The UK weather in early January is usually equivalent to wintertime in Siberia, especially the coastal regions where the wind-chill factor can scare off the most robust of brass monkeys. So why on earth had I decided to embark upon the epic trek up to the Northeast Lincolnshire seaside resort of Cleethorpes?
Membership of the 92 club is my ultimate aim – a claim of visitation to every English Football Club – and as I advance in age, I have made a pact with myself that I’m going to maximise every opportunity to fulfil my dreams until nature decides otherwise. A childlike awe has once again begun to dominate my psyche, honouring those ambitions that I cultivated as a kid and were latterly, and cruelly, drummed out of me during my indoctrination into adulthood. Rebellion feels so good!
But throwing caution to the wind and spending a small fortune on following Notts County is about more than the game; as Bill Shankly so emphatically once put it, “Some people believe football is a matter of life and death. I am very disappointed with that attitude. I can assure you it is much, much more important than that.” This particular episode made me examine hope in a way that had never occurred to me before. Moreso, given the fact that after an eight-hour journey to reach my destination, and an overnight stay in Cleethorpes, Grimsby Town called the match off an hour-and-a-half before kick-off due to a frozen pitch.
On my outward journey I had a strong feeling that the game would fall victim to the prevailing arctic conditions engulfing the nation, although social media posts by the host club provided significant encouragement. Perhaps the sudden and lengthy delay at Langley railway station after routes into London were paralysed due to a major incident at Acton was an omen.
I didn’t listen; with a little assistance from my long-suffering partner Cara, I rejoined the rail network at Hatton Cross tube station and enjoyed an impromptu tour of 23 underground stations before reaching Kings Cross for the journey north to Doncaster. I boarded the train having fought my way past the hordes of Harry Potter fans – with an average age of 35 – at platform 9 ¾. As usual, I posted my progress on social media, and wasn’t surprised at the jibes about my mental wellbeing.
I was on a mission; belief is so powerful.
The change at Doncaster reminded me how cold it was, although my spirits were raised by the discovery of “The Draughtsman,” a proper old-school English boozer, no bigger than my living room, which wouldn’t have looked out of place in one of J.K. Rowling’s fantasy novels.
Arriving in the evening at Cleethorpes railway station – the closest to the football ground – I made for the nearby beach. I’d never encountered frozen sand before. Despite being an agnostic, at that precise moment I thought that there was more chance of the Second Coming than the match being played the following day. Contrary to this conviction, that damn thing called hope kept my spirit nourished and I celebrated at The Coliseum Picture Theatre – a grandly named Spoons – where I enjoyed the remote generosity of friends after posting my table number!
As I later drifted off to sleep, I dreamt of the match ahead and wondered if it could ever top the excitement of last season’s 5-5 draw.
Hope was still ablaze as I awoke and viewed the almost Alaskan appearance of Cleethorpes from my toasty Premier Inn room. Grimsby Town had also posted that the televised game was still on, and my sense of hope enjoyed another positive pulse. Surely the Sky Sports viewers wouldn’t be disappointed.
Hope finally disappeared like the puff of smoke accompanying a stupendous magic trick when the match was finally called off. Was I indeed insane? To a degree perhaps, but I had to find out more about this human trait. I use it in conversation, but why does it hold this immense power?
Hope is a fundamental human characteristic since it plays a crucial role in our ability to cope with life’s challenges and uncertainties.
Emotional resilience is supercharged by hope and can help sustain a positive outlook, even in difficult times. It provides the emotional strength to face and overcome obstacles. There is also evidence that hope can positively impact physical health. For example, patients with higher levels of hope can experience better health outcomes and recovery rates.
If that’s not enough to make you want to hope more, there is ample scientific evidence to illustrate that this mindset is linked to better mental health. It can protect against depression and anxiety and is associated with higher levels of wellbeing and life satisfaction. In the face of adversity, hope also acts as a coping mechanism and can allow us to find meaning and purpose, even in challenging circumstances, and even improves our ability to manage stress.
If this isn’t enough to sell you the wonders of hope, this beautiful human gem encourages us to set and pursue goals. It gives us the motivation to strive for a better future and the belief that we can achieve our aspirations. Hope is the superhuman force that can inspire courage, creativity, and perseverance, making it an essential part of the human experience. And this awakening was on the back of a match that never was.
Can I let Grimsby Town totally off the hook? The management certainly had hope, but did their commercial aspirations unnecessarily dash the hope of the many thousands of fans, particularly those that had made the trek up north? I also wondered if many had travelled from as far afield as Berkshire.
As any travelling football fan knows, the journeys up and down the country often engage with more than hope. Meeting strangers along the way often reminds me of the kindness of others. Like Connor – an LNER revenue protection officer – who made sense of my somewhat awkward return journey and pointed me towards a more hassle-free passage home. As an avid Hull City and Hull Kingston Rovers fan, he understood what I had experienced, and we parted with a solid brotherly handshake.
As a Notts County fan I feel as though I should conclude with a prophetic statement from Martin Luther King, Jr. who accurately brings together both passion and hope: “We must accept finite disappointment, but never lose infinite hope.”
© Ian Kirke 2025 and all photographs.
@ iankirke.bsky.social