Pride

In one of life's sliding doors moments we could easily have ended up living in Derby.  A month or so before I landed my job at Bradford I'd been interviewed for a role at Derby, and been told I'd come a close second. While I don't regret the move to West Yorkshire, who knows where life would have gone...

Having said that, I'd never really explored Derby beyond the train station and the university, so I made sure that today's groundhopping trip included a few hours before the match to potter about. I enjoyed the museum and gallery including the essential stuffed wildlife and prehistoric relics and a good exhibit devoted to the sculpture of Ronald Pope, who I'd not heard of before.  

After nosing about the town I walked down the side of the River Derwent towards Pride Park where Derby County were hosting Blackburn Rovers in a Championship fixture. Goosander, geese and cormorants offered some wildlife interest along the way. 

It was the Lancashire team that started the brighter but once the Rams had their first goal they controlled the game. 3-0 it finished, prompting whispers of a late run to the play-offs.

The stadium is another new-build bowl, sited in a retail/business park. But it seemed to have more character than most, as befitting a club with Derby's history. In current accounting this was 34/92 in my slow tour of the football league stadia (although technically, we're at 91 at the moment due to the Bury situation). I expect to make very modest progress over the next several years and then perhaps a chance of finishing it off as a retirement project if my enthusiasm is still there.

See extras for a few more images: a stadium exterior, the Brian Clough and Peter Taylor statue, Exeter Bridge and the River Derwent and a nice ghost sign.