Winter in London and Germany, and rugby in Cardiff

It’s been a picture perfect winter in London with lots of snow flurries (until it quickly melts to muddy sludge). We’ve been to a few shows – Oliver, Cirque Du Soleil, Aladdin the pantomime, starring Pamela Anderson as genie; and done some touristy things like ice skating at the Tower of London for Amy Yarrall’s birthday, and a few museum/gallery visits.
Travel-wise, it’s been pretty low key, keeping our powder dry for the big trip to Egypt over Christmas (see separate post).

We went to Birmingham in October to watch the Baggies win 5-0, and to Wales to watch the All Blacks win against Wales in November.

Lou in front of Cardiff Castle


Dean outside the stadium

We also visited the Christmas markets in Dusseldorf and Cologne with Dean's sisters. They were great, we feel we’ve probably ticked “Christmas markets” off the list now, and have a nutcracker and a couple of market mugs to remember that trip by.

Dean's empty plate after a delicious German meal - swine haux - basically a whole roast pig!



Lou with Dean's sisters Amy and Sarah, enjoying eggnog

In January we spent a weekend in Geneva with Lou’s brother and sister-in-law, to stay with Lou’s sister and brother-in-law (yes, confusing big family) at their wonderful new house there. We were there the same weekend that around 100 von Dadelszens got together in New Zealand to celebrate the 150th anniversary of the first von Dadelszens arriving in New Zealand from Liverpool, so we had some family time together.

Lots of our spare time has been spent planning our trip to South Africa in June for the football world cup. We’ll be there for 2 ½ weeks following the All Whites around, so lots of accommodation to arrange, plus a couple of nights in Kruger park trying to spot the big five. And we’re also spending time planning a visit by Lou’s Mum in March/April this year.

Chelsea - Close to Home

Chelsea v West Brom, 26 December 2008

This fixture was always on the agenda, as Chelsea is only a few kms from home. Once we decided that we were not going away for Xmas, tickets became a priority. Chelsea only made 1400 tickets available to the travelling fans, but the credit crunch and Boxing Day meant we were able to get tickets, not that cheap at 45 pounds each.

Stamford Bridge is very strangely set out, with a hotel attached to one side, and a fancy restaurant backing on to one end. On match day the club shop had a huge line so we gave that a miss.

Sitting with the WBA fans was, as always an experience. There was plenty of jewellery and tracksuits about.It was a really nice sunny day soDean was able to visibly wear his West Brom top.

Here's Dean the proud supporter:



And Lou trying it out for size, with her "Louise, Number 1 Chick" West Brom badge santa gave her, and our "Loyal Supporters Only" door hanging behind. What die hards we are.

Weekends away with the Yarralls

Mum and Dad Yarrall were over in October and we went away with them and Sarah both weekends they were here.

First Weekend

We left London on Friday night and drove to Stratford-upon-Avon. Saturday morning was spent wandering round Shakespeare country (including Shakespeare's birthplace) and checking out the farmer's market.

Then off to Birmingham to see West Brom vs Fulham. Dad Yarrall is a shareholder so he was keen to see how his 'investment' was getting on.

Plenty of fun was had in the cold autumn weather, going to the club shop, getting a half time Bovril (vital in the cold), and enjoying the 1-0 win for the Baggies.

Post game, drove down to a motorway layover for the night. Went for a wonderful pub meal at the Gaydon Inn (near Warwick). If you are in the neighbourhood, check it out.

Sunday, drove to Northampton to catch up with Dad's flatmates from Scotland during his time in Glasgow in the 1970's. All their families were there so a big long lunch in a pub was held. Good to catch up with them all.

2nd Weekend

With everyone a little more tired, we decided to do a bit of a shorter trip. We travelled into Kent and toured round the countryside and the seaside. Canterbury was our base, so we visited the Cathedral, home of the Church of England, famous for the matyrdom of Thomas a Beckett.

Louise also convinced us to visit the Canterbury Tales musuem as she had studied the Chaucer text at university. A great all-imersive experience, with selected tales illustrated with moving characters, diaromas and authentic smells!

Wembley

Before we arrived on English shores, my club, West Bromwich Albion had made the FA Cup semi-finals. So this created a bit of excitement in the Yarrall family ranks, as Dad is a long term shareholder in the club, having been convinced to buy into the initial float in the early 90’s whilst on a boat following a long day in the sun after an England-South Africa cricket test.

Given that this was likely to be a once in a lifetime chance to see WBA in a FA Cup semi final at Wembley, a foreign concept to supporters of the likes of Arsenal, Manchester United et al, we thought it would be a worthwhile introduction for Louise into the football experience in the UK.

During many of the first calls home, Dad was always wondering how ticket purchasing was going. Poor was my inevitable response as the only way you could get a ticket was to have proof of having been on the club’s ticket database in the last 10 years. Given the last time we had been to a WBA game was in 1997, before the ticketing database was established meant we failed to reach the minimum requirements for a ‘club’ ticket. With all the other tickets held by corporates and season ticket holders, there were no official tickets available.

This meant we would have to follow the more risky ticket option of turning up to the game and buying off some dodge reseller. As Lou’s brother put it, the good thing about England is that you can turn up to any game and there is bound to be someone trying to make a buck from their ticket. Knowing our chances of getting a ticket were OK, Lou and I set off to Wembley.

The actual ticket purchasing options were fine once we got there, as a company was trying to flog off their tickets as no-one had wanted to go! I managed to pay the reasonable sum of £100 per ticket (face value of £160), not bad, but certainly a shock as we were still converting to NZD ($250 to those who care). Tickets were seated in the club level, and came with a free programme, which was a nice touch. Actually ended up sitting next to the brother in law of the WBA director of football who was a pleasant chap to talk to. We were situated behind the Portsmouth fans, which was a little disappointing, but they provided excellent vocal support for their team.

The pre-game atmosphere dominated anything Kelburn Park could produce, with 80,000 fans milling around, performing various witty chants. There was not a great deal of aggro going on, probably due to the great numbers of fluoro vested police officers.

As far as the game went, WBA dominated the first half, but failed to get close enough to seriously pressure the Portsmouth goal. Having not got the breakthrough I figured that we were going to struggle in the second half and sure enough we conceded soon after half time and spent the rest of the fixture chasing the game. However a number of positives did arise, firstly as Louise so quaintly put it, as least we wont have to pay for a FA Cup Final ticket, and secondly, WBA played well enough to suggest that they will be able to battle respectfully next season in the Premiership and not face the ignominy of another Derby County style season.

All in all, a great introduction into the world of English football for Louise, and hopefully we will be able to get to a few more games when the new season starts.