‘YOU got the short straw then?’

The friendly, if self-deprecating Fermanagh steward greeted me thus when I entered the Ederney clubhouse on Sunday. He seemed surprised when I told him it had been my choice to go there. (I’ll not cause offence by naming the match I turned down).

There’s an element of risk about which game to go to early in the year. The old-boned among us might prefer only to go to enclosed press boxes, but you also want to get around and see as many counties as possible.

A balance also has to be struck between comfort and atmosphere.

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Insulation from the cold and/or wet also insulates you from the full sensory experience of match-going, the kind you get by sitting out in a stand or leaning over the advertising hoardings around the side of the pitch.

In Clones during winter and spring there’s a choice between warmth and being able to see the action properly.

As utter professionals, of course we always choose the latter option, lifting out the removable window frames. I still have fearful flashbacks to the time when one of those slipped out of a journo’s grasp and fell out into the supporters seated in front. Luckily it didn’t do any serious damage, even if 27 people did claim for neck injuries.

Fortunately the weather was fine, if chilly, in........

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