On Their Way Home

It appears that the group will  be arriving early.  According to flightstatus.com, British Airways 265 is scheduled to arrive at 5:44pm. today.

Day 7 – Old Trafford Stadium, Chester, Game Three

Day 7 – Old Trafford Stadium, Chester, Game Three

Trafford

In the morning the team went to Old Trafford Field. As one team member told me – it was the holy grail of fields. I did not go on the Old Trafford trip – but all who attended assured me that it was a great experience. http://www.manutd.com/en/Visit-Old-Trafford/Museum-And-Stadium-Tour/Stadium-Tour.aspx

Chester

Chester, a “walled” city was founded as a "castrum" or Roman fort in the year 79 by the Romans. Chester's four main roads, Eastgate, Northgate, Watergate and Bridge, follow routes laid out at this time – almost 2,000 years ago. Some of the boys walked around the wall others walked by the river or in the shopping district.

Recently rediscovered, the civilian amphitheater, which was built in the 1st century, could seat between 8,000 and 10,000 people. Points of interest are the Castle http://www.english-heritage.org.uk/daysout/properties/chester-castle-agricola-tower-and-castle-walls/ http://www.virtualchester.org/view/view_location.php?id=13 or and the Chester Cathedral (formerly the church h of St. Werburgh’s Abbey http://www.chesterwalls.info/cathedral.html . Its architecture dates back to the Norman era, with additions made most centuries since

Outside the walls is St. John’s the oldest church in the city. St. John’s was at one time the cathedral church. The church was shortened after the dissolution of the monasteries and ruins of the former east end remain outside the church. Much of the interior is in Norman style and this is considered to be the best example of 11th–12th century church architecture in Cheshire. http://www.parishofchester.com/

Mostly Chester was shops, some of which were restored (or made to look like restored) buildings in the Tudor style which were typically constructed using English oak timbers then painted with black tar for protection from the weather. Portions were painted with a white paint which was a lime wash. There were hundreds of shops in Chester but the only one of interest to the boys (other than those that sold food) was the Official Liverpool store.

Game 3

Game three was a surprise to the boys. There were up against a team that was better than they were stylish and very physical. Our boys jumped out to a two goal lead. With Eric scoring the first goal by lobbing the ball strategically over the goalie’s head and Brian following shortly after with the second with a beautiful run down the left side of the field where he beat the goalie to score. The opposition reacted by playing very physically – which caught our guys somewhat off guard. A good lesson was learned by both teams. The opposing team did not respect the Frederick team and found themselves down two to nothing quickly. Our team got up two to nothing and decided that the team was not all that and then found themselves down three to two at the half. There were no sideline referees and the English team was a beneficiary of a suspicious goal that hit the crossbar and bounced straight down – Jeff picked it up immediately. The referee from mid-field insisted that the ball crossed the plane and awarded the goal.

The opposing team scored one goal in the second half that Tim Howard himself could not have stopped. But the opposing team did not score again and our guys did not quit. David stopped a penalty shot. The final score was Frederic 2 and the opposing team 4.

The guys played hard and should be commended for their effort. At this point I would like to make a personal observation – my son has been on a few international trips and it is easy to believe that your team is going to come to a country where football is religion and that they are not just going to be competitive – they were going to win. Our guys may not have won, but they acquitted themselves well. The other kids had the benefit of sleeping in their own beds, eating their own food, and playing on their own fields. Our kids are sightseeing with their peers all day, changing on the bus, and playing with referees who look for and make calls differently than American referees. This game was physical – we had two players who were on the bench with minor injuries at the end of the game and couple more who easily could have been sitting.

Kathleen

Day 6 – Our Excursion to Wales

Day 6 – Our Excursion to Wales

The day started out gray and great. Gray because the sky was overcast (not raining) and great because we got to sleep in. The weather was cooler than London - which is experiencing a heat wave (today 31.5C =88.7F), so we were lucky on the temperature part also. As the day progressed the clouds lifted and the weather was perfect. The Welsh countryside was just beautiful. So green and lush with history anywhere you turned your head. There were old towns and churches in abundance - this was an excellent addition to the tour and well worth the trip.

On the agenda for today = Wales. We toured two Welsh castles. Everyone really found them fascinating, even the boys. They were intrigued by the castle’s lack of safety features and the freedom to roam anywhere that was not closed off. Unlike American venues, there was the ability to explore and climb without a lot of restrictive rules. There were new and exciting ways to do bodily harm if you were not careful. The Welsh attitude is was just use a little common sense and try not to hurt yourself. I am able to report that all of the boys exhibited good common sense and returned to the hotel with all of their limbs intact.

The first castle we visited was Caernarfon in North Wales. http://www.caernarfon-castle.co.uk The Castle has seven towers. In the towns previous life there was a motte-and-bailey castle in the town of Caernarfon from the late 11th century until 1283. In 1282 King Edward I of England began replacing it with the current stone structure. The Edwardian town and castle acted as the administrative center of north Wales and as a result the defenses were built on a grand scale. It is believe that there was a deliberate attempt when the castle was constructed to link it with Caernarfon's Roman past. Near the castle is the Roman Fort of Segontium http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Segontium and the castle's walls are reminiscent of the Walls of Constantinople.

The second castle we toured was Conwy castle. http://www.conwy.com/. What made Conwy castle special was that it is/was a walled town with the wall still intact. Its circuit of walls is over three quarters of a mile long and guarded by no less than 22 towers. To get an idea of size – our bus was just small enough to squeak through a gate in the wall to leave the area. The combination of castle and town wall makes Conwy one of most complete and interesting medieval town-experiences anywhere. Most of the boys choose to walk the wall rather tour the castle.

My impressions of castle life can be summed up in two words: cold and smelly. With the tide out there was no mistaking that you were near the ocean. The town just reeked with an unpleasant order like all fishing or seaside towns do when the tide is low. It was clear from walking the grounds that in their day these castles were probably the safest place to be. Some castle trivia: spiral steps must turn clockwise. That gives you elbow room (if right handed) to swing your sword against an attacker climbing up towards you.

Tomorrow the boys will tour the stadium where Manchester United calls home and play their final match.

Note to the parents and friends: Internet service is very expensive here. You may not be receiving much in the way of email from folks here. I wanted to make sure that you were aware of that information and not feel neglected.

Regards,

Kathleen

Day 5. On The Road Again

Hi Everyone  We have just arrived to the hotel in Chester.  it is a nice hotel, nicer than the last one.  Coach is talking to the players before dinner.  it was a long day but we had 2 stops, one in Oxford and one in Shakespeare's hometown.  The stops broke up the trip and made it more bearable.  At our last hotel, the Internet was very spotty and here in this hotel, you have to pay to use it.  Because of that we don't know how much we will send from here.

It is a cooler area here, and somewhat remote.  all boys are well but tired from the early mornings and much walking.  We start our day tomorrow at 9:30 with many cheers from the bus with this news.  The hotel allowed me to send this short message from their desk so I can't write much.

Fran Coss

Day Four – The Game – FC Frederick Plays to a 2-2 Tie

Day Four – The Game – FC Frederick Plays to a 2-2 Tie

Tim sends it back for the attack

Today after a full day of walking and sightseeing the boys played their second game. Their opponent was a local team of the same age players. When only the center referee showed up for the game, Jon Windle and a person from the opposing team agreed to serve as sideline referees. The opponents were skilled and the match was a close one. This was a fast moving game, no walking on the pitch on this day. Each player worked hard. The Watford Team took the lead in the first half with a beautiful goal. Brian provided the equalizer. The Watford Team was having trouble with the heat and the referee called a water break about 30 minutes into the game. At half time the score was tied at 1-1. The boys dominated for the next 20-30 minutes, however, the Watford Team was able to execute a play and score a go ahead goal. After that goal – the boys stepped up their game. Things were looking a little bleak for the boys for a while there in the second half. There was one sequence of plays where the boys failed to connect with five good shots on goal in less than 10 seconds, nothing would go in. But finally Gary motored through with the equalizer. Both FC Frederick goalies played admirably in goal and on the field.

Gary scores the second equalizer

The boys played hard and showed a lot of heart coming back from two one-goal deficits. The boys had many opportunities to score and were frustrated by the goal posts and missed shots. FC Frederick was on the verge of scoring again when the game ended in a tie. I am pretty sure that the first half was 45 minutes; it seemed to me that the second half was shorter. With each game -- the team has played better.

Regards,

Kathleen

Day Four “On Our Own”

August 1 – Day Four “On Our Own”

Today we were left to our own devises from 8:30am until 4:15pm. Each person or group went their own way. Some went to Chelsea Stadium, some went to the Churchill War Room, some went to the Tate Museum of Modern Art, and some went to the Prime Meridian. Some walked, some ventured onto the Underground, some went by boat and others went by cab to their destinations. The weather was warm by London standards. For those of us from across the pond, in our opinion the weather today was lovely. We have been so fortunate to have excellent weather for our stay so far.

I have asked each parent/group to provide for the group a couple of words as to what their group of folks did today. I have tried to quote each person as well as I can read their writing and in no particular order or importance – except my husband’s input which I have placed last in the hopes that you will become bored and quit reading before then. [I plan to update this entry tomorrow, as it is late and I am tired.]

“Darby and I had a wonderful day in London. We went to the Churchill War Rooms and took a relaxing cruise to Greenwich. The weather couldn’t have been more perfect.”

“[Started out on the] South side of the Thames, across Western Bridge, followed the river towards Tower Bridge and saw the Chick Museum and the Tate Modern Art Museum, and Sir Frances Drake’s ship the “Golden Hind.” It was then off to the Anchor Pub and then across the Tower Bridge to the Underground and back to the Grosvenor hotel. This trip was guided by an old friend “Jim White” from post college days who has lived in London for 15 years.”

“I saw some beautiful flower gardens on Lady Diana of Wales’ memory wall. The ship in the bottle on Trafalgar Square was exquisite. Churchill’s War Room was very interesting and I wish I had had more time there.”

“Coach Conley traveled to Greenwich and stood on the prime Meridian, visited the Hard Rock Café, and walked along the Thames.”

“Caleb, William, Jeff and Mr. Demas did the Stamford Bridge Tour, home of Chelsea FC, enjoyed relaxing at the Hyde Park Forum, Duke of Wellington monuments, and people watching”

“Alex and Cynthia went to the British Library and saw an original copy of the Magna Carta from the 1200’s and original works from Shakespeare, Chaucer, Mendelssohn, and others. Also went to Nike town, Trafalgar Square, Tate Modern Art Museum, and the Millennium Bridge. Walked lots!!!!”

“David and Janet went to Nike Town, Adidas Store, Piccadilly Circle, and the Hard Rock Café. Saw lots of really nice and expensive cars.”

“The Milford’s saw spectacular views from the London Eye and beautiful architecture, took a lovely walk through Hyde Park, and saw their nephew Evan who live in Cheltenham.”

“Eight of us visited the largest Nike store in the WORLD and purchased shoes, tee shirts, and other specialty items. Then several of us headed toward Churchill’s War Room and Museum. Fortunately for us we lost our way and sat Trafalgar Square, the Stand (theater district), St. James Park, and Buckingham Palace. May miles on foot … many memorable moments!” Carrie

“Eric, Chris, George, Jon and I ventured to the shopping district of London. Jon and I went to Harrods while the boys spent time viewing cars at high end dealers. Together we hopped on the Underground (Metro) to Chelsea Stadium and made it back through Hyde Park and engaged in people watching.”

“A couple of observations: the London Metro is 3-times as big as DC’s and works 3-times as well. Chelsea has better looking jerseys, hats, etc. than Arsenal, London cabs are cleaner than DC cabs but the drivers didn’t speak English any better, and Harrods makes Neiman Marcus look like a 7-11” Jon

Game 2 news to follow in a separate post.

Day Three - 2012 Olympic Site, Camden Street Market, and the Emirates Cup

Today we began the day by taking the walking tour of the 2012 Olympic Site under construction. The day has been beautiful and cool. We walked out to the site of the Olympic Stadium that was finished this month -- the final piece of turf has been laid on the field of play and they are ready for the games to begin there. The other venues are in various stages of completion -- the Olympic Torch is under construction -- about 50 percent complete. Next summer when the boys are viewing the Olympics on TV -- the guys will have a firsthand knowledge of the venue. (site: http://www.london2012.com/)

After the tour of the 2012 Olympic Games site construction – our next stop was the Camden Market. The Camden Market is a large open-air and covered festival of shops, food, and pubs that cater primarily to the under-25 set, punk rockers, hippies, musicians, and artisans. (I am sure that most of the revenue derived from Camden Market comes from tourists.) The Camden area of London is known as the birth place of punk rock. Jon, George, and I dined on Indian food and pizza for lunch. The food was tasty and cheap (I hope that I do not regret this choice tomorrow). I could have spent hours people watching at the Camden Markets – all genre and type of people were milling about and engaged in the sale and purchase of goods and services (e.g., clothes, tattoos, pub grub) -- punkers with crazy hair and clothing, bohemians with flowing clothes, grandma and grandpa, families, tourists from the four corners of the world, locals, and pets. I am sure that anything a person could need or think of (even if you did not need it) could be found at the Camden Market. There is so much junk that it is overwhelming - trying to find the nuggets of value is work - a lot of work..

Our next stop was Emirates Stadium – where the group got to watch two matches. Paris Saint-Germain defeated the BOCA Juniors 3 to nil and the New York Red Bulls tied the Arsenal to win the Emirates Cup. The high point of the afternoon was the Arsenal crowd’s warm and enthusiastic embrace of Henry Thierry. A sellout crowd of 60,011 turned out to see the Arsenal’s former striker perform. When his name was mentioned on the loud speakers before the game, the crowd gave him a standing ovation showing just how popular Henry still is in London (North London at least).

The stadium was great – it is by far the best venue for soccer that I have ever been to. Even though we were in the upper deck it was easy to get to (you had to walk up stairs -- no escalators or ramps) and the view was grand. There are no food or drink vendors roaming the stadium seating. If you want something to eat -- you need to get up and go buy at the concessions stands. Also, patrons are not allowed to consume alcohol in stadium seating -- there are designated spaces in the concession area for alcohol consumption. This is so different from the customs of the American game or any professional sporting event in America. The Arsenal crowd is a loud one and some of the songs and chants coming from the die hard fans are enough to make a sailor blush. The good news is that you have to listen carefully and think about what they are saying before you really hear it and that takes effort. The crowd also participated in an impressive wave which made its way around the stadium three times.

Our driver has been fantastic. He can maneuver the coach in the tightest of spaces. He has been doubly busy dealing with the local authorities. Last night the buses' fuel tank was emptied and the local authorities were tied up with another matter and did not get around to responding to him until today. Sometimes we forget how efficient our police are. It never occurred to me that you could call the local authorities with a major issue (missing bus fuel is big money) and that the police could not or would not be able to investigate the matter until the next day. I guess that a little perspective is a good thing.

The boys have a late afternoon game tomorrow. There is a change of plans - tomorrow the group will not be going to Stonehenge. We will have an additional day to tour London. We did the driving math for the trip and realized that it would be almost three hours up and three hours back, all spent in the coach, leaving very little time for actually touring the site. The group discussed our options and the group has decided that we would like to use our time taking in the country and interacting with the people rather then sitting on a bus.

That is all from me tonight.

Regards,

Kathleen