Having booked our flights to Riga back in November our trip East seemed to come around incredibly quickly after our last jaunt to Krakow. The usual silly o'clock start that we have become so used to saw us arriving in Riga without any problems, and a first for boys club - a taxi driver from the airport that didn't want to either rip us off massively or try and kill us with his dodgy driving. Result! We were booked into the comically named Friendly Fun Franks hostel which proved to be an absolute winner - arranging a couple of great trips for us, having a 24 hour bar and greeting us on arrival with a free beer each! The weather was decidedly on the nippy side the first day in Riga, and this certainly wasn't helped ... read more

January saw an ambitious boys club, as rather than making a break for sunnier climes we were going to take on Poland...in January! We knew that it might be a tad chilly, but luckily the weather held as well as we could expect and it hardly rained at all! However, I think I was the only one that had brought a brolly and the light drizzle when we arrived meant that we made some Polish market vendors day as four umbrellas were snapped up in double quick time without a hint of negotiation! The quality wasn't the best either, as Shaun was soon to find as the top of his detached at the slightest hint of wind and floated skywards! We soon embarked on our usual first day stomp around the city, taking in the main ... read more

Early September saw me join the Rollesby Cricket Club boys on their annual cricket tour, this time they were pushing the boundaries with their first international effort and we were winging our way to Dublin. I had got myself a dawn flight out from Bristol and, travelling light, I had soon made my way into the city centre in order to start exploring. Blessed with good weather I was able to take in O'Connell Street and its giant spire, wander through Trinity College and then chill out in St Stephens Park. In the early afternoon I headed over to our hotel to meet up with the RCC boys who had all flown in from Norwich in the afternoon. This being the first day on tour, all of the boys had started on the beers very early ... read more

Way back on April 1st, while I was swanning off to Bristol for a 5 a-side footy tourney, a military operation was being conducted back home by the Baso boys which led to us snaffling 7 prized tickets for Glastonbury. I say military operation, but as Gent and Emily will testify, any plan which involves Nug and a bit of organising is always going to be fraught with danger! When the festival rolled round and we tried to head off, we found that space was at a real premium and that the journey there was not going to be a pleasant one for the passengers crammed into the back of the faithful Escort! It was all pretty comfy for me in the driver's seat though, and it gave me a prime view of Nug's usual relaxed ... read more

At Barclays we’ve got a regular Tuesday lunchtime 5 a-side slot, and quite a few of the players, (not myself obviously!), play to a very high standard. Thus whenin the springtime Barcalsy began to advertise their “Global 5 a-side football tournament” with a grand final to be played at the Emirates tadium we pricked up our ears! To get through to the grand final you had to come in the top 2 at one of the six regional finals. Twelve British based teams would make it through to the Emirates from the heats,to be joined by a further twelve team which had qualified from the participating countries around the world which included South Africa, Spain, Italy, Tanzania, Portugal and Ireland. But first we had to qualify, and a stroke of managerial genius from Terry Knappet ... read more