The weather report on the BBC for the week is below freezing most days and the covers cant go on the pitch as they won't protect it and will damage the new grass when its taken off. It's unfortunately not likely to go ahead unless the weather greatly improves.

Braziers are the future.

Really hope the weather picks up. He'll get a really good crowd if it does, going to struggle to even play the game otherwise, to say nothing of the fact that we won't have played a proper warm up game before the season (soz widnes).

Also, I'm on baby duty all weekend and the game is my respite (he's going to his grandmas whilst I go the mmatch)

A high of 5 degrees is the current forecast for Saturday - that should suffice shouldn't it?

Mr Gatcliffe has said the club will look at the pitch on Thursday so until then no one knows. I'd be gutted for Bennie if the game was called off.

Looking at the long range forecast the weather does get a little bit better Friday & Saturday.
Perhaps the game could be played Sunday?

Won't it need a bit more time to thaw out? Presumably the underwater stream is frozen solid!

Do we have under-soil heating or did I dream that up?

You dreamt it.

No, and yes.

Overnight temperatures as low as -6 on Thursday and Friday night according to my i(an)Phone but a positively balmy 4 degrees on Saturday itself. Hopefully the snow will go and the club can do something to keep the frost off.

As an aside, maybe it's because it's the first testimonial I've observed via Twitter but Westwood's seems to be the most professional, all encompassing one yet. Everything seems very joined up and there's a constant bombardment of information about it. That's not to say testimonials of years past haven't been very good of course - Briers, Morley and Wood's were good as well.

Fingers and toes crossed etc.