Southsea one of the worst seaside towns? You must be joking! | Matt Mohan-Hickson

I did an almost comical double take while looking through the list, wondering if any of Hampshire’s seaside towns would be featured alongside the likes of Skegness.

I remember doing an almost comical double take while looking through the list, wondering if any of Hampshire’s seaside towns would be featured alongside the likes of Skegness.

But when I saw Southsea placed so low on the list, I actually had to blink and rub my eyes to make sure my mind was playing tricks on me.

I am not from the city, so I don’t have the same emotional connection to Portsmouth as people who were born and raised here.

I view it with an outsider's eye, yet I have always been spellbound by Southsea pretty much from the first week I moved here and spent a sunny summer afternoon down at the bandstand. Growing up in the north east, the seaside towns I was intimately familiar with were the likes of Redcar – a town that also owes much of its existence to the Victorian seaside resort boom.

Yet time (and investment in infrastructure) has not been anywhere near as kind to it. Leaving it feeling grey and decaying, dripping in an almost gothic atmosphere – not helped by the often dismal north east weather.

But Southsea is still vibrant, with proper seaside attractions and a buzzing high street offering plenty of places to eat and drink.

Even in winter when the weather is cold and moody, Southsea still feels like it is full of life.

Sure the beach might not be a sand one, which I guess might be a ding against it in the eyes of seaside purists – who I assume are the ones ranking the towns in Which?

But let me tell you, sandy beaches can look utterly grim in the winter, grey and stodgy making for a miserable combination if you are trying to stretch your legs after a Christmas feast (for example).

Southsea on the other hand, still looks striking in the coldest months of the year – especially with the way the coloured lights dance along the seafront after dark.

I just really don’t understand how anyone could visit our seafront and rate it so lowly.

Sure it is bustling with life and activity on sunny days, but honestly, which half decent seaside town in the UK isn’t teeming with crowds in summer?

Because after all is that not the sign of a good seaside town, that people are desperate to visit it as soon as the first sliver of summer sun comes peeking out from behind the clouds?

What a difference having fans in the ground makes

Watching the FA Cup last week I found myself being struck by a sense that something was different.

At first I couldn’t put my finger on it - was there something wrong with the BBC iPlayer stream?

Then I realise, it was the fact there were actual real fans in Wembley – thousands of them. Actually cheering on Leicester and Chelsea.

I had become so used to the fake, robotic ‘crowd’ reactions of the last 14 months, that it felt strange to have real fans making actual sound again.

It was glorious to see the way the players actually responded to the encouragement from supporters, daring them to push forward and put crosses in the box.

Suddenly, after football feeling – for a lack of a better word – ‘off’ since the pandemic forced it all behind closed doors, it clicked and it felt ‘normal’ again.

I have struggled to enjoy football – or any sport really – in the last 14 months, but in the 45 minutes of the final I managed to watch, it felt right again.

I am getting excited for the Euros

I must admit that this week I finally cracked and cued up Three Lions on Spotify for the first time.

It is a bit like listening to Christmas songs in November, but as the announcement of the England squad is creeping up, I have found that bubbling sense of excitement starting to build inside me.

I haven’t quite got to the summer of ‘18 levels of jubilation yet – but give it until the first match (unless we manage to blow it) and I’m sure it will all come flooding back.

The thought of England perhaps finally, finally, lifting another trophy is starting to burrow itself deep into my subconscious – especially with every time I see highlights of Phil Foden in action.

But I am also just excited about having three group stage matches per day, and the possibility of big name upsets – hopefully not involving England.

And after the third lockdown, the thought of watching a couple of Euro matches back to back down the pub with my friends just sounds utterly tantalising.