Birthday in Billericay sounds like a good title for a song. Maybe not possessing the lasting world-wide appeal of Chicago or San Francisco or as romantic as It Happened in Monterey, but it has possibilities.

On reflection, having spent a good part of my latest birthday taking the long suffering Mrs S to watch Barnet beat Billericay Town 3-1 perhaps the song should be a 2009 update of Raindrops keep falling on my head. Anyway if anyone out there has any idea of the music to immortalise Billericay in song I have the lyrics! We could follow up with A rainy day in Rochdale Town.

A big debate emerged in the Signy household when it was realised that Barnet manager Ian Hendon had arranged a pre-season friendly in Billericay.

"You can't go THERE to celebrate your birthday", said Mrs S when I broachd the subject."We ought to go out for a nice meal".

I tried "They've got some nice restaurants in Billericay" as a rearguard action and with no knowledge of the culinary state of affairs in that neck of the Essex woods.

Mrs S, having spent our last two wedding anniversaries at Cleethorpes (Grimsby Town 4, Barnet 1) and Brentford (Barnet murdered them but lost 1-0), surprisingly succumbed to the thought of a gourmet experience in Billericay. Maybe a cruise to the Med in June and a Eurostar visit to Brussells for lunch as a belated anniversary "Thank you" helped soften her up.

With the recently retired Graham Slyper at the wheel and now able to concentrate on his honorary role of escorting the Signys to these exotic rendezvous where Barnet travel, we negotiated the M25 and headed through Brentwood and Shenfield to the New Lodge stadium.

Sure enough in Billericay High Street we found a more than suitable grill where I indulged myself with a plateful of excellent cod, washed down with a birthday treat banana milk shake.

As we drove to the ground the raindrops started falling and, while it wasn't the storm warning weather we had at Cleethorpes, it was wet and cold.

The players, while extending birthday greetings, greeted me like an ageing groupie with nothing better to do who had turned up to watch a pre-season friendly instead of knocking back a Famous Grouse or two in more familiar celebratory style.

When Graham dropped us back at home I was sneezing, had a bunged up nose and a pain across the middle of my back.

"Did you have a good birthday?" asked Mrs S.

"I'll tell you what", I replied. "That was the best banana milk shake I've had in years".

Ian Hendon, having organised the shindig, went to a League Managers Association meeting and missed The Big Event.

PS Barnet are HOME to Accrington Stanley for our 44th wedding anniversary next March. Don't need a driver that week Graham.