Reprise

If you have been reading the blog you will know that a highlight of this trip was to be a Manchester United game at Old Trafford, and you will also know that this special occasion was cruelly truncated due to a failed security exercise.

After this fiasco the football club was quick to announc that ticket holders would be refunded and fans could attend the rescheduled game at no cost.  Fair play to Manchester United, as this bid to recover good will with fans has been rumoured to cost them three million pound (I have to write that in long hand as I can't find the symbol keys on the iPad - first world problems).

We were not entirely sure what this would entail. Rationalising the situation we hoped to get a refund of the cost of game entry because in fairness we had managed to enjoy our three hours of VIP hospitality on Sunday - three course lunch, wine, champagne and beer - before being evacuated.  But no - this is the biggest football club in the world (OK, perhaps Barcelona is bigger but the free wifi in this cafe is a bit tenuous and I don't dare stress it out by performing more Google searches) and when they do apologetic compensation they do it in style.

So all six of us were invited back for the rescheduled game AND complementary three course pre-match dinner, wine, champagne and beer; and the club has refunded the full cost of our original tickets.  Regrettably Leonie and Graeme were already in Exeter and it was not viable for them to get back, but Drew found two willing local relatives to volunteer to take their place, and Tom and I made the round trip from Leicestershire for the occasion.

Leonie in her George Best chair on our aborted first attempt to watch the match

Fred the Red, the Manchester United mascot - where do I start 

Drew enjoys some quality one-on-one time with Fred the Red

Fred the Red is the club's mascot and if it is not obvious he is a red devil.  Fred is no ordinary mascot, Fred is a superstar in his own right. When Manchester United played exhibition matches in 2012 in Shanghai Fred had his own security escort to protect him from overzealous, delirious fans! Fred has own Facebook page and if you look him up on YouTube you can see him do a star turn dancing for the crowds at Old Trafford.

Fred is not Manchester United's first mascot and for those of you with some idle time I recommend you check out the Wiki page for Manu mascots. As a blogger you could not hope for better material - the history of the mascots is comedy gold. I shall start with Michael the Bank St Canary who dates from the 1890s.  The club promoted Michael's singing to fans, but sadly Michael could not sing.  Also sadly, Michael was not a canary. Michael was in fact a goose.  Not surprisingly Michael did not last long and he was followed by Major the Saint Bernard, who was the pet dog of one of the players.  On Michael's retirement Billie the Goat became the new mascot.  Billie had been given to one of the players by a theatre company - no, there is no rational reason to explain why.  Billie was popular and successful as mascot and often joined the players visiting ale houses where he enjoyed a tipple. Tragically,this was to be his undoing and Billie died of alcohol poisoning after the 1909 FA Cup win over Bristol. 

It is not until the 1930s that the next mascot appears: Hoppy Thorne the one-legged wonder.  Hoppy was a first war veteran who lost his leg in combat.  Hoppy was a popular mascot with the fans but his relationship with the club soured when he failed to secure tickets to the 1948 FA Cup final and he withdrew his services.

Fred joins the players on the pitch