Day 133. How did all these people get in my room? (12/5/19)

Very quickly,  as I have alcohol to consume and sportsmen to adore. I have the day out of all day outs starting in the next hour.

Last night's Anfield Wrap end of season shindig then. Mountford Hall, where so many of us have seen so many great bands play over the years. Think the last time I was there was for a packed, sold out, Paul Weller gig a couple of years ago.

Last night was packed and sold out for a completely different reason.

Last night was about celebration of how much bloody fun this season of following Liverpool Football Club has been. What was supposed to be a short season review on stage from Neil Atkinson became the saga it needed to be, punctuated by the tunes that form the beds of the songs we've sung all season, followed inside by a set from the Tea Street Band and, outside, once we'd all been thrown out, by hundreds of people constantly cycling the Bobby Firmino song.

The striking thing for me though?

The sheer number of people in the room.

I've done the Anfield Wrap for a few years now, I know what it looks like: it looks like five or six people in a room talking about footy. So who the hell were all these other people?

Paul Senior had told me a while ago that you only realise the size of the what we're involved in when you step outside it. Last night was stepping outside while remaining inside.

The biggest shock was the number of people who knew me, knew who I was and approached me to tell me they like what I do. People who recognised me by face, people who recognised me by voice. People who wanted to say nice things about the shows and the whole organisation, people who wanted to talk about my plays.

That's an incredible thing.

I can't thank those who spoke to me enough. It's an absolute privilege to be in a position where people know who you are and are willing to come and let you know the fact.

What a life.

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