My trip to The Valley at the weekend was a pleasant experience.

That may seem a strange thing for me to write considering we got soundly beaten by an excellent Charlton Athletic side but, I have to admit, I enjoyed my excursion to south-east London.

The Addicks, whatever they are, have long marketed themselves as a family-friendly club and there was plenty that greeted me on Saturday to support that claim.

Everyone, from the turnstile operator to the woman on the tea bar, greeted me with a smile and a kind word.

Perhaps the stadium man- ager dishes out Prozac to his staff, or maybe living in that part of the capital is so great that its residents can’t help but be permanently cheerful.

If I was a betting man (and I am not, in case you are reading this, Mum), I would probably go for the former. Either way, I am not complaining.

I don’t want to come over like Tim Lovejoy or some other arriviste idiot – and I understand that, as a lower league fan, I should be pining for a return to the good old days of crumbling, urine-stained terraces and grown men smashing each other’s faces in – but, you know what, the Charlton approach is fine by me.

Unfortunately, Phil Parkinson’s team were not quite so charitable. Despite the Bees making a solid start, Sam Wood’s uncharacteristic error was punished by Deon Burton.

Although the curse of the ex-player struck, my hackles were not provoked into rising.

Burton was a favourite of mine during his spell with the Bees, although it must be said he was immensely frustrating to watch at times.

During his career, he has had plenty of chances to impress at the highest level and it wouldn’t take the Bletchley Park code breakers to work out why it never came off for him.

Either playing with his back to goal or dropping in to the hole, he excelled, thanks to a classy first touch and an exemplary football brain (yes, his brain is actually shaped like a football).

Sadly, his finishing never matched the excellence of his approach play – although, as we found out to our cost on Saturday, he now seems to be improving that aspect of his game in a Charlton shirt.

The defeat has left Andy Scott and his squad plenty of things to work on. It is a shame it had to occur live on television in front of the watching millions (Is this right? – Ed), but there is no need to panic.

The gaffer’s made the manager-of-the-month shortlist, we have nine points on the board and Super Mac is back.