“A song of empty matter which might explain the absence of any precious jewels to save mankind.” – Nick Jones
I’m not sure where to start with this one, but this journey tops the lot so far in terms of crazy sentiment rather than adventure or off the wall republics. Have you heard of GRODIG? Neither had I until last year when Lock In Lee Adams and I attempted to bury the ghost of Nicky Barmby. We failed. With justified aplomb.
“The demons never need to know” – Super Furry Animals
Confused? OK one of my best friends Lee Adams (from Birmingham) and I have been friends since meeting in 2003 and we have had far too many crazy coincidences down the years. We are freaks. We are long lost brothers. We understand each other. To understand all this, check these articles:
1.The Nicky Barmby Bet 2004 – 2014 Story
2.The Grodig Bet and Jacky Barmby Story 2014 – 2016
3.The Lock In, 2004
“That was the only day Nicky Barmby scored for Forest” – Lock In Lee.
Where or What is Grodig?
Grodig is a small town in Austria of 9,000 people. The town’s beloved football team, SV Grodig now play in the Austrian Top Flight. The pipe dream of a local businessman. A story not dissimilar to that of Gretna, (Londonderry) Institute or AFC Bournemouth.
Why Are We Going There?
I write this near a beach in Goa, India and I have just booked my flights out of Central Asia on route to Grodig, Austria. I am going there to meet Lock In Lee Adams for what promises to be a crazy 5 days. The pair of us met in 2003 while applying to be in the Big Brother spoof, “The Lock In” and have freakily engineered a load of coincidences in the last 13 years.
In 2015 on the night that Nottingham Forest beat Rotherham United 2-0, Lee and I won a bet, AGAIN. The team that won us the bet was called GRODIG. We bet on GRODIG, because Gary Gardner was playing for Forest that night, and well GROw and DIG are both related to gardening. It was ridiculous to put that bet on. Grodig had lost their previous 4 or 5 matches, and some by 3 or 4-0! But they won 2-0 against Wolfsberger AC.
We collected our winnings, some £150 odd quid each and then talk turned to actually going to GRODIG to watch the team play on our next trip together. Lee and I have watched football on our travels before, in Prague in 2007. And now we are actually going to Grodig to watch the match in April 2016!
Mine’s a Port on Timber, please
News filtered in this week that Jacky Barmby, son of Nicky Barmby joined Portland Timbers on loan, while his contract team, Leicester City FC remain top of the English Premier League. That’s right – this week. 12 years to the week of the Nick Barmby bet! WTF?! And the same week that Lee and I messaged each other to confirm all our flights are booked and we are ready for Grodig. Good luck at Portland Timbers, Jack Barmby!
So because Jack Barmby signed for Portland Timbers, our first drink together in Austria will be a PORT to be consumed on a ledge/bar of TIMBER in a foreign LAND. We might even find a BAR called MBY. This is crazy. It really is!
So I can kind of reveal some of my travel plans. I’ll be leaving India to be based in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan again for a few weeks and then I fly to Germany and overland into Austria for the Grodig adventure.
See you soon, Lee – superstar!
I was wondering why you were going to Grodig, Austria out of all places! Seemed so random, but so typically you. That will be a nice primer before Euro 2016! Also, with Jack Barmby being put on loan to Portland Timbers this week, I think that now gives you an excuse to make a return visit to the United States at some point and check out the Pacific Northwest and a Major League Soccer match.
Portland is the capital city of Oregon – cheap, artsy, and loads of craft breweries!! Still “off the beaten path” in terms of North American travel. And to sweeten the pot, if you ever watched The Goonies as a kid, Astoria is a real town and located 2 hours Northwest of Portland. Just some food for thought! 🙂
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Hi Ray, Thanks for the comment. Yes it just has to be Grodig. It’s going to be wacky! I agree it gives Lee and I an excuse to head Stateside or Canada side again, possibly in 2017.
Portland sounds off the scale and yes I loved the Goonies, especially Chunk and Data so a trip to Astoria would be a rocking adventure. Do I need a visa? Do they have their own currency. If I do end up in North America, it will mostly to tour unknown and unrecognised countries and places just like you say, perhaps a 10 year Don’t Stop Living pilgrimage before this one man band splits up once and for all. Safe travels. Jonny
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Hii thanks for sharing nice information. i really like your blog.
Hi DInesh, Thanks for the comment. A crazy journey on the Nicky Barmby Grodig Bet trail! Safe travels. Jonny