Manchester United Vs Tottenham Hotspurs - Old Trafford 30/10/10

Manchester United's first warming up before the match and getting organized.

Manchester United's home ground Old Trafford starting to soak up some atmosphere before the game.

Sir Bobby Charlton and my dad in the Directors lounge.

Sir Bobby Charlton and I in the Manchester United's  director lounge. 

Lady and Sir Bobby Charlton and I after the match in the Directors lounge.

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Me about to walk onto the Manchester United pitch.

At the game between Manchester United and Tottenham Hotspurs I was hosted by Lady and Sir Bobby Charlton. We had brilliant seats in the V.I.P area and we were sitting pretty much next to the Manchester United subs and the England Manager.

Those that watched the game would have seen some players slip in the first half. Thats because a

few minutes before the game started the sprinklers came on across the field. The head groundsman after the game told me it was to give the ball a bit of zing when kicked across the grass and that all big stadiums do it.

After the game Sir Bobby Charlton took Dad I and his other visitors down to walk on the pitch which many people don't get to do, it's mainly the players. As you can see behind us that there mowing the pitch 20 mins after it finished. But there not, they are blow drying it just before putting on the lights to heat it up till the next game.

As I am writing this I am in the airport about to board the plane to come home :( and so I wont be able to do any more blog or take emails for a while.

France Pictures

Dad an I in Paris standing outside the   Eiffel Tower.

Looking up at the Eiffel tower, from underneath.

Dads journey up the Eiffel Tower.

We made to the top what a great view from the Eiffel tower.












A typical picture of the Eiffel tower at night.

 A Paris view of a main street but not as busy as it can get.                                                                

Pics Of Journey in Germany

Sorry followers and friends I have been really busy but having a great time so here are some photos of our journey so far. I can fill you in on the detail when I am home.

 Germany



 Dad and I with our family in Germany. It is my Aunty Liz's house. She is the short one between Dad and I.

Erich and I with the shirt he bought me.

 Dad and I with Inga and Ina. They are Erich's mothers sister and Brother in law. This was taken outside a local restaurant in  Frankfurt.

This is in the Mercedes Benz factory, this car is worth about 1 million new zealand dollars. 












Me standing next to a Mercedes racing car.

Dad and I standing outside the Mercedes Museum

Street mimers in Frankfurt

Busker or Comedian?

Geneva Switzerland - 13 October 2010


This couldn't wait. I have to share this with you.

It is a short video of the town idiot in Geneva Switzerland. We were sitting outside a bar and he came along as the entertainment.

Pity you cant see my cousin Helen but you will hear what she did.

The Falkirk Wheel & Mary Kings Close

Falkirk Wheel, Falkirk, Tuesday 27/09/10

This morning we caught the train to Falkirk then a bus to the Falkirk Wheel. I did not know about this place until Moira, a work colleague of my mum told us about it.

When we arrived I saw a high structure that went back into the hill. Dad said that this was where we were going to go.

We got onto the boat then decided to get off and get the next boat as a large group of school kids got on the first one. Some other people did the same as us. Our boat had older people on it but was okay. We sat at the front of the boat. We motored into a box called an aqueduct was full of water then a small gate closed behind us. It rose up from the water. One of the workers tied the rope to the side of the aqueduct and we waited. The aqueduct then started moving to the side and we moved to the side and were lifted up the 135 metres to the next canal. Our boat never moved, it was our aqueduct that moved. There is a diagram at then end that shows this and I also have it on video.

The captain of the boat said that if we sank all we had to do was lift our feet and we would stay dry as there was only 5 feet of water underneath the boat. 

Looking into top of the Wheel end

There are two aqueboxes and each one has to have the exact same amount of water in each one for the wheel to operate properly. It does not matter how many boats are in each one. The Falkirk wheel uses a gearing system that keeps both aqueboxes level and the trip up or down takes 30 minutes. The captain told us that the old system of canals used to take 8 hours and that the captains used to walk down the hill and sit in the pub until the crew brought the boat down.

View from top to where we started from

After our visit to the wheel was finished we returned to our hotel in Edinburgh but this was not the last thing we did.


Later we went to Mary Kings Close, Queens Mile, Edinburgh Tuesday 27/09/10

During our time in Scotland a number of people told us that we should visit Mary Kings Close. Check out this link: http://www.realmarykingsclose.com/ It is off the Queens Mile and the tour takes us underground to look at the way people lived in the 16th century before and after the bubonic plague that killed lots of people in Europe. People didnt really live underground although some of their houses were below street level. A close is a narrow pathway between two buildings and is open to the sky so technically not below ground even though once inside you do go down.

This part of Edinburgh is built on top of the old buildings and streets. The bottom level of the current buildings uses the top level of the old buildings as foundations. Most rooms were smaller than some of our bedrooms back home but these rooms are the lounge, kitchen, sleeping room and the toilet - Yuck.  The toilet in those days was a bucket that was then emptied into the street outside. The 16th century tour guide we had said that usually there was 2 inches of urine and poo on the street.

She also told us that those people who caught the plague were taken away to be confined in a place similar to a hospital but only if the plague doctor thought you had a chance of survival otherwise you had to stay in your home and put a white flag outside that meant only two people could enter. They were the plague doctor and the plague cleaners who cleaned up after you died. Sorry no photos, they were not allowed.

After the tour we went back to our hotel and Dad bought us a kebab for dinner - no bread just the fillings in a small container, thats how they sold it.

Edinburgh Castle & The Queens Mile

Edinburgh Castle

Edinburgh Castle - Monday 26/09/10

No trip to Edinburgh would be complete without a trip to Edinburgh Castle. Thats what Dad told me but I suspect it was also because he told me there are things we have to do otherwise he would get into trouble with Mum when we got back to New Zealand.

At entrance to the castle

The day was wet but not cold. We caught a taxi to the castle and got there just in time to hear the 1 O’Clock gun. This is a traditional thing that was started to allow the local people to check the time on their clocks was set correctly. It does not operate on Sundays.

The size of the castle was enormous. Once inside it was like being in a small village with a number of buildings, pathways and roads within the walls. Around the walls there were a lot of black cannons. These were used as a form of protection against the enemy. The height of the rooms we went into is something I have not seen back at home in New Zealand. There were large portraits of the past heroes and Mary Queen of Scots.

In the museum there was lots of war medals and memorabilia. Dad said he had never seen some many Victoria Crosses in one place.

One of the many canons

After leaving the castle we walked down the Queens Mile towards High Street. Dad could not resist going into a shop dedicated to only selling Whiskey. I am sure he would haver liked to have done the Whiskey tour, and no he did not buy any, at least not at this shop.

Later that night we went to my godmothers house in Easter Road. It is really a flat above and in between a set of shops. It was a nice flat and we had dinner there. Kelly cooked us chicken and had stuffed the breast with haggis then wrapped it in bacon. It was nice. Before we left we took some photos, and as you can see I am now much taller than Kelly.

After leaving we went back to our room as we had a trip planned for the next day to see how you get a boat from one canal into another. Sounds easy? Not when the other canal is 135 metres high.

Note the height difference

Last year I was shorter than Kelly!

The sign says where I am

The exit

 

Inside castle grounds

Mitch on Guard

Shots within the Castle Walls.

Celtic vs Hibs Soccer - 25/09/10 Glasgow

Celtics vs Hibernians at Glasgow - Sunday 25/09/10

Benny the Scalper

This morning Benny, his friend Aiden (from Australia) and son plus Dad and I travelled to Glasgow for the Celtics and Hibs (Hibernian) soccer game at the Celtics Park. The crowd was good and getting into the mood with chants. There were people selling scarves and other Celtic memorabilia outside the stadium.  Typical of Bennys character he decided to try and sell a spare ticket he had. He had the ticket raised in the air and was yelling out that he had a ticket for sale. No-one wanted to buy it. As we neared the gates Benny gave the ticket to another scalper to sell. Our seats (just Dad & I) were in a different location to Benny. We had access to a lounge for food and drinks at half time. It is similar to a corporate box but not quite as flash.

Approach to Celtic Park in Glasgow

Some scarves and a ticket for sale

The Celtic team is a Scottish football club based in the Parkhead area of Glasgow, which currently plays in the Scottish Premier League. The club was established in 1887, and played its first game in 1888. Celtic have won the Scottish championship on 42 occasions, most recently in the 2007/08 season, and the Scottish Cup 34 times. Celtic's home stadium is Celtic Park, the biggest football stadium in Scotland, with a capacity of 60,832. 




Together with their Glasgow rivals, Rangers, they form the Old Firm, one of the most famous and fierce rivalries in sport. The club's traditional playing colours are green and white hooped shirts with white shorts and white socks.


Our seats were behind the goal and gave us a great view. The crowd were passionate with chanting, yelling and singing as the atmosphere built for the game. The Celtic Club fans were in one corner on the opposite side of the park. What was interesting 

Some the crowd

about them was that you could hear them singing over 100 metres away, not to mention dancing throughout the match. In front of them they had two guys banging away on drums that echoed throughout the stadium. These fans danced side to side, almost like a mexican wave but side to side and from where I sat was quite cool.

Although the stadium was almost full, it did not have the same atmosphere as the Manchester United game against Liverpool at Old Trafford the previous week.

The game itself was great to watch, there were some good passes and inter plays but it was obvious the Celtics team was the better.

Testing the Keeper

Just before half time Dad and I went to the lounge that our tickets gave us access to. We got some food to eat about 2 minutes before half time. When other people came in after the half time whistle the food was gone very quickly. People just grabbed what they wanted, some had 3 or 4 pies! 

A near miss

The second half was good to watch and the Celtics won 2-1. Dad was happy because of his Scottish ancestry and the Celtic Club being close to where is family came from.

After the game we drove to Uddingston to see if we could see Dad’s Grandmothers house at 17 Church Street. It is no longer there and probably demolished to make way for the flats that are now on the corner. Dad took some photos of the area and of a cottage across the road that would probably be the same type as where my great grandmother lived in the very early 1900’s. In fact Nana told me her mother was actually born in the house at Uddingston.

Church St from number 17

Where 17 Church was

Similar cottage to my great grandmothers (opposite)

After arriving back at Bathgate we had dinner at the Balbairdie Pub. This is when Dad and I got to try a traditional Scottish dish. Do you know what it was? If you guessed Haggis then you would be right. It is a difficult flavour to describe, it has it’s own taste but despite being sheep’s guts was very  nice. 












We had it a few times, twice at the pub and again at my godmother Kelly’s home in Edinburgh when she stuffed chicken breasts with it. I think Katie should try it, after all it is vegetarian.