The Specials - Brighton Centre 19.11.2009

A v Brazil (in Doha, Qatar) 14.11.2009

We left Gatwick at 9.30am Thursday morning on Qatar airways and with the 3 hour time difference landed on Doha about 7pm. There was a courtesy bus from the airport to the hotel so it was about 9.30pm before we finally headed out into Doha in search of food! We walked along the Corniche then diverted up to the Souq and came accross an Iranian restaurant so ventured inside. It was a stunning place and the food equally as good. We washed our chicken kebabs and local bread down with good old bottled water. Alcohol was only available in limited hotels and at between £6 - £8 for less than a pint! The following morning we headed back out into the same part of town. One of the local traditions is smoking the hubbly bubbly pipes as they described it to us. We spent Friday early afternoon at our hotel roof top swimming pool, it was the best way to cool down!








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............In the Souq............In the Souq.............In the Souq............
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This shows the massive local Souq, you could buy anything, we went into one place selling rather large cooking pots and pans, even the spoons were gigantic. Next to the souq was the Islamic Cultural centre






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............We eat Qatar style............We eat Qatar style.............We eat Qatar style............
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We found a great restaurant serving local food. We had to wait a while to be served as they were hosting a Qatar 2022 event, so we ended up with free local puddings, free coffee and a tour of the place. Atif was a top man, he is pictured here with Liz!




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............The Local Population............In the Souq.............The Local Population............
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.........Match day morning.........Sand, sand and yes more sand..........Match day morning.........
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So match day arrived. We booked up a trip to head into the desert on Saturday morning. We were picked up just after 9am and headed out in our four wheel drive. The driver filled up with 71 litres which cost 50 Qatari Rial, so at 5.50 to the £ that cost just £9, so under 13p a litre!!!! So we entered the desert, saw a few camels lazing about then went Dune riding in the 4x4s. We ended up at an inland sea with a view of the mountains that divide Qatar from Saudia Arabia. Boy was it hot! On the journey too and from the desert we passed some of the oil and natural gas fields, which apparently will make Qatar officially the richest country in the world, overtaking Switzerland from next year (based on capita per head!)


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.....Outside the ground.........England v Brazil.......Outside the ground......
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It was very sureal outside the ground. Lots of people in fake Man Utd, Chelsea, Real Madrid, Barcelona, England and Brazil shirts. Very very strange, but everyone appeared to be having a good time. Liz and I were interviewed by the Press Association about the Qatar 2022 world cup bid. We strolled round the fans park and then round the ground before heading inside. The Aspire tower next to the ground was built as part of the massive complex that housed the ground. The was also a massive shopping "mall" apparently, we gratefully missed out on that! They had music from local musicians, a few Brazillians samba dancers and the Bootleg Beatles for the English flavour.




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.....Inside the ground.........England v Brazil.......Inside the ground......
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About 1,200 of us travelled from England for this game, a superb effort! The ground was OK, nothing spectacular, plenty of room to get the flags up! There were also loads and loads of gents toilets, not many for the ladies!





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............Pre Match Warm Up..............England v Brazil..............Pre Match Warm Up............
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Just before kick off and the floodlights went out and the pre-match entertainment started. Everyone was handed 2 glow sticks and it looked pretty cool, then everyone decided to throw them onto the pitch - I dont think the Qatar officials had thought this one out! Our mate Jay looks unhappy that only fizzy drinks and water is available inside the ground!!






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............The Match..............England v Brazil..............The Match............
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The match was pretty dire, an England 2nd XI kept the score down to a 1-0 defeat. Brazil also managed to miss a penalty. After the game it was the fun and games of trying to get back to our Hotel to pick up our bags and then the airport. Our taxi took ages to pick us up after the game, infact we got into another and cancelled the one we had pre-ordered! However lots of roads were closed off by the Police due to hundreds of Egypt fans spilling out on to the streets to celebrate there last minute goal and ensure a play off game with Algeria! After about 2 1/2 hours we finally arrived at the airport! We were on the 2.15am flight back to Gatwick. We landed about 7am and just a few hours later were on our way to Southampton for the Albion game - a 4.30pm kick off so time for a few pre match beers and then watch us win 3-1! 2,709 Albion made the trip, not bad considering it was a 4.30pm Sunday game, live on sky and major road and engineering works on the railways made it a pain to get too. It finished off a superb few days!

Right now for the World Cup draw and then booking up South Africa!

Some more pictures
Set 1 - our hotel and surrounding area