Saturday saw Storm Dennis put paid to our own perfect storm, so Barrow had the chance to draw a collective breath.

The hiatus also gave us the chance to look back as well as forward.

There have been lots of opportunities to do this on the excellent Facebook group ‘Barrow AFC Memories’ and also the unofficial forum. Thanks to everyone who has contributed to this. I wasn’t aware til this weekend, for instance, of our visit to Chelsea in the third round of the FA Cup in 1948.

A huge crowd of 44,336 saw Third Division North Barrow go down gallantly 5-0, though keeper Roxburgh had a great game, including saving a penalty.

The away support numbers are unrecorded but allegedly included a brass band. Barrow played in red and among their number was George Summerbee, father of the Manchester City great Mick and grandad of Nicky. Years later, after a tour of the ground, they sent signed shirts to be auctioned.

My favourite anecdote, however (thanks to his sister-in-law and Barrow stalwart Elaine Warden), concerned the wonderfully nicknamed Jimmy ‘Crasher’ Kendall, who found the net for Barrow that day but was ruled offside.

Described as a ‘great raconteur,’ he maintained Chelsea had asked to sign him but he’d told them he’d rather be ‘a big fish in a small pond’. A ‘larger than life Geordie’ who settled back in the North East, he had both Barrow and Gateshead colours at his funeral.

All these articles made me think that though we are rightly concentrating on the near 50 years of struggle to get back in the league, we have nothing to fear from a return as we have a rich history and tradition to draw upon.

We still have many fans who have watched since the fifties and sixties, including the great side of ‘67 who have real parallels with today’s team. These fans have never wavered through the long night of non-league. History matters but the future is in our hands.

I’m not sure if Mahatma Gandhi kept an eye on the Barrow side of 1948 but he said that ‘a small body of determined spirits fired by an unquenchable faith in their mission can alter the course of history.’

What better way to describe both those supporters who have kept the faith with our club for many years and the current Barrow side? On we go.

* Play may have stopped over the weekend, but the relentless fundraising drive certainly didn’t.

Marmalade and football cards continue to be sold at pace, and on behalf of both the Bluebirds Trust and Barrow AFC I’d like to thank all of those who continue to play their part in this historic season and in helping us to safeguard the future of our club.

Nearly £1,000 has been raised since my last update, which is once again a commendable effort, but the pace of ad hoc donations is slowing.

This is inevitable as more and more of us have now bought a share contribution, but it means that in the second half of our fundraising campaign we need to be more focused on events.

To that end, the Trust are pleased to announce our latest race night, to be held at the Ambrose Hotel on Saturday, March 28.

Please save the date, come along and support what is always an excellent evening’s entertainment in service of that most worthy cause – our football club. Further details will follow as we firm them up.

To be almost halfway to our target in a six-week period is a huge accomplishment, but nobody is under any illusions that the first half of any target is the easiest half to reach. We now all need to put shoulders to the wheel to see this through.

* Tonight sees a return to league action as we prepare for the visit of Dover Athletic.

At the time of writing, the pitch is in a playable condition with very little further rain planned. We can start to prepare, then, for the latest in what will be a long line of huge league games at Holker Street this season.

‘Win our home games and we’ll win the league’ is a maxim that many fans are falling back on as February continues apace. And it feels about right. We won’t lose every game away from home. We’re too good for that.

So turning our own stadium into a fortress while picking up what we can on the road would surely set an unassailable target for our pursuers.

Our fate is in our own hands, but the team relies on us – the fans – to create an atmosphere in which they can thrive.

Home games are famously difficult environments to generate that vocal support in, but it’s never bene more crucial that we give the players our backing and do everything we can to weaponise these long trips north for our opponents.

Nobody wants to travel here, nobody wants to play here. Let’s remind them why.