The battle lines have been drawn.

Come Tuesday, the people of Shropshire may struggle to find out what’s going on in their county. Because the journalists of the Shropshire Star and Radio Shropshire will more than likely all be in hospital.

No, it won’t be as a result of the sickness bug which is sweeping Ketley at the moment (although quite how many people have actually been on the ‘godphone’ and how many have seen an opportunity is open to some debate).

No, on Monday night the print journalists take on their counterparts from that new fangled ‘wireless’ thing (it’ll never catch on) in a football match – all in the name of charidee, mate (the Star’s Golden Year’s appeal to be
exact).

Now, I’m not implying the game will be dirty (although there is the added spice of one of our turncoats, sorry, former colleagues playing for them and someone who turned out for them last time around now wearing the blue of the Star).

No, the hospitalisation is more likely to come from a lot of unfit people – and some older, unfit people who really should know better – running around for an hour and a half chasing after a bag of air.

The game is being played at Park Hall Stadium in Oswestry, home of The New Saints. Formerly TNS. Formerly Llansantffraid FC. With a bit of Oswestry Town FC thrown in. I think.

Their surface is that new state-of-the-art rubber crumb pseudo grass stuff. In fact, it’s so new and state-of the-art that no-one is really sure what footwear to wear on it.

I personally have gone for flippers, having seen someone the other week wearing them for the zipline challenge in Shrewsbury and thinking: “I wish I’d done that”.

Anyone who would like to come and laugh at us is more than welcome. Admission is free, but we’ll be expecting people to put their hands in their in their pockets and transfer what they find in there into the buckets we
will be providing (by which I mean money.

Any hankies and bits of old chewing gum will NOT be appreciated).

And if there’s lots of blank spaces in the paper on Tuesday and 96fm just broadcasts dead air you’ll know why.

Still, it’s all in a good cause.