The conversations this past week have mostly related to the news that not one but two teams have resigned from the League.
Dunston Holmside Amateurs and Brandon British Legion have pulled out for different reasons.
It appears the Brandon withdrawal is down to an exodus of players to another local club, Esh Winning (incidentally my own village!), whose new manager has been recruiting busily in the area.
Esh Winning are the biggest club in the Deerness Valley, with a well-known heritage. Both legendary Middlesbrough goal-machine George Camsell and Sunderland's Raich Carter were ex-Stags, and Sir Bobby Robson hailed from Waterhouses where Esh Winning's West Terrace ground is situated.
The Stags are going through a tough patch but still play at a higher level (Northern League) and the lure was evidently irresistible to too many Brandon players, leaving them unable to complete their fixtures this season.
The story for Dunston is less clear, and may be financial instead. A common story at this level, I'm afraid.
So, the Durham Alliance is now two teams lighter, with just twelve left to finish the season.
The table has been readjusted to reflect the defunct points, affecting certain teams more than others, no doubt.
Meanwhile, the significance for me is less.
I have already visited these two venues, so I don't miss out on anything in terms of my own quest.
I suppose also, if the clubs do return to play in future, then my notes may still be helpful. If not, then I have unwittingly been a witness to the end of another couple of clubs' eras. At least I will be able to say that I was there once, and I have the evidence.
The remaining three venues as yet unvisited await me in December, before the winter kicks in.
Unlike Brandon British Legion and Dunston Holmside Amateurs, I am certainly in it for the full duration!
A.
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