My voice almost got me into deep water yesterday. I was heading out for my trundle. Unusually for a Saturday, I wasn’t wearing my Charlton shirt, but had a blue one on instead. Heading for Woolwich, I passed a group of Charlton fans in their red shirts at a bus stop, obviously waiting for a bus on their way to The Valley. Using my natural voice rather than my communication aid, I shouted something like “Go Charlton!” as I passed, simply as a show of solidarity. That, however, turned out to be a mistake which could potentially have proven catastrophic: one of the men in the group heard me and, probably based on the colour of my shirt, told his friends I was shouting “Millwalll!”

Charlton and Millwall fans are, of course, mortal enemies and there is quite a concerning history of violence between the two groups. Needless to say, at that point I didn’t think it was wise to hang around and decided to press on with my walk. I think I better make an effort to speak more clearly around football fans.