Getting to the game is not always easy when you live 5,000 kilometers away, but luckily I have to travel to East Africa 2-3 times a year from Canada and so will always try and stop in England to take in a game. This has often meant taking the night flight from Montreal to London, arriving at 6 or 7 in the morning at London’s Heathrow airport. This flight does not allow for much sleep and with the time difference it feels like 1 or 2 o’clock in the morning – yes jetlag! Luckily for me, my brother will often collect me from the airport and we drive the one and a half hours down to my mother’s house. We are welcomed with a full English breakfast before going to the pub and then the game.
a full English breakfast
It is increasingly difficult to actually get match day tickets for home games at Bournemouth because so many people want to go and the stadium capacity is only 11,700. So now I try where ever possible to organize my trips around an away game because it is easier to get tickets. One such time, was when I went to Newcastle United to see Bournemouth, my team, during the 2015-16 season. It was an interesting journey!
I had a busy few days and my Friday was rounded off by meetings in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. It took 2 hours to get to the airport in Dar es Salaam from the City Centre because the traffic is so bad. Next security, check in, Immigration, security and a long wait before the 6 hour flight to Doha, Qatar where I had to wait 2 hours before changing planes. I then flew the seven and half hours to London arriving at 06:30. My nephew collected me at around 7:30 in his car and we then drove towards Newcastle. My brother who lives in Cambridge came across and we met at a service station on the motorway heading north towards Newcastle.
Angel of the North
The journey time from London Airport to Newcastle was about five and a half hours, but we still had time to stop and see the famous ‘Angel of the North’ before proceeding on to the pub and a few drinks. By the time that we got to St. James Park, Newcastle’s stadium, I was still going strong, despite the long journey. The excitement of going to this ground(stadium) for the first time and being surrounded by thousands of fans was giving me energy. Newcastle’s ground is one of the bigger grounds in the country with a capacity of 52,405. As an away fan you feel like you are in the clouds because you are so high up.
St. James Park, Newcastle’s stadium
It was a great game for Bournemouth because we played very well and went on to win 3 -1!
After the game we drove down to Cambridge to my brother’s house where we were able to rest for the night before continuing the two hour journey to London’s Heathrow airport where I took the plane back to Montreal.