The danger of parachutists

is not usually something a referee has to take into account. But today's match was dull, one-sided, calm and uneventful. Refereeing near a World War Two airdrome in the weald of Kent, the buzz of light aircraft filled the air throughout the balmy spring afternoon, taking off and disgorging parachutists so that at one stage dozens of them filled the sky. Boring matches, or those where one team rushes into a five-goal lead, can be the most difficult for a ref. Keeping one's concentration is not too hard when incidents are constantly cropping up, but the mind does wander when the match is dull. This is inevitably when a riot erupts out of nowhere. Someone decides to react badly to a challenge and the next moment 20 blokes are scrapping on the field. Unless the ref is concentrating he can be in trouble. But that didn't happen today. A parachutist almost crashing into a massive greenhouse growing the country's strawberry crop was the only thrill for this ref today.