Holiday Journal II

Monday - Day 4

After breakfast I got phone calls from two friends to sort out tickets for Tuesday's entertainment. I went to meet one to purchase the tickets. We were lucky we manged to secure tickets in the corporate area, which was quite nice, it's good to know people with connections.

As it was such a good day I thought it would be a good idea to finally take my car to be washed, weeks of parking outside the house under the tree had not done it any favours, and now as the trees have been pruned, it was the ideal time to get it looking shiny once again. Which it does, it looks almost new.

Quiet evening was on the cards. Sit back and just relax. Almost.

Got texts from different people that were quite upsetting. I spent the next couple hours exchanging texts. And phone calls. It's difficult, and strange, to try and help someone that you know but are not friends yet. It was very distressing, but I am convinced that somehow things will get better little by little, at least emotionally. I just wish I could more.

Tuesday - Day 5

And just like that more than half the holiday is gone. Really not going away does not feel like a proper holiday, but some rest was found.

A little bit of a boring day if I'm to be honest, spent the day trying to play the Football Manager demo and failing, my computer is simply too old. But oh well, I can still use it for typing etc.

Then to the evening's proceedings. Meet up with friends in the pub pre-game, got some drinks and food. Then on to the match, Leicester - West Brom for the Carling Cup. met some of our friends outside in the queue t oget in, talk about timing. The game itself was entertaining enough, at least the first half, second half it petered out, it wasn't a good day for Leicester in the end unfortunately.

But it was good to go to a live match. I do enjoy watching live football, the atmosphere is the key really. Not that it was that much of an atmosphere, but the away fans certainly made themselves heard, I was quite impressed.

I will never forget two games I went to see Benfica in: one in the old stadium, a pre-season game that was also the last game of Michel Preud'Homme one of our greatest ever goalkeepers and one of the best in the world at that time, not only that but Benfica's prodigal son Rui Costa was on the away team and he scored, he did not celebrate, he actually cried such was his devotion to Benfica, quite something. Then a few years ago, a set of circumstances that allowed me and my friends to go to a Champions League in the new Benfica stadium agains the giants of Manchester, United took the lead and everyone thought right that's it, but somehow I had a feeling the night wasn't over, and I was proven right as Benfica scored twice more to turn the game around incredible scenes in the stadium, the noise and the level of support too intense to put it into words, you just had to be there.