John Miranda

The road to European glory is seldom smooth. Chelsea's defence of their Champions League trophy came well and truly off the rails somewhere in the Group phase, leaving only the Europa League to aim for. Roman was less than impressed and wielded his customary axe. If only he knew how some of us used to dream of just seeing the club play a game in Europe, let alone win anything. Too young by a million miles to be in Athens in 1971, the journey never looked like coming around again and probably hit a personal rock bottom for me with a 7-2 defeat at Middlesbrough.........just as I was getting access to some money to go to a few games .......... and then another relegation at the hands of you've guessed it - Middlesbrough. A lot of ... read more

They say there is no rest for the wicked. It is the same for football fans. The tour leader always has an actioned packed diary of events to attend, so Sunday morning saw an early start for Hajduk Beograd v FK Zemun. The second experience with the famous Zemun Dragons..... well they think they are famous anyway. Hajduk ............ Lion ........ play in the Belgrade district of the same name, but curiously have a dove on their club badge. They carry the nickname, Pigeons. When was the last time a pigeon worried a dragon? It didn't happen today either! The usual random stadium photos ensued. A disused ticket hut shot. A policeman exchanged glances with the Man in the Middle. Mad was the joint conclusion. Shaking of the heads was a mutual reaction. It was 300 ... read more

The rain had cleared the next morning. Breakfast in the hotel was a lot busier. The weekend had almost arrived and the foreigners were beginning to surface for the big match. A hefty looking German sported his Grobari t-shirt. We worried for his future out in the real world. After breakfast, we went on our own military mission .... back to the Military Museum in the Belgrade Fortress. We skipped the bows and arrows bit and went straight to the sections on the First Serbian Uprising and the First World War. A group of Serbian military were on a guided tour. They seemed oblivious to the temperature and kept their thick winter coats on. An afternoon followed in the Melody Bar. It was meant to be a pub crawl, but we got comfortable. The beer was ... read more

We going to live for a very long time………….. Glen Gregory’s vocals resonate around the 02 Academy in Sheffield. 28 years on, they are back on the road in their home town. It was Penthouse & Pavement 18 months ago. It’s the Luxury Gap tour this time, with a bit of Penthouse & Pavement and early Human League thrown in for good measure. Being Boiled indeed - actually that was earlier in the week at The Roundhouse. The centre of Sheffield still sees Heaven 17 a bit overshadowed by the Human League, 32 years after the split with Phil Oakey. The Park Hill flats still tower over the approaches from Junction 33 of the M1. They have a bit more colour these days with some decorative panels on the front, but are now adorned with the ... read more

Walls have Ears. In Shoreditch they do! Shoreditch - home of the cool people – the Hipsters. We’d seen the new Scottish reincarnation of the Hipsters at the Roundhouse the night before, as Deacon Blue closed their UK tour. Shoreditch where big game roams the walls, if not the streets and the little people can still make an impact at ankle height. We went on a Street Art tour, which was not so much necessarily 2 hours of history and painted walls, but a lesson in opening you eyes to what is around you. Look high, look low, look for the big and small and the unusual. The Alternative London Tour comes well recommended on that well known travel review website and with good reason. It's technically free too, but donations are welcome. People have rent ... read more