|
|
England Youth Posts: 0  | | |
| | |
| for those of you that do not know ken - a long-term friend of mine - works for the FSF and at england games is part of the fans embassy in the countries.
he is out at the euro and send us this update - link to front page will let you read it but i will also paste here...
Hiya
Sorry I've not written before but we've had little time to ourselves.
We've probably had as many questions and/or problems as any trip I've been on. I'm glad to say that none of them have involved trouble in any form. Once again our media have painted a picture that you can't recognise when you get here. The locals are as friendly and helpful as any of the countries that we have previously visited; in fact better than most. After Panorama's 'every fan is racist' program, it's nice to meet locals that are coloured who have never experienced any problems here.
Although Donetsk is an old mining town it is sprinkled with parks that are full of roses and tree lined avenues that offer shade from the unremitting sun. The fans that are here can spend the days at pavement cafes or bars in these boulevards soaking up the sunshine and, if they wish, sampling the variety of locally brewed beverages.
Most of the hotels were grossly over-priced but people that arrive at our helpdesk can be pointed towards very acceptable hostel accommodation for £15 to £20 per night. Eating and drinking is cheap; even the poshest restaurants are a lot less than England.
All in all a great place to be (if you weren't working).
We fly tonight to Kiev to start work tomorrow, the day before the game, as usual. Hopefully we won't experience again the 5 hour delay in our flight here from Kiev when we came. Though being stranded in a departure lounge where the beer is less than £1.50 a pint is not too painful. The highlight was when they opened our departure gate after about 3 hours and the first bus full of passengers disappeared across the tarmac only to return about 15 minutes later having failed to find a plane.
Oh yes, and there was also a game to go to. I would have taken a draw against the French before kick-off but felt for a while that we might actually win it. Hodgson was always my choice for manager but I was disappointed with his rather negative substitutions. As a Pompey fan, it was good to see the Ox, born and bred in Portsmouth have such a good game – I think he has got a long International career in front of him.
One last anecdote whilst talking of Pompey – After getting to bed about 4.30 in the morning when we arrived (after that delay at Kiev) I was awoken by the telephone helpline at 8 o'clock by guys in a camper van that were driving across Ukraine and were basically lost. “Could I give them directions?” Not easy when you're 1000 miles away and do not know the country well. Anyway we got them sorted with the easiest route and heard know more until 8 the next day when I had a call from the same camper van now broken down about 60k form Donetsk. To cut a long story short, with the help of the interpreter on our team, we eventually got them and van to Donetsk in time for the game. Yes, you've guessed it, they were PFC fans. I won't embarrass them by naming them but they do owe me a beer to keep quiet!
I'll try to update you from Kiev but meantime, if you've got friends or loved ones out here, I can guarantee that so far they are having a great time.
Ken
really good read that!
| |
| | |
England Youth Posts: 0 | How would Ukrainian fans react to being knocked out of the Euro 2012 on home soil, was a question that was answered last night in the best way possible.
Click here to read the article | |
| | |
| VitalFootballAdmin - 20/6/2012 10:45
How would Ukrainian fans react to being knocked out of the Euro 2012 on home soil, was a question that was answered last night in the best way possible.
Click here to read the article
another update, also viewable on the front pages using the link above, from ken has come from the euros.
this is what he said...
How would Ukrainian fans react to being knocked out of the Euro 2012 on home soil, was a question that was answered last night in the best way possible. Stopping you for photos on the way in to the stadium is one thing but being stopped on the way out after rather fortuitously dumping out a nation on its home soil is something else. These guys were fantastic losers; the English stayed behind celebrating for some time as you can imagine but were still greeted by thousands of locals who wanted to shake your hand, wish you luck and swear to support England for the rest of the tournament. Similar scenes followed for the rest of the evening.
Once again our media's prophecies of doom and danger proved to be ridiculous. A certain ex-England star warned that we could come home in a coffin; this has been celebrated at each game by singing his name with a punch-line of “We'll do what we like”. Our support has been exceptional, a point commented on by many Ukrainians.
Were we lucky? Yes, I suppose we were. Would goal-line technology have given their 'goal'? Yes, I'm told it would have. But Hodgson has, in such a short time, introduced a togetherness and appetite, spirit and fight to this squad that we haven't seen in years. None show their passion more than Joe Hart, but all the players now acknowledge the fans at the final whistle even Mr Rooney, he of the expletives towards supporters in South Africa. Do players ever realise how much this means to travelling fans?
And so back to Kyiv; many of us would have preferred to stay in Donetsk. Kyiv was good; the people were friendly and helpful but Donetsk was arguably better. Certainly doing the work we do, Donetsk was easier – more compact, more negotiable. We had pleasant apartments, with two of the three flats close to our Fans' Embassy location AND we had wifi! The guarantees that we would have it in Kyiv failed to happen and in fact when we got back here to the Donbass region, it crashed in our flat in this country that is trying so hard to catch up with the rest of Europe in all areas.
I had a blog of our time there written and ready to send – I won't bother now as we will soon be back there.
We're off to work now though I doubt that we'll have much to do today. Perhaps a lost passport or two after last night's giant party and many enquiries about trains or planes to the next destination.
Once again, if you have friends or loved ones here and our press have caused you to worry about them – don't!!! They are in more danger from the home-brewed vodka that locals insist you join them in than they are from forecasted violence.
Ken | |
| | |
England Youth Posts: 16 | Thanks Ken for these interesting and colourful updates.
Edited by Paris Spur 20/6/2012 11:02
| |
| | |
| Yes thanks ,great reading and very interesting. | |
| |
Jump to page : 1
Now viewing page 1 [20 messages per page] | |
|
|
England News 24/7
An update from Donetsk
