From Windy Hill to Sincil Bank.

Sport has always been part of my life, though the shape of that connection has changed over time.

As a kid, my uncle played for our local soccer team. He even helped coach, I think. I’d tag along to matches when I could. For a while, I trained with one of the junior teams, but circumstances beyond my control meant I couldn’t continue. Slowly, my interest in soccer faded.

But football, Aussie Rules, was different. I fell in love with it around the age of five. I chose Essendon, the Bombers - my uncle and aunt’s team - as my own, and sometimes he’d take me to matches. Those outings were wonderful, and they’ve stayed with me. Years later, I bought a season membership and went to every home game for a few seasons. It was a ritual, a rhythm.

Eventually, though, commitments made it difficult to attend. AFL games are long, and the travel to and from the stadium made each match a five-hour affair. It became harder to justify, even though the love never left.

I visited Lincoln a few years before I moved here, and went to a local derby. It was cold and damp, and about 1,500 people turned up to watch a draw. I enjoyed it, but the mood was subdued. It was the kind of grey afternoon that leaves its mark long after the final whistle.

After relocating to the UK, I started following Lincoln City more seriously. I read match reports, kept up with club news, and went to a few games. It turned out to be a good time to get involved. New managers arrived, the club reconnected with the city, and results began to improve. The energy shifted. Attendance grew. Optimism returned.

I didn’t have anyone to go with, but I started going anyway. At first occasionally, then more regularly. Last season I went to quite a few matches. This year, I splurged and bought a season ticket.

Lincoln is a small city, tucked among farmland and often overlooked. Getting here isn’t always straightforward, though the new direct trains to London help. It’s not a place people pass through, you come here on purpose. But that’s part of its charm. It’s a place with its own pace, its own pride. That distance also fosters a kind of fierce local pride. The football club is more than just a team; it’s a symbol of the city’s identity. The fans don’t just support Lincoln City. They defend it. There’s a territorial edge to the loyalty, a feeling that the club belongs to the people in a way that’s deeply personal.

Match day has its rituals. A sausage in a bun. A quiet ale. A chat with fellow fans. And then, inside the ground, something shifts. I become part of something larger. The chants, the songs, the shared celebrations - and, as I said, football here is deeply tribal. It's us against them, the home fans against the visiting fans. It’s not just about the game; it’s also about belonging.

There’s something else,  something oddly poetic. Lincolnshire is known as Bomber County, a legacy of the many RAF bomber squadrons based here during the Second World War. Lincoln itself is closely tied to that history, especially the legendary 617 Squadron, the Dambusters. On match day, that legacy comes alive. When Lincoln score, fans stretch out their arms like Lancaster bombers and sing the Dambusters theme. For corners, they wind up an air raid siren. The ultras call themselves the 617, and the stand bears a mural of bombers in flight, along with the slogan “After me, the deluge” in both English and French.

It’s tribal, yes, but it’s also mythic.

And strangely, it echoes my other footballing love. Back in Melbourne, my Essendon Bombers also play the sound of aircraft engines and an air raid siren before matches. It’s theatrical, stirring, and deeply rooted in identity. Two cities, two sports, two teams - half a world apart, both shaped by aviation history, both rallying behind teams associated with Bombers. It’s a coincidence, but one that feels meaningful -  a thread running through my sporting life, tying together past and present, Australia and England, memory and belonging.

I still love my AFL, my beloved Essendon Bombers. That will never change. I stream as many Essendon matches as I can. But there’s something irreplaceable about live sport, about watching two teams battle it out, surrounded by people who care just as much as you do. It’s a connection to the city, to the crowd, to something bigger than yourself, and to the person you’ve always been, shaped by sport, place, and the people who shared it with you.

Such a Silly Season.

Yes, I know. It's always some kind of silly season somewhere.  But for me, specifically, it's silly season in the world of AFL fandom.

As many know, I am a huge fan of Australian Rules football. I am a diehard Essendon supporter, who has suffered for more than 20 years with a team who seem to aspire to mediocrity. We are the butt of many jokes, and there are even webpages counting up the number of days since we have won a finals match. It is a ridiculously high number, and one that frustrates all Essendon fans.

Brad Scott, our coach, has just completed his second year at the helm. At the beginning of the year he cautioned against getting our hopes too high. It didn't help that for much of the year we were sitting high in the league ladder - higher than we deserved, especially when you looked at our percentages. But then we completely collapsed at the end of the season to fall outside the top 8, and miss the final series once again.

I was disappointed, but not surprised. We finished roughly where I had anticipated.  We won some close games, and lost when we played better teams. And faded badly at the end of the season.

While many fans are angry and upset, I understand that changes take time, and recognise the cultural changes being brought into the team. A slow change, but one that I believe will reap rewards.

And the silly season?  Why, that's the trade period that is currently happening, and finishes on Wednesday.  It runs for about ten days and the fan forums are either laughably funny at insanely delusional suggestions made (trade "this player who can barely get a game" for "their champion") or just downright frustrating at the negativity and hostility.

The media is no better.  One day Essendon is criticised for not being active enough in trades, and the next reminded we have no real trade capital and should go to the draft. You simply cannot win.

I'm sticking with Brad. It takes time to turn a team (and a club) around after years of complacency.  AFL is not like other sports where you simply buy in players.  We have a draft system for rookies, but then players in the system already need to be traded - either for other players or draft picks and so on. It provides some equalisation across the league, but means it is difficult to change things quickly when you need to.

So I do think the future is bright, despite the calls in forums for Brad to be sacked and everyone at the club to be replaced. We will get there, and I think it will be in the next few years.

But this season still hurt, though.

Red and Black and Murky Grey.

I love my Australian Rules Football. I hold an international membership, watch every game I can through a streaming service and am happy to discuss the game with anyone who cares to join in. In this part of the world, this is not something that occurs very often.

I've supported my team, the Essendon Bombers, since I was about 5 years old. My uncle and aunt were Essendon fans, and they took me to a couple of games. Those were some lean years, but I had a life size poster of Des Tuddenham, and was proud of the red and black. 

When I returned from Japan in the late 90s, I started attending matches fairly often - usually with my cousin and her then boyfriend (now husband). And we were a powerhouse. A strong team who played with determination, aggression and skill. Somewhere after 2001 it all went wrong, and we've occasionally risen to mediocre since then.

This year we had high hopes, which once again were dashed as we floundered in the bottom half of the ladder, missed out on the finals, and heard the same old excuses from our coaches. And , like many other supporters, I'm tired of it.

Seriously, how can the players be adjusting to a game plan after three or four years?

At this present time I don't hold much hope for the next few years. But give it a few months, into trade period and the pre-season, and I'll probably return to my optimistic football self. And hopefully next year will not be a compromised season due to Covid. 

Think Professionally, Act Professionally.

Jobe Watson won the Brownlow Medal this week. For those who don't follow Australian Rules Football, this is an award given yearly for the 'best and fairest' player in the league - the MVP, if you like. It's voted for by the umpiring team after each game (3,2,1 points) and players who have been suspended throughout the year are automatically disqualified.

Jobe plays for my team, the Essendon Bombers. He just happens to be the son of a fantastic player, Tim Watson, who played for Essendon in the 80s. So Jobe won the award. But of course he's a champion. He was always going to be a champion, wasn't he? His father was a champion, he was raised in that supportive football environment, he had the genes, he grew up around the club.

Kevin Sheedy, the previous coach, recently revealed that if he'd stayed at the club he'd have either traded or de-listed Jobe. You see, Jobe was simply sailing along, not working anywhere near his potential and not taking the game seriously enough to succeed at that level.

Jobe revealed this week that it was his father, Tim, who took him aside a few years ago and had a chat with him. It was OK if he didn't want to play AFL, but if he was going to play then he needed to be make an effort. Jobe says he was angry with his father, and didn't speak to him for a few days. But then he took the words to heart and now he's become the player on which legends are built.

It's time for me to become more serious in my writing.

I don't know how far I can take it. I'm not even sure I know where I'd like it to go, but I know I have some short term goals that I want to achieve, and in order to do so I need to take my plan to the next level.

• I want to SFWA qualify within the next year. For the first time ever, I have stories out at four pro-markets. I've never really targeted these markets much, as I knew I wasn't yet at that level of writing. But now I know I'm getting closer. I'm getting regular personal rejections from pro-mags, and I'm understanding what is needed to sell there. 

• I have a couple of semi-pro markets that are on my hit list. The editors (and slushreaders) there have played hardball with me so far. But again I've gotten very close and had personal rejections. 

• I'm allocating more regular time to my writing, and I have a chart up next to my desk with stories, markets, goals and deadlines on it. 

• I've taken, am taking and will take workshops and courses in order to learn more about the theory of writing and the structure of stories. 

• I'm immersing myself in reading short fiction from the markets I'm targeting.

I'm feeling optimistic about my writing at the moment. I'm productive, I'm seeing improvement and getting great feedback.

What are your goals? What are you doing to achieve them?