If you’re as old as I am, you will know that ‘Life Is A Rollercoaster’ whether you want to or not, thanks to Ronan Keating’s popularity at the beginning of the Noughties. While the song would not feature on any of my personal playlists, I can get behind the idea, especially after the twelve months experienced both by my family and Ashford Town (Middlesex) Football Club.
On April 30 2025, I wrote on these pages about scratching a seven-year itch and returning to Ashford to see the club’s redeveloped home ground. At the time, our family lived near Liverpool, which was a big part of the reason why I hadn’t been to a game at the Robert Parker Stadium for seven years. By the time I went back, the club had replaced their grass pitch with a 3G surface, but delays with that project had pushed the club to the brink of oblivion and it had already been relegated by the date of my visit.
I wrote then about “not knowing when I would be in this spot again but certain it would not be another seven years before I was back” but I was being slightly disingenuous; a process was already underway which would see us swap homes with another family and relocate to a house close enough to Ashford’s ground to get there by bus.
We moved last July for all kinds of reasons but had an enormous struggle to get our son into a suitable school. This took a massive toll on all of us – especially him – but we were very lucky in that we had two charities in our corner, and we had emotional anchors to help us in the darkest moments. My wife being able to spend time with her parents was beneficial to her mental health, but for me the greatest medicine was matchday at Ashford Town (Middlesex).
This would have been true even if the Ash Trees had endured another difficult season; the fact that Ashford won the Combined Counties League Premier Division North was a bonus! Far more important was the way I was immediately welcomed back into the fold and able to resume friendships as if we had never moved. I didn’t mean to get back involved with volunteering for the club, but there were certain areas where I could offer something the club needed and being ‘useful’ helped me to cope with the challenges we took on as a family.
Ashford Town gave me a reason to write, because I’ve been contributing to the club website in addition to working as the Tannoy Announcer for Saturday home games (and the odd significant midweek match). When I needed distraction, I could think about the Tangerines.
That’s the power of football. It can seep into your identity, provide an outlet for energies that would otherwise be unspent and social contact in place of isolation. It might seem strange that a football club whose Men’s Team was playing in the ninth tier of English football can be so important to me but that’s what happens when an autistic personality such as mine becomes involved with a community like the club.
In October, the team was third-from-bottom of the division and our son’s EHCP was up in the air. But, like the rollercoaster, the football season would go from a slow start at a low level to an exhilarating high.
Both the school situation and the charge to the championship were powered by volunteers. Thanks to the incredible people at Skylarks and SOS! SEN, our boy had somewhere to go while he waited for a school place, then got an early start at an outstanding secondary school. Ashford Town (Middlesex) gradually rose up the League, went top by defeating title favourites Windsor & Eton away from home and eventually won the title by a point. From fear and despondency to joy and stability in a matter of months.
Our eldest daughter now volunteers with Skylarks which is the highlight of her week, my wife and I have carved out a block of time for ourselves each week, which has created space for me to write this blog. The boy is settled and happy in his new school and doing well. There will be challenges to come, for sure, but at the moment, we are all in good places.
Your song’s not my jam, Ronan, but you weren’t wrong.