Blackburn Away

When I got back to Karl's place in Smethwick I had to do my laundry and repack my bag for my trip in the morning to watch Aston Villa play Blackburn away . Didn't get to sleep until 2 am and had to be up round 730 am to grab a taxi to go to Halesowen to meet the Kidderminster Lions bus . That was a bit of an adventure as I was told to get off at a pub and cross the road and walk to a lay by which is basically a gas station . When I arrived there I saw a gas station right beside the pub so I messaged Harry and yeah I'm not good with directions lol ! I found myself crossing the road and seeing that there was no sidewalks so I was a bit leery about walking on the road like everyone does in Egypt . I'm not sure if that would even be legal so I just waited near the Audi shop for the bus and it arrived in due time with me running to get on before  causing any ruckus on the road way :) 

 

Of course I bought a bunch of beers before catching the bus and I bought a bottle of Johnnie Black for Elvis as a thank you for hooking me up with tickets for the Reading match . A small token of my appreciation and really these guys always take good care of me . He was really happy with the small gift . I sat beside Chris Fetters on bus for the first 15 min then made my way back to the back of the bus to cause some trouble with the Kiddy Youth ( YOOF!) the banter was really good and the pints were yummy . We stopped in a pub on the way and did a few rounds with Fetters and Pete Aston and then we got back on the bus but where were the Yoof ? Rounded the corner and there they came running after the bus lol ! Apparently one of the lads became a bit ill and the lads did the right thing by not leaving him behind .... mates should always look out for each other right ? Anyways they got a bit of an ear full from the people that were worried about losing em and that's understood but I fully agree they did the right thing and everything worked out and we carried on to the match . 

When we got to the ground the atmosphere was electric with almost 7,000 Villans singing and dressed up in costumes . Last away day is always dress up day but I didn't bring a costume or anything . It's a bit of a carnival atmosphere and everyone is having a good time . We bolted to find a pub or shop to get hopped up a bit . Ran by some guy selling 4 beers for £5 and he lied and said the shops were all out of beer so I bought them . How desperate is someone to do that ? He made a whole £1 off me with his elaborate lie . Seems like a waste of his time isn't it .... I wouldn't bother doing that even if I was broke . I went into the shop and they were selling beer and I bought some ciders to hand out to everyone as it was my round . 

 

The match started and it was a crazy atmosphere but there were a few idiots in our stand who were actually cheering for Blackburn ???  Some wearing their tops and a bunch of them even cheered when they scored against us which really upset me and I don't think a single person that travelled with Kiddy lads were cheering . I made some eye contact with 2 guys jumping up and down and after the game those same 2 guys didn't seem to be cheering anymore???? Didn't you want us to lose ? How can anyone dare say they support the Villa and then cheer for the opposing team to score and beat us ! I'm appalled by these so called fans . Yeah it would be great to see them Bluenoses go down but do it with honour . Don't just roll over for another club to go down . Not a sportsmanlike attitude if you ask me . Imagine how the players that you came to cheer on felt ? Yeah they are pros getting paid but you know they didn't seem to be interested in playing after that . Absolutely pathetic display by the people that call themselves supporters .... if you were one of them then you're not Villa . I'm VTID , no excuses . 

 

We lost and to be honest I'm glad to be going home instead of wasting more money to watch this showerof shit . Love the Villa but roll on next season . Let's get some new faces into the club and shed the money grubbers . This was one of the worst performances I've ever seen from the Villa and this trip I watched us play 4 shit matches where we got lucky once and beat Small Heath (scum) .... I did 7 matches this season and saw 2 wins 3 losses and 2 draws . Not bad for a supporter that lives in 🇨🇦. 

 

After the match there were 8 of us that grabbed our bags off the bus and we hopped on the train to Manchester for a night out . Gotta love these away days ! When we got to the Premier Inn just round the corner from train station, we dropped our bags and washed up and met in the hotel bar for first pint 🍻 

I was happy to see BrewDog punk IPA at the bar and bought one and chugged it . We then decided to put £20 each into the kitty for our night out . 8 of us makes £160 , this was nobody gets ripped off on buying rounds at a more expensive pub when moving about . We went to the Patamount next and then hit up the BrewDog pub and then the big boxing match was on and a few lads wanted to catch it but every pub showing it was full to the max and we had to settle for watching it on a phone in the pub next door . I think we hit up 4 or maybe 5 puns before a couple of the guys had to leave . We had another pint and decided we should go for a sit down Chinese . 

 

I have no clue what the name of the place was but the food was fantastic . Adrian and Gavin left early apparently to go sleep but when we walked into the restaurant there they were ordering take away lol ! We got them to come sit with us and the staff there didn't want to let them sit with us so I spoke to them and told them we are together . We can all go somewhere else and they brought seats for them :) we were a bit loud and I could see some other tables eyeing us but hey we are just having fun not causing trouble and honestly I laughed my ass off for most of our stay there . We had some duck to share and I ordered a lovely beef plate . All the food was fantastic and I really wish I knew the name of the place .... they did kinda rush us out of there , I'm guessing to make their other patrons happy . We pitched in £30 each and I thought it was worth every penny . Being with this group I would have paid twice as much because we are all good friends having a laugh and that for me is priceless . 

 

After we all had a hot towel we went off to find another pub .... unfortunately it was 1 am and our only possible choice would be the casino . I am very happy to say we didn't go in because if we did I have no clue what would have happened but I'm guessing it would have gotten very messy as we were already Good from the amount of drink we had all day . Remember we started drinking in the morning and only stopped because they wouldn't sell us alcohol at Ewood Park . That little break from when kickoff until round 6 pm was a blessing in disguise . I'm still tired from the amount of travel the last few days and I'm looking forward to some rest when I get back to Toronto . Once again great night out with my Villa mates . Thanks for organizing everything Paul Harris , great being your room mate Chris Fetters and always a laugh being with Mark Byworth, Pete Aston and Steve Woodward .... last but not least it was gray meeting Adrian and Gavin Sabel . You're all top lads , see you all in the morning :)