England – Page 29 – Don't Stop Living

Mainland NISC 5 a sides, Manchester, England (July 2006)

Posted on June 15, 2008January 20, 2018 by Jonny Blair

I will mention Manchester in other posts, notably the England v. Northern Ireland match of 2005, but in 2006 I travelled up to Manchester to represent the South of England Northern Ireland Supporters Club in the annual five a sides tournament for mainland NISCs. This was the first one, and was organised by the North of England NISC, who I was familiar with from Northern Ireland home and away matches. I knew Nial Coulter (Nolers) and Garreth Todd (Toddy) and was quite familiar with most of the other members of their supporters club. It was to be held the last Saturday in July at The JJB Soccerdrome on the edge of Manchester. I booked a megabus up for it and took my mate John Johnson. At the previous SoE NISC meeting it had become obvious that there weren’t many of us keen to play for some reason. Tim, Scott, Sammy G, Richboy and Graham had all declined the chance and that left myself, Owen Millar, Squid Armstrong (who knew my uncle, BUT I hadn’t yet met), Alex IOW Army and one other (who would end up being Fraser (Owen’s mate). That made our team of 5. I was working in London at the time and John stayed at my place in Shepherd’s Bush on the Friday night where we chilled out with a few beers. The megabus was due to leave at something like 8 am, with the five a sides due to kick off at 12 noon and last for two hours. It would be in group format with the following teams:
– North of England NISC
– Scottish NISC
– London NISC
– South of England NISC
– North of England NISC Team 2
– Continuity North of England NISC

John and I made it to Victoria Coach station easily on time, but the megabus was delayed, and left an hour or so late. The traffic to Manchester was also very heavy, and it became obvious that we wouldn’t make Manchester by 12 noon, never mind the actual tournament. I was already dressed in football gear, although with a green wig. John and I had a few beers and tried to liven up boring passengers on the megabus. They weren’t amused and continued to be boring. Once out at Manchester (having left voicemails and apologies to all those who expected us to be there at 12 noon), it became obvious that we wouldn’t get to the Soccerdrome by 2pm!!! Thus missing the entire tournament and the reason for the trip. However rather than wait for a bus, John and I decided just to share a taxi and not worry about the cost. I made it for 1.30 pm, where most of the South of England NISC matches had already been played!!! On talking to Owen Millar, we had done alright and they looked a bit tired so I agreed to stay outfield for the entire last match as I had fresh legs and should play better in theory. This despite not playing a football match for about a year, and not playing a refereed match for about 7 years. I came on wearing my AFC Bournemouth shirt (our team were in red), where I first met Squid, a hard nut in the centre of midfield/defence (as five a side makes you play). I still can’t remember if I played in two matches or one, it all went so fast and we’d had a long bus journey, a few beers and not much sleep. What I do remember is scoring two goals in our 5-0 win over the Continuity NoE NISC. I also hit the post and was denied a hat-trick. Owen had filled me in on all the scores, and we had done really well since none of the team had played together so far. In the end we were leading 2-0 against both the North of England and Scottish NISCs, but ended up losing 3-2 and drawing 2-2. Still it was great craic. I’m just gutted that the megabus was late and I missed the first 3 matches, the chance to put our club fleg up with the others and a team SoE NISC photo (which we never did). I headed straight to the bar in the JJB Soccerdrome for my post match pint!

Squid then revealed he had booked a hostel for the night, so me and John went in and booked it as well. Squid was driving so gave us a lift. This meeting was also the first South of England NISC meeting outside the South of England! So it was pleasing to get a turnout of six (including Beverley in that and excluding Fraser, who wasn’t a member, but kindly played for us) Once in town it was on the street that I bumped into the green shoe-d Shaun Schofield. Shaun is mentioned an many and various threads on this blog, and is a bit of a genius. Shaun’s desire and passion for supporting Northern Ireland is evident by the fact he has travelled all over the world watching us, written a book about it, received awards for it, and he isn’t even English! In all my years of following Northern Ireland, I had somehow not met Shaun AT ALL until this day at the end of July 2006. And Shaun at the time had just released his amazing book on 10 years of following Northern Ireland. The book, There’s Always One, is mentioned in its own merit on another blog post, but it was a pleasure to meet Shaun and buy his book. We then enjoyed some pints in the Mulligans Irish Pub round the corner which was owned by a guy from Omagh. In there I met a few other boys from the Scottish NISC as well as some more NoE NISC. It was great craic and we stayed there for a few hours. As it was pre-season there was no football to watch so we just drank and chatted and I put up the ULSTER FRY GAWA fleg from the SoE NISC. Actually I think John has some photos of the weekend somewhere I’ll have to get them off him!

Soon we were heading in taxis to our “Night at the dogs” which Toddy had kindly organised. This was held at Picadilly Dogs Track on the edge of town. With the entry fee I got a free pint and a bet. Me and John then grabbed some greasy burgers/hot dogs before placing our bets. I only won one bet the whole night, but as I’m not a big gambler didn’t really lose much. It was great craic in there and funny that I was the only eejit wearing a Norn Iron tap and a silly green wig, the others were more sensible, though Squid in our club gladly wore his NI tap as did a few others. I watched a few of the races live from the outside but it was raining and pouring so thought the bar and the TV was a good option. I think I’ve only been to the dogs twice, the other time also in 2006 and at Poole Greyhounds. Its a great night out. After a while me and the Scottish boys (Moby and “Jug”) started singing some Norn Iron songs and it was a case of either those dressed up go out on the town and those who weren’t (like myself) head back to Mulligans where we were guaranteed a lock in as we knew the landlord. It was at the Greyhounds where I first enjoyed a conversation with “the hawk” (Davey) another crackin lad, from the NOE NISC. It was more beer and singing in Mulligans before John, Squid and I dandered back round the corner to our hostel. Up early I grabbed a full breakfast in the Wetherspoons and me and John met up with Toddy, Moby, Tom and a few others, none of who seemed particularly hungover. Owen Millar was booked on our megabus that night and we had to travel over to Deansgate to meet him. On the way I bought the new James Dean Bradfield (of Manic Street Preachers) single and a random green recorder, which I would play later that year in Copenhagen! The trip was not quite over. John and I pub – crawled into The Picadilly, Edwards and Wave before meeting Logie (I think) from the Scottish NISC at the Megabus Stop. Me, Owen and John headed south to London. Logie and co were heading north to Scotland. I was due in work at 8 am the next day and in the end made it in fine, though a bit knackered, however not before the bus broke down twice meaning Owen had to blag through the underground and buses without a ticket. It was a great trip, and money was raised for NI fan Scott Wasson, who had recently passed away. Here’s the details:

The inagural SCOTT WASSON TROPHY was competed amongst 6 teams in the end (3 of which came from the NoE) and here’s how the results unfolded…

Scotland 3-0 London
NoE1 4-1 NoE3
NoE2 0-2 Scotland
London 1-4 NoE1
NoE2 0-0 NoE3
NoE1 0-2 Scotland
NoE3 0-1 London
NoE2 1-5 NoE1
SoE 2-2 Scotland
NoE2 0-0 London
NoE1 3-2 SoE
NoE3 0-3 SoE
NoE3 0-3 Scotland
NoE2 0-5 SoE
SoE 3-2 London

GROUP TABLE (played / won / drew / lost / f / a / gd / points)
Scottish NISC………………5…4…1…0…12…2…13
North of England NISC 1…5…4…0…1…16…7…12
South of England NISC…..5…3…1…1…15…7…10
London NISC……………….5…1…1…3…4…10…4
North of England NISC 2…5…0…2…3…1…12…2
North of England NISC 3…5…0…1…4…1…11…1

FINAL

North of England NISC 1… 3-2 Scottish NISC

WINNERS: North of England NISC 1

“It feels just like we just got started” – Sleeper and Louise Wener

Posted on June 12, 2008March 4, 2023 by Jonny Blair

“It feels just like we just got started” – Sleeper and Louise Wener.

I love delving back into my mid 1990s record collection and did so recently with my Sleeper albums. Sleeper were a girl fronted rock/Britpop band who had three albums between 1994 and 1997. I got into them in early 1996, mainly due to my admiration and infatuation for lead singer Louise Wener. A gorgeous girl who has that certain vibe, beauty, intelligence and cheekiness all in one. I used to watch them on Top of The Pops (RIP) and Louise Wener was also interviewed regularly on TFI Friday (one of those must watch shows on a Friday evening on Channel 4 in 1995 – 1998 I think). Louise had a clear writing talent and I’d write her lyrics on my my school books, catchy songs with some sensual sexual merit. Sleeper are probably my favourite female fronted band of all time. The first song I heard was “What do I do now?”, the first single from the “The It Girl” album. It was an album consisting of teenage lust, shagging on sofas, driving through London, taking the piss out of politicians and freedom. At least as I saw it. It was the next single from Sleeper that got me hooked, the melodic “Sale of The Century”, where Louise feels “just like she just got started”, she then pretends to be scared before deciding that “we don’t care.” It could be a song about a night on the tiles (kitchen or nightclub) as the subject of the song becomes the “Sale of the century.” A friendly guitar hook allows a sexy Wener voice to ease through the lyrics, easily making 16 year olds (at the time) lust over her obvious sex appeal and willingness to make a name for herself in the British music industry.

“We need high heels just to stand up” – Louise Wener.

Sale of the Century (Live on Thank Fuck It’s Friday, 1996):

“I wanted to meet George Best, the fifth Beatle and the only one that’s any good” – Louise Wener.

Louise Wener and George Best. Dream Team Loyal.

For the rest of 1996, I picked up the odd single and album and videod some of the Top of The Pops and TV appearances, as well as banging up my radio when she came on. If you listen to the songs now, they still sound great. It is mainly the singles that are good, and there cannot be more than 70 Sleeper tracks in their entire archive (B-sides accounted for). Prove me wrong Louise and co. 1996’s final two singles were “Nice Guy Eddie” (about a night on the settee having sex, it would appear) and “Statuesque” (elegant ballad delving into champagne orgies and a trip behind someone’s steering wheel). The lyrics are all intelligent, it was Louise that wrote them. A year passed by from “The It Girl” album and I was tuned into Steve Lamacq’s Radio One Monday show where special guest Louise Wener gave a one hour interview and talked us through the third (and what would prove to be the final) Sleeper album.

“You’ve got to find a place of your own
Before they carve your name on a stone
You’ve got to lift yourself up from the ground
And it’s a strage world dragging you down” – Louise Wener.

Through her lustful voice, Louise talked about songs such as “Nothing Is Changing” (I’m not sure what to do; everything stays the same), “Traffic Accident” (Don;t fucking call me unless you’re in one, OK?) and Please Please Please (you know you want to). It was this album for me, the oddly titled “Pleased To Meet You” that encapsulates what Sleeper were about. Angry ballads, peaceful love songs, deliberately stupid catchy choruses (check Romeo Me out), inspired lyrics and high emotion all come together in Louise Wener’s finest hour. I only have a copy of this album on cassette tape, which I play regularly in my car. All the songs on it are great. I particularly like the song “Nothing is changing.” Louise also hates journalists and media in equal moderation and hints at this throughout the album in her own cynical-ness. With the era of Britpop ending forever on 21st August 1997 when Oasis unleashed ‘Be Here Now’, this final Sleeper gem is condemned to the history books. One that didn’t really sell, one which wasn’t really appreciated and “just another fucking Britpop band.” Not true. Sleeper were special. Thanks, Louise and co…

“It’s never gonna be this good so just climb inHow long till reason makes us small again?” – Louise Wener.

Nice Guy Eddie (Live on Saturday Live, June 1996):

Louise Wener was arguably, along with Elastica’s Justine Frischmann, Britpop’s biggest female star. She was even something of a sex symbol, placing highly in Melody Maker’s and NME’s “Sexiest Woman” polls several years running.
Wener enjoyed significant media coverage, including an NME front cover and a slot as guest presenter of Top Of The Pops. Arguably one of Britpop’s stronger lyricists and melody writers, her song “What Do I Do Now?” was covered in a low key version by Elvis Costello in 1997.
After the band split in 1998 following the demise of Britpop, Wener went on to have a career as a novelist. She will release her fourth book for Hodder & Stoughton in 2008. Wener also features prominently as an interviewee in John Dower’s definitive feature film documentary on Britpop, Live Forever (2003).
A Greatest Hits compilation, with tracklisting and artwork by the band themselves, was released on Sony/BMG in 2007.

Sleeper were in operation from 1993 – 1998 and had eight top 40 singles and 3 top 10 albums (in the UK). The band were named after Woody Allen’s filim called Sleeper.

The albums:

Smart Feb 1995 5
The It Girl May 1996 5
Pleased to Meet You Oct 1997 7
Greatest Hits Oct 2007 –

The singles:

Alice EP 1993 – Smart
“Swallow” Jan 1994 76
“Delicious” May 1994 75
“Inbetweener” Jan 1995 16
“Vegas” Apr 1995 33
“What Do I Do Now?” Oct 1995 14 The It Girl
“Sale of the Century” May 1996 10
“Nice Guy Eddie” Jul 1996 10
“Atomic” (DJ promo) 1996 – Trainspotting Soundtrack
“Statuesque” Oct 1996 17 The It Girl
“She’s A Good Girl” Oct 1997 28 Pleased to Meet You
“Romeo Me” Dec 1997 39

My favourite Sleeper songs: Statuesque, Sale of the Century, Traffic Accident, Nothing Is Changing.

Statuesque (Live on TOTP, September 1996):

Working Wednesdays: PR for Sonos Digital Music Systems in London, England

Posted on June 4, 2008July 19, 2015 by Jonny Blair

While working in Bite Communications from 2006 – 2007 I had the pleasure of doing the UK PR outreach for Sonos Inc. What exactly is Sonos then? Well it’s basically what your house needs in terms of a music system! It is digital wireless multi room music! Basically from one awesome nifty wee controller you can have instant access to ALL your music in ANY room at ANY time, with different music being streamed in different rooms. I was intrigued straight away when my former work colleague Jonny Rosemont asked me to help him on the Sonos brand. Over the period of 12 months in Bite I got to know the ins and outs of the product, as well as many technology and internet journalists who were also keen on the latest gadgets.

Hailing from the USA, Sonos is a grey music system which you can connect wirelessly throughout your house. If indeed you own a mansion, up to 32 rooms can be connected. All you’ll need is the internet streaming and the speakers to go in each room. I thought of the possibilities of this unique (well at the time of its release) product and the ways in which it could be promoted to the UK public. Think of a house party with loads of mates and loads of guests. There is no need to argue over music any more, just set up rooms with certain styles of music! In the kitchen the mellow chill out stuff, hot n horny in the bedroom, relaxing ballads in the bath room, a full on rave in the garage, rock n roll on the patio, pop in the lounge and welcoming “everybody loves it” music in the hall/atrium/porch/lobby (depending on the poshness or size of your abode). I couldn’t afford Sonos myself, so was happy that in the office I could play with the controller and work out how to use it before phoning and pitching the idea into countless journalists who would have loads of technology PR agents on the phone every day!

WE came up with some excellent ways to promote Sonos to the UK public. There was targetting reviewers for general reviews, there were Christmas gift guides, there were Winter parties, Student houses, the rich city boys in Canary Wharf, bloggers, celebrities, general random newspaper snippets such as “product of the day” or “must have gadgets”. We used many and various methods to promote Sonos. It gave me a real grasp of PR for a start, but also the incredible companies out there that are producing these awesome sound systems! I started gaining quite a lot of media coverage for Sonos, looking back I must have amassed over 30 pieces of coverage and sent out about 20 pieces of kit to journalists. The sending out of kit was the tedious part. The selling in and everything was the more fun and creative part. The chasing the journalists for coverage bit was either “YES they printed it” or “No coverage damn!” It was certainly a very fun brand to work on, made clear by my workmates fellow enjoyment on it, particularly Katy Cook who got me into the brand a lot more after Jonny Rosemont had left.

The one thing that stand out from my time working on Sonos is the ‘Sonosbury’ Festival idea we came up with in a creative brainstorm. Basically Glastonbury and Reading always sell out, so we thought we could create our own festival kit and send to journalists. Sadly I left the job before we could see the results of the campaign, but I remember seeing the One Week To Live article which my colleague Graham placed. We sent journalists the whole kit for their own DIY Festival!! THis includes the likes of tomato ketchup, burgers, Napster download credit, the Sonos kit, crisps, paracetamol, loo rolls and our own self made guide and plan! Here was just a snippet:

Sonosbury. The Festival.

Big Brother hosts a summer music party!

Sit up, crack open your complete guide to Sonosbury, get your whistles, white gloves, spare toilet roll and can of beer at the ready for experience of your life!

We’ve got everything you need to get your teeth into a rowdy summer weekend in your own backyard : an exclusive e-ticket to send to your mates; reems of the softest toilet roll your bottom will ever feel; VIP wristbands and of course the slickest sound system to hit these shores in a long time, the Sonos multi-room wireless music system. Not only does it give you the chance to release your digital music around the house and even outside, it also looks kinda slick!

To help you make use of this slick-kit and get you in the real festival spirit all the best bands from this years events including The Horrors, Klaxons, The Rakes, Hot Chip, Bloc Party and much, much more can be wirelessly streamed through. All you have to do is plug this in to your Sonos system and stream tracks round your whole house.

Picture this, you’ve got your ZP80 hooked up to your computer inside, speakers in the garden, a different ‘tent’ in every room, playing the best tracks of your life – mud pit, blocked toilet and wiping your bum on yesterday’s burger wrapper optional…..

Wellies – mud pit optional

Paracetamol – essential

Beer – needed more than life itself

Food and barbeque – for that authentic festival belly

Toilet roll – in case the chef isnt up to scratch

Sleeping bag – only 1, as the other 3 and your tent got nicked last night

Water – when everything else has gone

VIP wristband – to add to the 17 others on your arm

Directions to your own Sonosbury

Tickets for your mates – if their names not down they aint coming in!

Before I left Bite I was glad to meet the Sonos client, who had flown all the way from the USA (Santa Barbara) to meet us and attend an event in London. We spent a day in the office at Bite (it must be about a year ago exactly) looking at the plans for coverage and then we went out for dinner and drinks, where I met Thomas Meyer and Rachel Stagnaro. It was great fun and happy times for me. The odd thing is, you move on and people move on and life will never be the same again (as I often always constantly find!). I left Bite to go travelling and have thought about Sonos a few times since, however as I’m not working on the brand, you lose track of releases and product updates etc. But I will always remember working on Sonos with pride and happiness, and maybe someday I’ll own a Sonos system in my house.

Check out the website!! http://www.sonos.com

Some of the places I got or helped get Sonos coverage in – Financial Times, The London Lite, Daily Express, The Sunday Times, Gadget Detective, BBC News, BBC Online, FHM, AXM, Nerve Radio, Daily Mail, Diary Directory.

People at Sonos I worked with – Thomas Meyer, Rachel Stagnaro, Mike Edwards.

People I worked with in Bite on the Sonos Account – Katy Cook, Susannah Hardy, Jonny Rosemont, Graham Day.

What it does:

“6-0 up and we’re having a laugh” – Hayter makes history on Pancake Day!! (24th February 2004)

Posted on June 3, 2008March 10, 2013 by Jonny Blair

This night will always be one I remember from Dean Court. So many things happenned and suddenly everything in the cherry garden was rosy and we were heading for Division Two (or whatever stupid name the English FA have decided to call the second tier of their national football league). The day started very ordinarily. I was studying hard at the time and had been at Bournemouth University working on presentations and assignments. I came home late afternoon and two of my housemates at the time, Steve Compton and Claire Curtis had bought all the stuff for making pancakes. It was Shrove Tuesday, Pancake Day and that was our dinner. I remember having Cherry and chocolate pancakes in the front room and we had some squirty cream. Me and Austin started tossing the pancakes up in the air in the front room. One hit the ceiling, most of the others were saved and we all enjoyed eating them. I remember there was me, Steve, Claire, Hannah, Austin, Dan and Dancing Andy all in my house that night for the pancake fest. Then I put my dressing gown on and Austin squirted the cream all over it! It was pretty funny, even looking back. We had re-scheduled tickets for the AFC Bournemouth v. Wrexham match that night. The match was meant to take place in January, but was rained off and this was the date of the re-scheduled match. Nothing seemed remotely out of the ordinary. One thing I remember although was that Austin and Steve hadn’t planned to attend the first match, but the postponement meant that they would make it. And boy was it worth it…

We left my house and typically enjoyed a pint in the Dolphin pub in Springbourne a few doors down from my house. Then all ready for a ball freezing Tuesday night England v. Wales match we headed to Dean Court. We were big favourites in our first season back in the Third Division. We had beaten Wrexham 2-1 away earlier in the season and had also won 3 or 4 on the trot at home, including an impressive 1-0 win over promotion certainties QPR. Warren Feeney scored the winner that day. This match started and by half-time both AFC Bournemouth full backs had got on the scoresheet, with Stephen Purches firing a right foot shot home, and Warren Cummings helping himself to a left foot volley. We were 2-0 up and cruising, but football is a funny old game and at half-time the points weren’t safe. However Wrexham went down to 10 men, and then Ulsterman and personal Cherry favourite at the time Warren Feeney created a chance down the left side, before he cut back inside himself to finish the move and we were 3-0 up! The points were safe and we were playing some great football. Steve Fletcher did a Matt Le Tissier style take down and 20 yard shot which banged the crossbar and went out to safety. That would have been an awesome goal! 3-0 and our night was made. Nothing as an AFC Bournemouth fan could have got any better could it?

Then Wrexham went down to 9 men leaving themselves looking woefully out of their depth at the back and to help take advantage, star substitute from the Isle of Wight James Hayter came on as sub. This was when I witnessed football history being made! Hayter headed in the fourth goal with his first touch – a header in front of the North Stand. Then in the next 2 minutes and 20 second he scored another two goals!!! He had scored the fastest EVER hat-trick in football league history in front of our very eyes. The time just went by so quick. After the third goal went in my mate Dancing Andy (Andrew Stokes) lifted me up into the Boscombe sky. We were singing 6-0 up and we’re having a laugh. Hayter made all three goals look so easy. The first, an unmarked header, the second running through a non existence defence to slot the ball under the keeper, the third goal in almost identical situation this time Hayter banged it in off the post. At the time we were playing some amazing football (and indeed James Hayter would later score two more 1-0 winners in the upcoming weeks v. Notts County and Oldham Athletic as the chants became “Jamie Hayter is having a laugh”). Life as a football fan didn’t get any better. Six nil up breaking records, on the up and in the process helping the demise of Wrexham, who are now not even a league club sadly. Straight after the match we went back to The Dolphin where we all drank the £1 cherry shots that night to celebrate. A later trip to The Villa Nightclub ensued and suddenly a great night of pancakes and football was capped off brilliantly. Here’s to James Hayter and football’s fastest ever hat-trick. I’m pleased to say I was there that night to witness the football history.

Actually looking back it is still my favourite match at Dean Court…I can’t find the clips on the internet, but I do have the specially produced King James III video of the goals in my collection somewhere to reminisce any time I see fit…

Working Wednesdays: Attending the CNET Awards in London, England (November 2006)

Posted on May 29, 2008June 22, 2015 by Jonny Blair

While working in Public relations for Bite Communications, I often got invites to events, awards do-s etc., and as busy as life is, I didn’t attend all the ones I had offers from! However in December 2006, I did go along to the CNET Awards in Soho. CNET is a technology website, which does all the latest gadgets etc. At the time I was doing PR for three technology brands – Apple, Sonos and Iomega and it was nice to attend, given that Apple were nominated in at least three awards. I ‘represented’ Apple, while Heidi and Jon (also from Bite Communications) ‘represented’ Samsung. I say ‘represented’ as since we are the ones that do all the media outreach and know the journalists, it is us who get the invites. This was basically a pre-Christmas awards do, with free booze and buffet. Anyone turning this sort of thing down is stupid. Plus I get to meet all the CNET people and extend my network, or at least put a face and a personality to a voice on the phone or the tone in an e-mail.

We finished work at Bite at 6 pm ish (for once on time!) and got the District Line, then Picadilly Line tube to Picadilly, where the event was to be hosted. I dressed in a shirt and jacket, smart casual if you like and inside we were greeted by Michael Parsons and Mary Lojkine of CNET.co.uk. We got beer and buffet on arrival. I took full advantage, necking a few bottled beers before the awards began, where I knew Apple would win in at least one category. I got to shake Mary’s hand whilst receiving an award for the best MP3 player (the iPod) by Apple which was great! Heidi and Jon also picked up awards. Then we mingled with all the others. I met Chris Stevens, Andrew Lim, Guy Cocker and Rory Reid. All were great craic. It was also the FIRST ever CNET Editors Choice awards to be held and I was proudly there in Picadilly. It was held downstairs in the quite posh Astor Bar and Grill. The Awards were in the room on the right and afterwards we went into the nightclub next door to party. I thank everyone at CNET for such a great night, and one I will remember. You don’t think much of these things at the time, but cherish them – they’re great memories to have! My friend Heidi even made it onto the photos on the CNET website, I kept mine to myself, as I was advised to by my superiors, Jonathan Hopkins and Andrea Christopherson at Bite, due to the protective nature of the Apple brand! So there’s the photo for you now…two years on!

There’s some more information on the awards here:
http://crave.cnet.co.uk/0,39029477,49285542,00.htm

And a nice typical CNET Review Video here:

Bournemouth does Burnley…FA Cup Fourth Round – January 2005

Posted on May 22, 2008February 21, 2013 by Jonny Blair

When AFC Bournemouth beat Carlisle United 2-1 in early January 2005, me and three mates decided we would go to the fourth round match no matter where it was. The day after when the draw was made, The Cherries were drawn away to the winners of the Burnley v. Liverpool replay. Naturally this was fantastic news, as both are big northern clubs and we were guaranteed an away trip up north. We all hoped and assumed we would play Liverpool, as that would be a real money earner for my beloved AFC Bournemouth, who were and have always been in massive debt. The FA Cup is a great way for wee teams to get money in, especially when they are drawn away to a big club, as the clubs share the gate receipts. WE GOT READY FOR A BIG TRIP TO ANFIELD, LIVERPOOL!! But just in case Burnley won, we didn’t book the bus/train tickets!

Then against all the odds a below strength Liverpool side scored the winner for Burnley via Jimmy Tryoary and our trip to Anfield, Liverpool turned into a trip to Turf Moor, Burnley. In line with what me and my mates love doing (random ideas) we decided to make 3 days of it, a long weekend. This meant getting up early on the Friday morning to get a cheap megabus to London, spend a day in the capital and then get another cheap megabus to Leeds, where we decided to stay for a night, before getting a train to Burnley the Saturday morning of the match. We were all set, we bought our tickets, booked a hotel in Leeds and one in Burnley and decided to throw in some wacky ideas, hair dye, visits to random football stadiums and alcohol. Those on the trip would be my housemate Austin, my ex-housemate Neil and James. It was bound to be a classic weekend!

It started at 6 am on the Friday with me slicing limes in the kitchen ready for my stock of Corona over the weekend which was in my bag. Me and Austin met Neil at the megabus bus stop outside Bournemouth University in Wallisdown and we were off. It all started with a bang, beer for breakfast with Austin using Cider as Milk for Cornflakes. Before we knew it we were in London and I set a challenge to do some football grounds. We were at Victoria on the District Line, so I suggested we could to Fulham and Chelsea’s football stadiums since they were both close by. Off we headed on a Westbound District Line. As fate would have it, we needed to change at Earl’s Court. This meant getting onto the Wimbledon service to make it to Putney Bridge, which is 10 minute walk from Craven Cottage, Fulham FC! However when we alighted the tube, it was a speedy run required to get the next one. With me and Austin already on the train, Neil rammed an inflatable AFC Bournemouth football shirt into the tube just as the doors were shutting. If memory serves, the shirt was on the train but Neil wasn’t! This was soon put right and the train couldn’t leave the station, as the doors had jammed. An underground worker came over and sorted the doors out, by which time Neil and the inflatable AFC Bournemouth shirt were both on the train, as we pissed ourselves laughing at 10 am in front of unimpressed Londoners. Trust me, it was fucking funny!!!!!!!

We got off at Putney Bridge and set about walking firstly to Fulham FC and then to the nearest pub for 11 am first orders. Down long posh roads, we found Craven Cottage which did actually look like a house. We weren’t too impressed by the stadium. Neil and I gave it a 2/10. The shop was closed, no sign of life and it was a mission to find. There wasn’t even a Fulham FC Bar for us to enjoy our first beer. Never mind, we left soon after past unset tarmac, where builders were digging and we found a pub called The Firken with giraffes on the wall. It was classic. In there we drank Cobra beer for first orders, before deciding to do Stamford Bridge of Chelsea next, which was bound to be more impressive, and maybe even have a bar! We enjoyed some photos of the stadium and the hotel, and popped into The Shed Bar for a pint. By this stage we had also got in touch with James who was finished work and going to meet us in the next pub. The next pub turned out to be the Urban Bar at Whitechapel. Not before Neil somehow managed to lose his bag on the way. We never got the bag back. I think he had food and toiletries in it. We had a relaxed few pints and dukebox session in the Urban Bar. We contemplated taking the central line out to Leyton Orient to throw in an extra football stadium pint for the day, but ended up heading back towards Victoria, where our Megabus to Leeds would leave from.

We had a pint in Molly O’Gradys bar at Victoria and then headed onto the Megabus with a carryout, including Austin’s 3leet of cider. Once on the Megabus it was rammed and it got hot in there. We were a cert to run out of alcohol on the long journey to Leeds (where we would stay in a hotel and hopefully still have time to go clubbing). After about an hour we started doing stupid bets. One of these was hilarious, whereby James said he would give Neil £30 if he downed the rest of Austin’s 3 leet of Cider in one gulp. Neil was up for it and he did it. In front of a crowded bus, Neil drank about 2 litres of Cider in the space of less than a minute and in one sip. He was hammered straight away. It was great craic. I spoke to a few people on the bus and they couldn’t believe Neil had downed it. The rest of us were actually fairly sober although we’d been drinking all day. The bus finally arrived in Leeds and we found our Hotel within 5 minutes, got quickly changed and headed out on the town. The four of us. It must have been gone midnight, so a nightclub was our best bet. In Leeds Majestyk and Jumpin Jaks nightclub are as one, and entry was £3 with a free drink so we were sorted! Neil was gone, but the rest of us continued to drink heavily and get pissed. There’s a photo taken by the resident photographer of the four of us in there and Neil is gone to the world. Absolute carnage. We then ended up staying in the Hotel Bar till about 3 or 4 am after that, I drank Becks in bottles and Neil had cider pints! Austin and James went to bed.

Neil and I were up early rise and shine on the big day of the match and we went for a cheap and easy £3 fry up in the Debenhams in Leeds City Centre while Austin and James refused to get up. Neil and I also sussed out how to get to Elland Road, as we had plenty of time and it would be nice to visit the stadium, even though WE ALL HATE LEEDS (and especially AFC Bournemouth fans following bank holiday in May 1990, when Leeds won 1-0 at Dean Court to get into Division One, and they sent the Cherries down to Division Three that day amidst rioting from the Leeds scum). Back at the hotel, Austin still refused to get up, but we had dragged James out of bed using the remainder of Neil’s sausage sandwich to lure him up for food and beer via Elland Road. We got the bus out to Elland Road, which appeared from nowhere in some kind of barren Northern council estate, or at least thats what it looked like. Leeds had just signed Northern Ireland’s David Healy that week and had also reduced ALL their shirts to £10. For a laugh all three of us bought a Leeds shirt. Against our principle really, but two and a half years later I’d set fire to mine ahead of the Bournemouth v. Leeds match. We walked round the stadium and the club shop, with photo opportunities by the ground and the Billy Bremner statue. I got my Northern Ireland fleg out. This was the third stadium I visited in the two days.

We then got back to the hotel about 3 hours from kick off and in the wrong city (Leeds, not Burnley) and told Austin the match was postponed due to rain so we were all going to watch Leeds v. Brighton instead. We didn’t and we wouldn’t have, though he did believe us strangely, before finally rolling out of bed and walking slowly but surely to Leeds central train station where we quickly bought tickets, I grabbed some Corona and lime (plus cheese strings) and we boarded a train direct for Burnley! It was now about two hours to kick off and we were all dressed in red and black AFC Bournemouth stuff ready for the 4th round match. I dyed my hair black, Neil’s was red, the other two didn’t bother. We enjoyed chatting up some Blackpool girls on the train who were heading to a hen night. They were all pretty. Then some Colchester United fans started singing, they were in our division at the time and drawn away to Premiership Blackburn Rovers (who we had already beaten earlier in the season at Ewood Park). We enjoyed a bit of craic with them and soon our train had stopped in Burnley and we got off. With time ticking towards kick off, and a nice cheap wee hotel already booked, we went for a taxi from the train station to The Sparrow Hawk Hotel. The hotel was pretty close to Turf Moor and had a good selection of ales.

WE got quick showers but Neil was streets ahead, already waiting with the beers in the hotel bar, where we quickly drank them and then headed to a bar where we heard on the internet that pints were £1!! The bar was the Miner’s Club in Burnley, which was round the corner and also on the way to the stadium, about 1 hour before kick off we were enjoying it! On the way there I noticed a shap called UDA Discount Stores!! Unbelieveable I thought, since in Northern Ireland the UDA is the Ulster Defence Association, a loyalist terrorist movement. I had to get my Northern Ireland fleg out for the photo opportunity even if this comedy was lost to the English public…Once inside the Miner’s Club did indeed have cheap beer, £1.20 for a gorgeoud pint of Claret and Blue bitter and they even let away fans in, though we think they burst Neil’s inflatable AFC Bournemouth shirt, which to be fair had already survived being crushed by tube doors in London, flung down the stair case in a Leeds hotel and travelled all this way just to watch the Cherries! The beer was good and we had a few before walking to Turf Moor. Once inside the stadium, we made our way to the back few rows just before kick off. We started brightly on the pitch, with Wade Elliott and Brian Stock running rings round the Burnley defenders and giving them a real early fright. The possession continued in our favour and we were the better team for most of the first half, as we attacked the other end. The Burnley stadium was massive, with four decent stands. We stood behind the nets. As good as we were, both on the pitch and singing wise in the stands, Burnley finally broke and got a goal, on the stroke of half time and that was 1-0. The Championship (Division 2) team were winning against my League One (Division 3) team. I posed next to a boring peeler for a half time photo with my Northern Ireland fleg, which is a great photo taken by Neil. After this we got some food and beer (a Burnley FC Lager!!) before having to finish quickly and get back in time for the second half, which we were confident of scoring once, or even twice.

Time and time again Wade Elliott gave the Burnley left back a nightmare afternoon, wriggling in and out and firing crosses in to Steve Fletcher and James Hayter. We hit the bar and post a few times, Hayter headed wide, Stock fired a free kick over, we did everything but score. Even sub Alan Connell went close and Spicer also banged a shot wide. We continued singing until the 90th minute, where we hoped to snatch a late equaliser and take the tie back to Dean Court for the replay. However as we pressed, Burnley broke away and hit a second goal in injury time. Suddenly our FA Cup run had come to an end, but we had done well. We played them off the park and gave them a scare. How they won 2-0 I’ll never know. The four of us sighed, and dandered happily still back to the Miner’s Club, for another £1.10 pint. After that and watching the other results on the TV, it was back to the hotel to get changed have dinner, play some darts and sink some more pints. The party weekend wasn’t over! After dinner we headed out in search of another pub. We ended up in the quiet White Hart, where Neil, James and Austin happily sat and watched the live band. However I got bored after an hour and decided to club Burnley up on my own. None of them wanted to come. I then found a female haven in a club called “Paradise Island.” The News of The World Girls were all out that night and I met them all, squeezed a few nice breasts, posed for some photos and continued to drink and talk to randoms. I also blagged my way in behind the bar and started singing on a fake microphone. It was all mental. I even made it onto the roof into was was another part of the nightclub called “The Garden.” You know what, I don’t think I’ll ever be there again, but it was a great night. I never asked any girls to dance or kiss for whatever reason. They were all drop dead gorgeous, and I was single at the time. A bit of love in Burnley would have been nice, instead I left before 1 am (I think…) as I met up with the guys again in the hotel pub, which was still open. We chilled out there and played some pool. With Neil and Austin even staying up till 5 am, while I ran nude round the hotel and James went to sleep. There was still the Sunday trip home to Bournemouth via London to come…

My mate Austin is a lazy bastard. Its true and even he will admit it. He lies in bed so long in mornings, and sleeps on train etc. while travelling with us. On this occassion, he had missed the day before’s trip to Elland Road, and almost missed the train and buses to Burnley. Despite me and Neil being up rise and shine after having our full English breakfast, Austin was still not getting up. WE waited for him in the hotel lobby and he still wouldn’t arrive. Sunday train service, we knew would be shit and turned out to be one an hour from Burnley to Leeds for our connecting megabus. Austin made us miss this by about 6 minutes and we ended up having lunch in McDonalds before getting the next train to Leeds in the hope of making up the time and catching the megabus we had booked. Unfortunately we missed it, which cost us a staggerring £40 EACH, I couldn’t believe it, but Austin never seems to worry about money for some reason, and we ended up getting a coach (from a different station) to London which if on time would allow for us to catch our final megabus from London to Bournemouth. Sadly we also missed this and the end result meant it had cost us an extra £56 or something to get home from a trip which was overall brilliant, but spoiled by Austin’s laziness in honesty. These days if Austin isn’t ready, I just do things for myself anyhow and leave him behind. I’m not risking large sums of money on someone else’s fault (if its my fault then that’s fine, but someone else’s fault will never make me miss a bus/train again)…

Who went – Jonny Blair, Neil Macey, Austin Sheppard, James Condron.

Transport Used – Megabus, London Underground, Overground Trains, Buses, National Express, Taxis.

Cities Visited – Bournemouth – London – Leeds – Burnley (back the same way).

Bars Visited – Giraffe Pub (Fulham), The Shed Bar (Chelsea), The Urban Bar (Whitechapel), Molly O’Grady’s (Victoria), Majestyk (Leeds), Jumpin Jaks (Leeds), Metropole Hotel Bar (Leeds), The General Elliott (Leeds), The Royal Oak (Leeds), The Traveller’s Tavern (Victoria), Wetherspoon’s (Leeds), Smithie’s Cafe Bar (Burnley), The Sparrow Hawk Hotel Bar (Burnley), The Miner’s (Burnley), Burnley FC Bar (Burnley), The White Hart Inn (Burnley), Paradise Island (Burnley), The Garden (Burnley).

Jonny Blair in Berlins Club in Bournemouth

One Mr. Softee with a flake please: FIRST Summer at Best Break, Bournemouth (Summer 2004)

Posted on May 16, 2008February 26, 2013 by Jonny Blair

My first Summer living in Bournemouth, Dorset was still probably my busiest time ever. At the time I had 3 jobs, all running at the same time! But I still loved it, enjoyed every moment of it and look back and take some great memories with it. To go with my part time jobs in Tesco (Branksome, Poole) and Heathlands Hotel (East Cliff), I was also working as a seasonal seafront assistant for Bournemouth Borough Council. I had unfortunately broken my arm in March 2004 (on my birthday night out) and from the moment I could use it again, I applied for two extra jobs to bump up my cash and help me through my first full summer living in England. One day whilst walking past Bournemouth Pier, I asked in the Ice Cream kiosk if they had any jobs going. At this point I was directed to the then Oasis Cafe and Bar (part of the Pavilion, where I now ironically work!!) where I met Danielle Allwood who gave me an application form. Within a week I was working on the seafront in various kiosks and outlets mainly serving customers. It was a brand new start for me and a move which really got me thinking about the world as a 24 year old. There were so many nice people to meet from so many different cultures.

My manager was Matt Calkin (Manager Matt) and I was working with Claire, Gaby and Christian Matt, who were all English. However within a week or two Bournemouth was rife with foreign students, who all flock there in the summer. Suddenly I found myself working with Germans, New Zealanders, Latvians, Poles and Frenchies amongst others. For the duration of my 3 years in the job I would remain the only Northern Irish person (and Irish person too). Bournemouth Borough Council used to own most of the outlets on the seafront. The main ones they owned were all the beach units, the pier, the Showbar and most outlets. Hours of work would be basically as much as we wanted and weather permitting. I didn’t sell many ice creams in the pouring rain. We would normally open all the kiosks around 9 am (hungover and all) and they could close at any time on busy Bournemouth summer nights. The firework Fridays were the best banter. We would be so busy in work constantly serving and then would go out for beers in the evening straight from work. The work was wide and varied as well. Somedays I’d be in the trailer trying to chat up the lovely Emily (from the Merry Go Round Carousels), other days I’d be in a busy Mobile 2 Ice Cream hut selling anything but 99s as they didn’t have them. Other days I’d be with the ageing John Vacher in East Cliff cafe, working in the heat and serving ladies with their breasts on display. I’m a British male. I stare at breasts and I enjoy it. Whether they’re big or small I always like to see them. We need more topless ladies in Bournemouth.

The social life on the beach was fantastic. Their was a lot of in-flirting and sex within the groups. I managed to steer clear of that myself, having specialised in shit dates and one night stands. I did go out with Nethe from work, but mostly I was looking for casual sex, which strangely Denise provided me with at the year’s end after a night on cocktails. Denise was a friend of a friend’s from University. I never thought I’d see her nude, but then, life has a funny way of sneaking up on you ah who…(Alanis Mozarella). Anyhows the social life meant Tuesday night football at Kings Park or Littledown. It used to be the UK v. The Rest of The World. We would always lose – they were faster. My housemate Neil used to play for us. We also enjoyed a beer at Littledown before heading out that night. The nights originally we went to The Moon in The Square (Cheap Wetherspoons) and then onto Walkabout. I made a great friend in Rene, a former East German (who I would later visit and stay with). We also visited Slam nightclub a few times. Times came to an end and both Rene and Mona (two Germans) had left Best Break by the end of July. Still we enjoyed a good last night in Walkabout for Rene’s leaving do. Thanks to Rene we have some photos of this fantastic night. After that, the social nights transferred to Berlins! It was ironic really, but those nights were £1.50 drinks in the nightclub. One of my best mates at the time was Jody Casey, who I got a job for in Best Break. Jody originally said he would never take a job that wasn’t in a bar (as did his mate Total Mike Bennett), but I convinced him otherwise and he was soon serving ice creams with me on the beach. Jody and I would always go down to the social nights together and meet loads of our work mates in there. It was such great fun and the time was slipping away. By the end of August everyone had gone back to their respective countries (except the British ones and the odd foreigner) and my time serving ice creams and working on the busy beach were over. Well for now. (I would return in 2005 and 2006 for the same job again!)

We also used to get a lot of agency staff, who I was happy to work with, but they were in one day and gone the next. That was the way it was. Working in Best Break opened up my mind to other cultures than that of my entire lifetime of Northern Ireland and this was a Godsend in this beautiful world. I am very honoured to have met so many people from different cultures and enjoyed my time with them. More importantly to keep touch and always offer your wisdom, thoughts and knowledge to them, and take theirs into your life. I also worked in “The Trailer” the day the Queen was in town, I was selling tea and coffee just 20 yards from her.

If you do ever learn anything from me or from my posts, take this point: try and enjoy something about everyone you ever meet and in as many instances as possible try and keep touch with them. You’ll have a wider circle of friends, more stories to tell and ultimately more fun.

People I worked with –

Jana, Mark, Monta, Janis (Latvia)
Tattiana (Colombia)
Piotr, Gregory, Aneta, Monika (Poland)
Rene Peters, Matheus, Mona (Germany)
Renato (Brazil)
Tom (Wales)
Claire, Matt Calkin (Manager Matt), Matt James (Christian Matt), Sophie Wheeler, Robin, Gaby, Sam, Clint, Dan, Nigel Halligan, Jody Casey, Chris Downing, Sally Cox, Sharon, Barry Morgan (England)
Alpha (Guinea)
Massi (Belgium)
Heping, Gary Ning, Sabrina, Toby, Yang (China)
Alex (Sweden)
Celine Bois, Kevin Viot, Romain Marias, Audrey Pronier (France)
Elena, Carlos, Javier, Nacho, Francisco, Roberto (Spain)
Nethe (Denmark)
Ali (Libya)
Tei (Japan)

(Apologies to those I’ve left out)

Jobs I Did – Pier cafe tidier, arcade assistant, ice cream seller, hot food vendor, tea and coffee seller.

Places I Worked – Best Break (main building by beach), Mobile 2, Mobile 3, Mobile 4 (Beach kiosks), The Trailer, The Buggy, West Beach Kiosk (Also known as “Mona Beach”, inspired by my friend Mona who loved working there!), The Pier Cafe, The Amusement Arcades, East Cliff Cafe.

Duration of Job – May – September 2004.

Oh we do like to be beside the seaside…Weymouth 2-1 Droylsden (15.04.2008)

Posted on May 9, 2008March 10, 2013 by Jonny Blair

Having lived in Dorset for nigh on five years and devoted so much time to watching and supporting AFC Bournemouth (The Cherries), the time came to support Dorset’s other big team (albeit only for 90 minutes). Weymouth is a beautiful English seaside town, lined with narrow streets, traditional shops, a beach, a pier, some excellent bars and the Wessex Stadium – home of Weymouth FC (The Terras). I had been there four times before: with family in Summer 1989, when we caught the Earl Godwin Sealink ferry from Weymouth – Cherbourg (a now defunct service); December 2005 with the South of England Northern Ireland Supporters Club for the first WAGM; December 2006 with the South of England Northern Ireland Supporters Club for the second WAGM; December 2007 with the South of England Northern Ireland Supporters Club for the third WAGM. On all ocassions we’d neglected to visit the football stadium, which is a wee bit outside of the town. In 2007 the supporters club were supposed to visit the Wessex Stadium for the Farsley Celtic match, but the match was rained off, postponed. I had a quick check of the fixtures and also the evenings off work (on Tuesday nights towards the seasons end). I asked Patrick Hogan, Dan Darch and Vicky Fry if they’d come and we were all set. I offered to drive – would save me money at any rate and a lovely wee drive down the coast was to follow.

Dan, Patrick and Vicky were all working till about 5.30 or 6 pm. I picked them up from Dan’s house at approximately 6.31 pm, with Weymouth a 1 hour drive maximum, allowing for traffic, we should make kick off for 7.45pm. On the way, we noticed that there were ‘Hidden dips’ on the road. I searched in vain for Doritos dips to dunk my tortillas in. It was a party car of puns and soon we were stuck in a traffic marmalade some 7 miles from Weymouth. I needed petrol and we stopped for cash and fuel. For the only time ever in my life, I drove off without paying, not to fear though as I parked and ran back in to pay. It was now really close to kick off and we thought we’d miss it. We weren’t sure where the ground was, but low and behold we found it! It was £1 to park (fairly reasonable I thought and the money goes to the club).

No tickets needed, it was pay on the gate and the match had just kicked off when the four of us made it through the turnstiles. Weymouth FC, known as The Terras were playing Droylsden FC that night. Droylsden are from Manchester and play at the same stadium as Football Club United of Manchester (FCUM). This meant they had very few travelling fans due to the fact it was a Tuesday night, it was mid month, it was in Weymouth (miles away), Droylsden were already basically relegated…Plus the big incentive for Weymouth (who to be fair had a decent team) was that they were STILL in the relegation zone before the match, and by goal difference (they were 11 goals worse off than Halifax Town, who eventually also stayed up). The division was the Nationwide Conference (the FIFTH division in England). Early on, it was notable that the standard of football was much lower than that of AFC Bournemouth. Five former AFC Bournemouth players were even in the Weymouth Squad for the season 2007 – 2008. This sort of thing happened a lot. That night James Coutts and Marcus Browning both played for the Terras. Early on, Weymouth took the game by the scruff of its neck. They looked keen to get the three points and stay up. Stuart Beavon opened the scoring with an early finish and it was looking good, as the four of us took a place behind the nets (which was the wey Weymouth liked to attack second half!). Soon though the blue of Droylsden had come forward and Jamie McGuire slotted home a great equaliser following a run down the wing at the nearside to us. At this point a greasey burger and a beer were in order, and I got a cheeseburger as the half time whistle went. Then we headed up to the Weymouth FC official bar.

In there I enjoyed a quick Corona with Lime as I was driving. A nice bar with loads of photos up, and bigger than the one at Colchester United’s Layer Road (some 5 divisions above). I also met a Belfast guy called Tom! I gave him a business card and invited him to join the SOENISC. I was dressed predictably in a Northern Ireland home shirt and had my six county fleg with me. It was back off down the stairs for the second half, which in a wey would make or break Weymouth’s season. 1-1 was not quite good enough at the time to sneak out of the relegation zone, and rather than rely on results elsewhere it was important for the claret shirts of Weymouth to get on top and score the all important goal. Dan and I enjoyed standing behind the goals and joining in the singing with the Terras fans. Patrick and I also did an “up the Terras” chant. It was actually quite a cold night for April, but soon Weymouth banged in a winner and it was 2-1. The fans went wild singing “Oh we do like to be beside the seaside, oh we do like to be beside the sea.” Other songs included “Shit for Shit” at Droylsden subs and “Weymouth Till I Die”, which as Dan said had less urgency than the songs we were used to at Boscombe’s Dean Court. The final whistle went and Weymouth were happy. They had climbed out of the relegation zone and also had two more home games left. Incidentally the home game the following Saturday they also won 2-1 which virtually confirmed their place in the Conference for the third consecutive season 2008 – 2009. They would be only one division about Dorset rivals AFC Bournemouth (The Cherries). Food for thought

Before we left I had a read of the night’s programme and the Farsley Celtic programme (which I also bought). The Farsley Celtic match was the match we were supposed to attend in December 2007 as a supporters club and it was postponed. We never made it to the postponed match, but I had finally made it to the Wessex Stadium to cheer The Terras, and even better was featured on a page in the programme for the Farsley Celtic match. A pity we hadn’t got to go that day, but I have the programme for the memory. Dan chatted away to a Weymouth fan while we waited for the traffic to clear. During this time Patrick and I did some puns, we witnessed a car crash and I posed for a photo outside the stadium’s main stand. It was a good proper Tuesday night match at the football.

After that we headed into town (parked by Weymouth Beach) quickly where there was a party on in a bar called the Lazy Lizard/Lizard Lounge. We sat and relaxed in there while I eyed up beautiful girls in the bar. I spoke to Vicky and Sam, two lovely lasses whose cleavages were erectional. I wanted them quite a lot, but I never told them, I took my seat relaxed and drove home as the next day would be work. On the drive home, I mistakenly drove the wrong way down a one way street, it was funny at the time. It was a nice trip and only one thing was missing: I never shagged Vicky or Sam. I should’ve done. But they might not have wanted to. My destiny will keep me warm.

Final Score – Weymouth 2-1 Droyslden.

Who went – Jonny Blair, Patrick Hogan, Dan Darch, Vicky Fry.

Bars Visited – Weymouth FC Bar (The Wessex Stadium), The Lazy Lizard.