MK Dons rise again

Last year, Julie and I attended the MK Dons game which more or less sealed their fate to be booted down a league. This year, again at the kind invitation of the Chairman, Pete Winkelman (as part of the ongoing link between Buckingham and the club first sorted by Cllr Smith when he was Mayor) we watched a match with a very different story. We had the greatest of pleasures to enjoy the thrill of the team winning back a place in League One. Fab! (MK Citizen match report here)

Aside from the game itself, I had the enormous privilege to join the Mayor of Milton Keynes, Cllr Martin Petchey at the head of a march around the pitch with dozens of young & old footballers to kick out racism all forms of hate from football, just before the game started.

And the other twist to the afternoon was that the Mayor of Mansfield was going to join the MK Mayor & Mayoress and ourselves for lunch before the game. She did not arrive. We later found out why: she lost her position after Thursday's elections by two votes. The new Mayor (we assumed) did not have the fixture in his diary.

Congratulations to all involved, especially the players and all the team and club that support them. Well done! (And congrats to the new Mayor of Mansfield too - hopefully he will be able to attend and support their games in the league playoffs - and they too end up in League One as well)

Jubilant fans spill onto the pitch

The MK Mayor enjoys the game (as he has done all but one home games)

Even hail did not manage to stop MK Dons!