The FA Cup gives clubs like ours an opportunity to play teams from all over the country, but this season with our two previous rounds being at home, we had yet to have an away day adventure. When the balls finally came out of the velvet bag and paired us with Maidstone United, it was greeted with a cheer from the Regimentals, as it was to be played away from Creasey Park.
Maidstone United play in the National League South and were riding high in the top 6, so this was going to be a huge game for us. The other bonus of the FA Cup is that the home team cover the traveling clubs transport costs, so usually warrants a coach trip.
An away Tour has to start with a decent fry up, to line the stomach for the day, so we met up at Tony's Cafe before boarding the coach to Maidstone. An uneventful drive round the M25, soon had us over the QEII bridge and on the M2 down to Kent and as we pulled into Maidstone, we passed the first pub we would be visiting as we arrived at the ground.
Just a 5 minute walk from the ground is The Flower Pot. A busy pre match pub, a must-visit when in Maidstone. The upper bar has ten hand pumps with the ales coming mainly from microbreweries, as well as ciders and perries, served directly from the container. The lower bar has a pool table and there are video screens showing the beers on offer and the price.
The beer on offer was outstanding and we had flagons of Darkstar's Hophead, Burning Sky's Aurora and a porter from the local Maidstone Brewery called Eight. The Regiment being quite a rowdy bunch, were swollen in number by the lure of an FA Cup upset and set about collating a playlist in the jukebox. When their favoured Andy Williams track came on, they exercised their vocal chords, in preparation for the game. We then witnessed a Maidstone fan rushing from the back bar with a story that the landlord doesn't like singing. We assumed he was taking the piss and carried on.
The landlord never appeared, so it was either a wind up or he liked our singing. We prefer the latter. Off to the match where the Regiment parked themselves in the middle of the Maidstone United fans and set about their repertoire of songs. Some of the locals pointed out that they were all about members of our family, which had escaped our notice until this point. Maidstone's superiority told in the end on their excellent 3G pitch and they ran out 2-0 winners. Had we finished 11 v 11, we may of had a chance, but once Giant Geoff was sent off, it was an up hill battle.
With sore throats and broken hearts, the Regiment went in search of a pub until the players were washed and changed for the return journey. Some went off to the Hare & Hounds, which was full of celebrating Maidstone United fans, so after a swift pint, met up with the remaining members of the Regiment in the Wetherspoon's Society Rooms in Week Street.
A spacious pub on the site of a former local newspaper printing works, situated on the ground floor of a five storey office block. The mainly glass external walls allow panoramic views of the pedestrian shopping street alongside. The name is taken from William Shipley, founder of the Royal Society of Arts and the Maidstone Society for Promoting Useful Knowledge, who is buried nearby.
As with many Wetherspoon's the usual suspects were on offer, but we went for the guest ales in the Dorset Brewery's delicious Jurassic Dark, a lovely Dunkelweizen (dark wheat beer) and another dark ale in the shape of Dark Side of the Moose from the Purple Moose Brewery based in Porthmadog, North Wales.
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