Sometimes it's the simple things you appreciate. For me, living away from Derby, visiting and being able to order a "pea mix" without blank stares scores highly especially when they're as good as they were at the Cardale in Crich.
Similarly at Burton, four faggots for under a fiver with mushy peas and gravy thrown in works too. At least it goes someway to offsetting the £15 per head charged to temporarily borrow a bit of plastic in perfect line with goal line technology should it ever happen.
Derby resplendent in a new all white kit (which looks better from afar than close up) line up with a mixture of new and old faces, you can just about tell the difference.
For the record Bywater starts in goal, a back four of Brayford, O'Brien, Leacock and Connolly, with Savage, Bailey, Mills, Martin and Commons in a loose midfield which leaves Hulse alone up front.
Burton includes Paul Boertein and Darren Moore who gets a warm welcome from the travelling fans.
And like us all on the first day back at work after a long holiday, Derby and Burton go through the motions. Commons falls heavily on the quarter hour mark yet continues after treatment, Hulse labours, Martin meanders and the sun shines. But not on us in the stands.
At the back O'Brien is cool, unflustered, unobtrusively winning tackles and doing the simple things without fuss. Beside him young Ryan Connolly has a lot of adapting to do, beaten for speed, the flank is regularly exposed, the start of a learning curve one hopes. Brayford though looks the part both defensively and on the attack.
Leacock pops up unmarked in the box. A looping header leaves keeper Legzdins stranded on 26 minutes and the Rams take the lead with their first shot on target.
Bobby Zamora's song about row Z and the ball on your head is adapted to Robbie Savage; who smiles.
In a slow half we almost double the lead as, just before the interval, Mills misses.
Second half and a new eleven.
This one lines up as Deeney, Varney, Anderson, Moxey, Roberts, Green, Abalimba, Cywka, Doyle, Pringle, Morgan-Smith.
Yes that's not a typo, Luke Varney is playing as a right full back.
It's a different Derby. The pace is upped, balls ping, zing and ding between the White Shirts. Cywka is the star as is Doyle, Morgan-Smith, Pringle and the rest. This is football worth paying to see as pass and move become the norm. Varney out of position as good as anyone.
Only Legzdins, in a man of the match performance, keeps the score to one nil. Him and the officials. A linesman flags for a penalty. Hand ball. A flag raised in regret once the referee waves play on.
It matters not. For the Rams, a good workout not spoiled. We will take that opening day of the season I'm sure against those "Dirty Dirty Leeds"