What ground is this?

Possibly the wrong thread, but I remember the 1963 winter with mixed feelings.  Having just left the Navy a couples of years earlier, I was working for my Father in Billingsgate Market, and by heck, it was cold, I slipped on some ice, and fell awkwardly, and have had back problems ever since.  Later that winter, about early March, my Wife, some friends, and I went on an enthusiasts special from Waterloo to the West Country, with "Mallard" no the front.  All the way down, the fields on either side of the line were still deep in snow.  Because of the weather, our train was turned short at Exeter.  With the return leg of the jouney to Paddington,  a Western crew took over the locomotive.  On the down part of the trip, the Southern Region crew had no problem with an A 4 locomotive, being used to the Southern's Bullied pacifics.  But, for the Western lads, an A4 is nothing like a "King" or a "Castle" to drive or fire, and all the way back to Paddinton, every time the driver opened the regulator hard, half the fire seemed to be sucked up the chimney, and thrown on to the roofs or carrages behind.  I often wonder what the fireman was saying under his breath, or perhaps out loud even, about his mate loosing his fire up the chimney every so often.

I think Charlton had a home game that Saturday, but as a true Addick, I wasn't going to miss a run behind "Mallard" before she was withdrawn from main line sevice.  I can't now remember the Charlton result that day, but, as I wasn't there, and missed the match, we proberbly won. Always happens.