mirror and grabs his keys from the small, decorative table just to his side. He reaches for the door handle but pauses for a moment and turns his head back to face his reflection once more, staring questioningly at himself. ‘Argh! I’m just going to go to the loo before I go.’
Please share your response on the forum or private message us if you prefer. As stated in the 'introductions and instructions' thread, when responding to our stories you might consider the following:
o Do our stories resonate or remind you of a ‘real’ scenario that you have witnessed or been involved in? If so, please share the scenario with us in as much detail as possible.
o Do our stories reflect a problem or issue in football that you think needs to be addressed? If so, please tell us why it is an issue and what you might propose to resolve the issue.
o Conversely, do our stories reflect something that is good about the game – a reason for your continued passion and involvement? If so, please tell us about this.
o Reflecting on your own experiences, is there anything missing from our story that you think is important to highlight? If so, please share with us some of your experiences and interactions with referees, giving as much detail as possible.
We would also welcome more general feedback from the football community about the ‘realness’ of our stories.
Many thanks in advance for your help!
Ben Ives and Ben Clayton
‘Don’t scrape the chair on the kitchen floor like that,’ Alice scolds. ‘And how many times do I tell you? If you make porridge, let the pan soak afterwards.’
‘Yes, light of my life,’ replies Gallin with a blithe acerbicness. ‘I will try to be a better husband from now on.’
He rises and goes to kiss Alice on the cheek as she rigorously scours the saucepan.
‘Get out of here,’ Alice jests, jovially turning her head to avoid his kiss, ‘and have good game.’
‘Yes, dear.’
Gallin troops out of the kitchen and into the hallway, turning to face himself in the full-length mirror adjacent the front door. His eyes scroll down from shoulders to toes, scrupulously inspecting every inch of his attire; the black polyester mesh polo shirt, with gleaming-white Nowhere County FA badge stitched onto the left breast, tucked neatly into matching tracksuit bottoms meeting the ‘out-of-the-box’ white Nikes, worn only for match days.
‘You look fine,’ Alice’s voice looms from the kitchen causing a smile to creep across Gallin’s face. ‘Your bag’s by the stairs.’
‘I know.’ Gallin shouts back adding a deliberate hint of vexation to his voice. He always knew where his kit bag was. And exactly what was in it, and in exactly what order it had been packed.
‘Then go!’
‘I’m going!’ Gallin turns from the mirror and grabs his keys from the small, decorative table just to his side. He reaches for the door handle but pauses for a moment and turns his head back to face his reflection once more, staring questioningly at himself. ‘Argh! I’m just going to go to the loo before I go.’
Please share your response on the forum or private message us if you prefer. As stated in the 'introductions and instructions' thread, when responding to our stories you might consider the following:
o Do our stories resonate or remind you of a ‘real’ scenario that you have witnessed or been involved in? If so, please share the scenario with us in as much detail as possible.
o Do our stories reflect a problem or issue in football that you think needs to be addressed? If so, please tell us why it is an issue and what you might propose to resolve the issue.
o Conversely, do our stories reflect something that is good about the game – a reason for your continued passion and involvement? If so, please tell us about this.
o Reflecting on your own experiences, is there anything missing from our story that you think is important to highlight? If so, please share with us some of your experiences and interactions with referees, giving as much detail as possible.
We would also welcome more general feedback from the football community about the ‘realness’ of our stories.
Many thanks in advance for your help!
Ben Ives and Ben Clayton
