v Argentina in Geneva 12.11.2005

v Argentina in Geneva 12.11.2005

We set off to Geneva on Friday afternoon. We were on the 4.45 euro tunnel to Calais; we arrived slightly early and got on the 4pm one instead which was a good start. We had a hotel booked in Troyes (about half way to Geneva) and arrived just after 9.30. We booked into our hotel, then parked the car in the safe underground car park. It was so safe we couldn't find away out! We eventually found a door, but that led to an enclosed compound at a block of flats with 30 foot fences all round. We finally got back inside and had to use the emergency exit to get out! By now it was about 10.15 and Troyes appeared to be closed. The first restaurant we went in had seen the kitchens close at 10pm, so we settled down for a few beers. After speaking to the bar man he pointed us to a late drinking bar, and that luckily was still serving food. We soon tucked into some nice Mexican food and the beer and then the spirits began to flow. We had a couple of tequilas and shorts on the house and as it was now about 2.30am time to head back to the hotel. We detoured to have a look into the club linked to the hotel, but they wanted 15 Euros to get in and the place was empty apart from a few heavily built giant coloured bouncers and there mates. The place went quiet as we poked our head round the corner to see if it was worth going in but we changed our minds. I know bouncers are usually big, but everyone in the club looked like they spent 23 hours a day lifting weights, rather than the 23 hours a day we spend drinking! We decided even in our drunken haze to head back for some kip.


At 9am I woke up, everyone else was in various hangover stages! We finally set off at just after 10am for Geneva. We got to the Swiss border with no problems (just bad driving conditions with fog and heavy rain plaguing the whole trip!), but then had 3 sign post to Geneva, we took the one straight ahead of us and it turned out not to be the most direct route! We ended up going over the Jura mountains and they are 1,723 meters (5,650 feet) high and we must have climbed up and up for about 20 kms. The view from the top was spectacular but the windy roads and steep ascent played havoc with a hangover! We eventually came down the other side but it meant we didn't park up in Geneva until about 2.30pm, the mountain detour adding about an hour to our journey. We parked up on the closed motorway used as a car park, well a partially closed motorway, you had to take you life in your hands to cross 2 lanes still open to get to the ground!


The organisation at the ground was diabolical. We queued up, got past the first ticket check to then be turned back trying to get into the ground as in the wrong section. We grabbed our free programmes (which were not being handed out in the England end) and we had to pass back out, walk about 20 minutes further round to join the massive queue to get through a gap in the barriers erected. One at a time, well for 8,000 people that was really going to work. The crush got worse as three double decker coaches with the official day trip turned up. The crash barriers eventually got taken down by the Police and they gave up on the checks. Once again the England fans were being treated as second class citizens, the Argentineans had about 25 entrances, we had one squashed in next to a fenced off car park underneath the motorway fly over and a fenced off building site. It was downright dangerous and something they urgently need to sort (along with lack of directions) before the European Championships. Once they had relived that bottleneck and it was down to the proper entrance, then more chaos. We got sent down an almost vertical slope to get to one set, they then said they would only accept tickets for one block (out of 5 for the away end), people started getting abusive and in the end they just gave up and let everybody through. It was so unorganised, but we were at last in the ground. The view in the ground was superb and we stood towards the block behind the goal, next to the BBC camera. The atmosphere was soon building (who was the annoying woman with a microphone on the pitch trying to get the England fans going, we don't need somebody shouting in a piercing high pitch voice shouting rubbish!). We guessed at about 15,000 England fans at the game compared to about 7,000 Argentineans, the rest neutral but supporting mainly England. There was some trouble in the ground when a group of Argentineans started pulling down some St Georges crosses, the England fans reacted and a punch up started, the Police were not in the ground and it took about 10 minutes for it all to calm down. In that time Crespo had a goal disallowed.






A few action shots!






I imagine most people saw the game, and it was probably the best friendly I have ever seen. Argentina had some class players and at times played better football than us, but in the end the spirit of the England team got us through. When Owen equalised the away end erupted, the celebrations when we went 3-2 up were as if we had won the world cup, great stuff. We waited in the ground rather then try and get out early as that is often a flash point at England games. The Swiss riot police unnecessarily lined up to stop the official England fans getting out, despite nearly as many being in other parts of the ground. We finally got let out, then they blocked off the route back under the motorway and sent people up the road, 8,000 having to squeeze between coaches going back to the airport and shuttle buses back into the city centre. It was once again dangerous and unnecessary. We finally got back to car and within 10 minutes were back in France and heading home on the motorway (decided to miss out the mountain detour on the way back!). We only stopped once and got back to Calais at 3.30 and caught the 4.49 train back home. I was back in West Hoathly about 7.30 and went to bed and woke up at 3pm! A great game and a great trip, but back to the airplane/train for me next time!

Mark R

The Following pictures were taken by Jamie Harper








------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
....mobile pictures...........mobile pictures...........mobile pictures....
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

A v Denmark 17.8.2005

Words by Mark Raven
Pictures by Liz O'Brien

A v Denmark 17.8.2005

Forget 45 minutes of dire football and it was another cracking trip following England abroad. Due to lack of holiday it was only a day trip for this one, so we flew out of Stansted at 8.30am and by midday had been dropped off in the centre of Copenhagen. It was very very hot and sunny so we moved into the nearest bar for a nice cold beer. For 3 ½ beers the cost was 176 Krone , about £16! Ouch! As we only had a few hours in the city we decided to go on the City tour bus and boat trip. That left at 1.30pm so we headed for the open top bus and took in the main tourist attractions. Some of Copenhagen is old and picturesque, there is lots of new waterside developments and I have to say compared to home it's a very quiet city, it seams very few people live there! The bus tour of course took us to see the Little Mermaid, mmmmmmm bit of a let down. We also visited the Royal Palace and saw the changing of the guard. Similar to London apart from they wear a blue uniform rather than red. We saw lots of places built by a chap called Christian IV. That included a very impressive stock exchange building called the Borsen. It has a very impressive spire, representing four dragon tails intertwining.
The three crowns on top represent the three countries of the Danish kingdom at the time: Denmark, Norway and Sweden. The bus also passed the monument (a ships anchor with a box buried below contained 18,000 (I think that's what they said) names of people know to have died on boats during the war) to all those killed during the German occupation during the war. We also saw Rosenborg Castle and Nyboder(meaning
new harbour) a 17th century housing development consisting of hundreds of small yellow houses. Next we saw the Vor Frelsers Kirke, a church with a spiral spire with an exterior winding staircase, that certainly looked impressive. Next up it was on to the boat which once again took us to see the Little Mermaid from the other side.. It was approaching 3pm and no sign of sunset as per the BBC website, in fact it didn't get dark until about 9pm! By the time we got back it was 4pm so time to find a nice restaurant. We wander away from the main square and found a place called RizRaz that seamed popular with the locals. For 119 Kroner (about £11) we had some chicken and lamb kebabs, including a help you self buffet to salads/cold meets etc. Not cheap and listed under budget restaurants so dread to think what the posh places charged for a meal. Next we moved towards the station and stopped off for a another beer, this time it was a local brew called Apollo but as we sat outside it cost 90 Krone for a litre, so roughly £8 for less than a pint! It was actually brewed on the premises and was very nice. About 6.30 we headed to the train station, paid 17 krone for a single ticket and arrived into Ostergade station and then it was about a 10 minute walk to the ground. We were in the lower tier behind the goal. It tool about 15minutes to queue to get in, once we had been let into the fenced of England queue, then a body search, then a ticket check. We were in block D22 that didn't exist, but as you sit anywhere didn't matter, but did cause confusion! The game - I refuse to talk about it - first half was OK with Beckham and Rooney standing out for me as the players who whenever they put on an England shirt are proud and want to do well. The second half was a mare,but I couldn't be having booing England players. We walked out at 0-3 so missed the last 2 goals, but by then didn't really care. We helped out our mate to direct people back to the coaches and we were soon back at the airport. We took off about 1.30am local time and landed about 2am at Stansted. Thanks to everyone at 365Englandfans for arranging the trip.Another short but good trip, following Wales and NI there is possibly an away friendly in November (but only if England qualify automatically and are not involved in the play offs).

Mark R

Brighton & England

Some more pictures around Copenhagen




------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
.........Some more from the match...........Some more from the match............
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Taken from my mobile phone

U2 @ Twickenham, London 19.6.2005

Set List
Vertigo
All Because Of You
The Electric Co. / Bullet With Butterfly Wings (snippet) / I Can See For Miles (snippet)
Elevation / Hot In Herre (snippet)
New Year's Day
Beautiful Day / Blackbird (snippet)
I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For
Who's Gonna Ride Your Wild Horses
City Of Blinding Lights
Miracle Drug
Sometimes You Can't Make It On Your Own
Love And Peace Or Else
Sunday Bloody Sunday
Bullet The Blue Sky / When Johnny Comes Marching Home (snippet) / The Hands That Built America (snippet) / Please (snippet)
Running To Stand Still / Happy Birthday (snippet) / Walk On (snippet)
Pride (In The Name Of Love)
Where The Streets Have No Name
One
.....................
Zoo Station
The Fly
With Or Without You / Take Me To The Clouds Above (snippet)
Yahweh
Vertigo / London Calling (snippet)

For pictures from Berlin 18.6.2009 please click this link

For pictures from Amsterdam 20.6.2009 please click this link (to be added)