Quote
This is from Bill Shankly, Scottish football player and manager who managed Liverpool F.C. from 1959 to 1974, and was known for his wit. I could not resist a quote which combined life, death, and football for this chapter.

Mary as a Healer
The medicine bottle that Mary gives Julian has a stopper to squeeze the medicine under his tongue, as is often done with herbal and homeopathic mixtures.

The Flowers for Mary
Pink roses symbolise gratitude and admiration, while yellow lilies symbolise thankfulness, joy, and friendship. So the arrangement from Julian to Mary says: "I am so happy and grateful for everything you did for me, and I admire you as a friend." I think Colin picked well! This is the first of many references to roses in this story, although you can see some in the illustration for Chapter 3.

Monty Python Sketch
Colin's efforts to persuade Julian to go to the football field end up seeming an awful lot like the Monty Python sketch "Candid Photography", often known as "Nudge Nudge". I pictured Colin as looking rather like a young Eric Idle, who was pretty darn cute, in my opinion.

https://youtu.be/PWCUi4FngI4

The Wayfarer's Bus Station
Julian walks back past the bus station on his way to the football field, and naturally is curious, since this is where people leave from if they are sent Sideways – which is what Julian is supposed to be hoping for as his best possible option.

The bus station, pretty and neat, unlike ones on Earth, is painted white and green – both colours associated with renewal and new beginnings. Heading Sideways means a fresh start for these souls, and a chance to wipe clean old debts.

There are pots of red geraniums (actually pelargoniums) at the bus station. These humble, cheerful flowers will grow in even poor soil and need minimal care. This possibly suggests that those on the path Sideways should leave the Waystation with few expectations, and be prepared to face anything with a stout heart.

Red geraniums symbolise friends, positivity, and protection, meaning that there will be people available to offer support and comradeship, and nothing will be allowed to harm them there. Sideways is not a punishment, it is a place to learn and grow with the assistance of others.

Wayfarer's Road and Meadow Lane
With my uncanny ability to imagine things that already exist, I later discovered there is a Wayfarer's Walk that runs from Hampshire to Berkshire, and a Meadow Lane in Nottingham. To my disbelief, Meadow Lane actually leads directly to the football stadium!

Team Colours
I thought of several different monochromatic combinations for the football uniforms – black and white, grey and silver, silver and white. But then I had a look at William Blake's illustrations for Dante's Purgatorio, and noticed he used a lot of pink and blue. In particular, Canto V, showing the souls who only repented on their deathbeds [pictured], and Canto XXIX, showing the river in Purgatory.

Noel once had a dream he met God, and in the dream he was William Blake, so this was the tiniest nod to that. (William Blake saw angels in a park in South London, which might have inspired the dream). I thought the pale blue seemed like the colour of heaven (the sky), while pink could be love, or human emotion in general. I will let you decide why I placed Noel on the pink team.

Noel Reality Check
Noel really is good at football, and is quite sporty. As a teenager, he played a few games with the youth sides for Kingstonians Football Club and Sutton United Football Club (both in South London, close to Croydon, where Noel grew up). He also had trials with the youth sides of Tottenham Hotspurs and Crystal Palace – a trial is an academy for young players where their potential can be assessed.

As Noel explains to Julian here, he felt that he had to give up being a footballer when he became an art student - "you can't be a chav and an art student at the same time", he said in one of his stand up shows.

Noel's "total lad" outfit is taken from his costume for the 1998 Arctic Boosh stage show. The phrase "ragamuffin from the street" is something that Howard/Julian calls Vince/Noel in the "Killeroo" episode of The Mighty Boosh.

Julian Reality Check
Julian really isn't interested in football. I thought of a way he could enjoy a game for once.

Wildflowers
The pale blue bell-shaped wildflower that Noel gives Julian sounds like a variety of bellflower (Campanula), which grows wild in meadows. It symbolises eternal love.

The Kiss
Julian and Noel are very affectionate, and have kissed each other many times in real life. I wanted to give them a really lovely first kiss.

Characters
Stella
The referee is an original character, her name simply meaning "star" - stars are important in Dante's Paradiso, and being written in Italian, the word stella gets used a lot. They are quite important in this story too. After writing the chapter, I wondered if Stella felt like a reference to Black Star, David Bowie's final and posthumous album. But then I decided maybe I was overthinking things. In a story with many attractive characters, in my imagination Stella is easily the prettiest of all.

Graham
The security guard at the Assessment Centre. More of him later. Based on the security guard at the zoo from The Mighty Boosh radio series, voiced by comedian Lee Mack (who Noel once shared a flat with). In 2008, Noel and Lee were on the same football team in a celebrity match at Reading, so it made sense for them to be team mates here.

Bobby and Ronald
More of these two later.

Zoe, Lou, Frank, Pat, and Mel
Random extras with popular names of recent-ish eras. I imagined Lou and Mel were short for Louise and Melanie, and Pat was short for Patrick, but they could just as easily be Louis, Melvin, and Patricia.

Write What You Don't Know
Sorry, but I know very little about football/soccer, and I didn't do any research either! I'm just waiting for a fan to come and blast me for my mistakes.