THIS WAS DIFFERENT..

Last game of the season yesterday - Saints 3 - Southend 1 - and, as I promised myself two weeks ago, I went back to Hythe and got the ferry over to Southampton before walking to St. Mary`s Stadium. I was surprised to discover that the usual ferry boats were both out of action. `Great Expectations` was being serviced and apparently the `Hotspur` had broken down.

So instead, we were treated to a ride on the Ashleigh R, pictured above, which had been `chartered` by the Hythe Ferry operators from Blue Funnel Cruises. They are based in Southampton and offer a wide range of cruises to view the boats in the docks, trips along nearby rivers and even to Portsmouth! I was quite taken by the luxury we were confronted by on the 12 minute ferry crossing to Town Quay - the Ashleigh R even had a dance floor and a bar and I quite expect that stashed away somewhere is a glitter ball.

It was certainly a different experience to the crossings I have made on a series of `Hotspurs` since I first made the journey in about 1945 but despite the bar, the dance floor and all the other trimmings, somehow it didn`t seem quite the same.