As a journalist it’s always nice to learn something new so today one found out that aibohphobia is the irrational fear of palindromes…...something to be used in the future no doubt.

This week saw another away trip in the league but only the short distance to Wellingborough where they have never heard of climate change. Their climate has never changed and it’s invariably cold. Greta Thunberg was seen here wearing two coats! Nevertheless they have always been great rivals and always welcoming, today being no exception with the pre-match social invitation gratefully accepted by President Tom and a few others.

The sides emerged from the changing rooms and a familiar sight greeted both sets of supporters. As usual, the opposition side looked considerably better fed than the boys in cerise and in due course this would affect the way the game would be played. Olney kicked off playing down the slight slope and true to form would be playing a quick expansive style which almost paid off but for an unfortunate forward pass. Shortly afterwards, following a couple of quick penalties, Stu Livesey was the beneficiary of some good handling back and forth across the pitch to eventually find a hole in the Boro’ defence and dot down on the left.

Some deft handling again by backs and forwards combined led to a try on the right for the winger whose name we promised after the Casuals match would not be mentioned again. Boro’ then had a good spell of possession with their forwards driving well and attacking the Olney line to test the defence. This defence held firm with the Olney pack working hard to keep out several attempts to cross the whitewash and eventually clear to halfway after an error by the home side. When next in the Boro’ 22, a pick up from the base of the scrum by Eddie Goss fed the backs with Elliot Simpson looping round in support wide on the right to score in the corner. The conversion hit the bar but this being the last play of the half, Olney went into the break 17-0 in their favour.

The second half was played in much the same pattern as the first with the Boro’ forwards able to enjoy long spells of possession much to the delight of their vocal supporters. The Olney boys trusted their defence and were able to nullify the attacks, so much of the play was based around the half way area which detracted from the spectacle somewhat. Things livened up 25 minutes in when Struan Brooks gathered a pass and set off towards the line. A couple of players beaten allowed him a sight of the posts which he duly scored under after leaving the chasers behind. A further try followed from a tapped penalty catching Boro’ slightly off guard and Harvey Dench on the receiving end of the final pass for his try wide on the left. Final score at 0-29, the crowd now a little quieter and a bonus point for Olney.

The coaches will always say there’s room for improvement and videos will be analysed to tweak things for next week but the travelling supporters went home happy and the players can feel quietly pleased with themselves as Olney are sitting at the top of the league. This week we heard of another story from the Harris household. Apparently Mr Harris is not a fan of the cold winter weather and gets quite depressed about it. During a particularly violent spell of rain and hail recently he just stood at the window staring. Mrs Harris noticed this and after about an hour she reluctantly got up from the sofa, opened the window and said to him that he could come indoors now! Any more anecdotes gratefully received.