Island Monkeys

Yeah i don't sit down for too long before i'm off on another trip , this next trip was booked before my last trip and has been planned out for quite some time ... it will be a unique experience playing for a club from the UK ! My good friend Darren Lee Allott aka Dazza runs a couple hockey teams :) this one team is a travel team called the Island Monkeys which is what we had affectionately called them when i first met them 7 years ago when we met in Bolzano ,Italy . Actually one of the German guys coined the phrase but doesn't really matter as we all took the proverbial piss by calling them Island Monkeys ... a few years later Dazza takes the piss and names his travel team that ... FANTASTIC ! Whenever i'm in the UK with my gear i always end up passing through Sheffield as it seems to be the easiest place to get on the ice ??? yeah really i mean i have had my gear in Birmingham about 7 times and never once have i been on the ice with the Birmingham Rockets or any other club that skates at Solihul ... yes i'm calling you guys out !!! I will be in Birmingham around Dec 26 so if you can get me on ice around then then you know what to do :) (message me ! )

As i was saying when i'm in UK i'm always on the ice with these guys thanks to Dazza ! So when the idea of these guys going to NYC came up and they needed a goalie i couldn't resist but offering my help as a thanks kinda for all those ice times i have gotten with them , its the least i could do ... the flight wasn't bad , only around $250 with Air Canada so i won't have to pay for my gear ! The hotel arrangement is kinda cheap but not really as it is NYC but its not really NYC since we are staying out on Long Island but still is kinda NYC prices :( yeah it is what it is and what it is is a great experience waiting to happen ... there is just one small problem that i have with these guys so far ... apparently

they like to listen to Taylor Swift before games ??? yeah tell me about it ! you expect Metallica or NWA or something to get you pumped .... i have a feeling they drink prosecco too if you know what i mean ... i know you guys are reading this so i expect to hear about it :) i want some different music played as part of my new contract negotiations !!! damn it i already paid anyways DOH :P

Seems like the trip is gonna be filled with everything you can expect from a trip to NYC with a bunch of Brits ... i am gonna skip the obvious tourist shit that i've done before and instead i am hoping to meet up with some other people and get some investigative stuff going on about the hockey scene there , really hoping to meet up with the guys from SnipetownNYC http://www.snipetownnyc.com/#!about/copf ...we will see what happens . Obviously i want to check out some hockey stuff while there if i can instead of the tourist traps but if anything the most important thing is to play my best for these guys and party like a beer monster .. i hope they like beer ....

Derby Day

Well this is it , the day I have made this long trek finally arrived ... The big derby match between my beloved Aston Villa and the ever so hated scum bag bastards from Small Heath Alliance aka Birmingham City FC . Yeah the game that I got totally demolished at on Saturday was a big match to but nothing compares to this , NOTHING ! We have not played these inbreeding dogs in 5 years and in my time travelling to watch Villa I have never had the opportunity to watch or see this game live so everything I was going by was all hearsay from mates over here in England and let me tell ya they weren't wrong . 

Still feeling the effects of Saturday's debauchery I climbed out of bed and finally had breakfast in my hotel and it was very good :) after that I headed down to the Villa Shop on New Street to meet my cousins and we went shopping for curry and wandered around just hanging out ... I already miss them both :( as I sit in the airport writing this . At around 2 pm we headed over to Trocadero to meet Stewart Ray to have a pint and around 3 pm my friend Aideen Quinn from Dublin showed up ... Said my good byes to my cousins and Aideen and myself jumped into an Uber and headed to the Aston Tavern to meet the Kidderminster Lions , the usual suspects LOL ! 

After gathering everyone that had to be there we headed off to the Lions Lounge and met up with my great friend Richard Pilkington who flew in from Spain for this match ... As I said this was a big event for us Villans . Losing to these vile bastards was not an option ! We were all sitting in the next section to them and man oh man was it ever a psychotic scene , right off the bat the fans let each other know how much we cared for each other ! It seemed like we all squared off and yelled at the same person the whole time and I must admit that I got into it and felt no shame calling these scumbags names , singing chants an them and basically laughing at their inbred nature ! Of course there were rows of police between us that tried to calm the situation but the hatred runs deep . It was honestly the craziest fucking sporting event I have ever been to !!!! Wow ! 

The first half wasn't great but then Super Jack came on :) and he didn't disappoint ... Running the sacks of shit ragged , turning them inside out and really showing them what the difference between the 2 teams is ... We are good and they are shit ! I hate em all blues scum , I still feel the energy from that game ... Especially the feeling when big Rudy popped in the winner and we all went ballistic , people falling over jumping for joy . What a feeling it was beating those chumps :) 

When we left the park it was a fucking war zone with big metal fences propped up between the fans as both sides attached the wall trying to get at one another . I am dead serious when I say it was excitingly scary and I highly doubt I will ever see any match like this in my life again ! All I can say to my friends back home is if you missed this one, make sure to go next time !!! Just unreal ... 

I can go on forever talking about this game but my flight is about to leave so with that I would like to thank all my friends here especially Paul Harris , Ben Mitchell , Pete Aston and I can't forget Mark (Elvis) Byworth for being the best of mates an showing me how it's done proper ... See you all in December ! UTV ! 

Still Trying To Remember

Alright this is one of those stories that at the end I can only explain by saying I'm a goalie ... Yes that is my only excuse . I can blame jet lag for some of it but really most of the day was that of a psychopath or a goalie . Now honestly I did not plan to become the man I became this night but it's hard to not become a raging drunk without the help of some friends :) 

As most of you know already , I am a die hard Aston Villa supporter and I flew over to watch a couple big games ... First one was Saturday and yeah I know it's Monday night and this happened a few days ago but trust me it has taken me a few days to piece together what I know and what I'm willing to share , yes some things I can't remember and some things I just don't want to remember .... My girlfriend probably won't enjoy most of this but here we go ! The day started at honestly I can't remember o'clock when I made my way to the Aston Tavern to meet my mates from the Kiddy Lions . Of course beer was on the menu ... Just remembered that I had a shit breakfast at Figure of Eight with Simon Tissington from San Diego , I pecked at the hard fried egg and the rock hard bacon and that is the last sober moment I had . After that I stuck my head in the lions mouth hahaha . So back to the Aston Tavern , yeah I started getting pissed having beers offered with other beers in hand I was necking pints like a thirsty man after some water . 

My buddy Brett Bates showed up with little cunt and the lads , yeah somehow I remember little cunt hahaha ! Just after that we headed to the Lions Lounge which was full and was kinds disappointed that we didn't get in so quick but in hindsight it probably saved me from being even more wasted . When I got in I met up with the Belgian Lions whom always seem to be here when I'm over which is great because I have more people to drink with ... Jesus I sound like an alcoholic don't I ? Oh well it is what it is ! I don't party like this at home believe it or not ... Please believe me :) we were playing the Tesco Baggies and my record coming over here is not that great but you would hope that we'd beat a shit club like this right ? Well my luck was just as bad as usual ... 

As we all know alcohol is not to be consumed in the stands but you can go drink at the concessions which I did during the game since I was such a thirsty bastard LOL ! So the drinking never really stopped ... Met a lad from Bromsgrove that I had a few tins with while Karl occupied our seats . I do remember watching us lose ... Yeah kinda wish I forgot that part but I don't :( some dodgy calls from the ref and some uninspired footie added up to another loss unfortunately . I don't even want to let you all know what the clubs record is when I'm here ... I might be banned for that reason . After the game I went to the Lions Lounge and continued drinking then it gets blurry ... So based on what I've gathered , I went with Belgian Lions to their hotel and continued drinking until I passed out on the table ( jet lag) and when I awoke I think I went to another bar where I'm pretty sure I was turned away and then ended up at my hotel wrecked ... That is the short story ok ! If you know more then keep it to yourself ok ;) seriously ! Tommy if I did pass out I'm sorry mate . 

And now you are wondering what happened the day after right ... Pretty simply put , it was an epic hangover which kept me in bed for the full day , I didn't leave my room and I didn't eat because every hole on my body was an exit and definitely not an entrance ... Figure that out on your own ? It wasn't pretty , my room looked like something out of A Nightmare on Elm Street . I know it sounds like I'm glorifying alcohol abuse and seriously I'm not . I will be the first to agree that I did overdo it and that I will probably try not to do it again ... Unfortunately there is a bigger game tomorrow vs the scum bastards called Small Heath . I am going to try to pace myself but I have to admit that my flight home Wednesday morning will more then likely be a horrible one . Let's just hope for a better result on the pitch ... UTV , SOTC , VTID ! If you don't know what that means then look it up :) time to hit the hay .... 

Back in the UK

So after many discussions (arguments) with my very very amazing girlfriend :) I talked my way into flying back to Birmingham to watch a couple Aston Villa matches ... Yeah no hockey on this trip :( . These matches are not just any matches though as they are both derby matches and one is a battle royale against Birmingham City aka the scum from Small Heath . We all hate the blues and we're gonna show it LOL ! Yeah this is the real deal when it comes to derby matches . Last time I was over here (last month) I told my mates that if we draw the scum that I would come over ... Yeah I kinda made a promise that i shouldn't have but I did and I stick to my word . In my mind I was thinking later on in the season but it had to happen so quickly ? Oh well I'm here now an yes I have a ticket ! 

The flight over was good . I flew to Newark then to Birmingham only because the other option is to fly over to europe then double back to Birmingham ... That's fine and dandy but after flying for 7 hours the last thing I want to do is wait for another flight ... This was easier aside from the bullshit dealing with American customs ... Bunch of idiots ! They gave me a random baggage check which I thanked the officer for . Wasted my time and in the end of it they didn't even open my bag ?!?!? Only to have my bag searched when it flew over o Newark ! Yeah I found that note in my luggage telling me they searched it AGAIN ! Really America is super duper paranoid and if you ask me flying through there doesn't seem like I'm flying over to a free country ? Really with all the searches and such it makes it out to be a prison or something .... Don't take it the wrong way but flying through the USA is always a horrible thing due to their security but it is what it is and my rant won't change anything .... 

When I landed I took a train into the city and went directly to Vodafone to top up my card then to the Villa shop to get my tickets ... Soon after my cousins seen above in their lovely Leafs jerseys came to meet me and we started to wander about and caught up with one another . I always enjoy spending time with Steven and Paul ... Not sure if Steven is with a p or a v but I'm sure I will hear about it the next time we meet up LOL . After a few pints at BrewDog i checked into my hotel .... I am staying at Jurys Inn again even though I bitched about it last time , it's still the best hotel I've stayed at in Birmingham an most comfortable . 

I needed a nap before heading back out .... When I woke up I was being messaged by Brett Bates to come out and they were right near my hotel ... By the time I got up and showered they were over by BrewDog so I went back there LOL ! I met up with Brett and his mates to watch the rugby World Cup which is happening here in England now . Really I'm not a big rugby fan but i will take advantage of any excuse to drink and watch sports :) we ended up at The Railway watching the game ( England vs Fiji) after the match we went down the road for sheesha and let me tell ya that this place was awesome ! I'm going back , can't remember the full name but it's right near BrewDog and don't be fooled by the outside :) it's unreal inside !!! 

I should get ready now as its time for breakfast then footie time ... Had a great night last night hanging out with Brett and of course Mr Karl McNelly , yeah he was there too ! UTV