city boys rule :-)

every time i told someone in the week before hand that i was going to the cardiff v leeds game on saturday they came out with one of two responses, either they would say "have a pie and a bovril at half time" or they would say "oh my god there's gonna be trouble there, watch yourself" needless to say neither response made me feel great about going! being veggie the thought of a meat pie and bovril didn't please me despite the completely false rumours about the amount i eat. even worse the thought of being caught up in any sort of football violence was a little scary!

me and the spark arrived at iguana HQ only to find the iguana was not at home so we took a stroll round the block until he came back from the shops. we headed straight off to cardiff on the train, grabbed a quick bite to eat on the way to the pub and made ourselves comfortable in a pub packed with city fans. the music was pretty good, lots of cool old ska stuff but i did feel like i was in a bit of a time warp. it reminded me a little of my old scootering days, i think it was as much to do with the type of people in there and the way they were dressed as it was the music.

random shot of the game - don't ask me whats going on cos i can't remember!

after a few drinks we headed to the ground, as we got nearer the crowds got bigger and the excitment mounted. it was a real buzz entering the ground, hearing the chanting properly for the very first time was amazing. i'd always thought of football supporting as a kind of primal, tribal thing and it certainly has that vibe. we headed up into the terraces and squeezed our way in through the city fans. it was squashed and i couldn't see half of what was going on but it was great! the chanting was awesome, the vibe was electric and sorry if this isn't a very right on thing to say but standing in the middle of a load of testosterone charged blokes was midly erotic! hum... is that wrong?

the first half was almost over when michael chopra scored from a free kick sending the city fans wild. that certainly felt amazing, everyone jumping up and down with excitment. although obviously i've seen the fans go wild after a goal a million times on the telly you just can't imagine what it's like till you're there. the iguana had already gone to the bar and when the ref blew for half-time me and the spark joined him.

the human wall of feds - keeping those naughty boys apart!

a couple of spliffs and beers later and the second half had already started. we made our way to the front this time where it was a little less crowded and we had a better view of the game. the second half brought a penalty for city which was saved and two sendings off including michael chopra. but city kept their lead with 9 men despite the ref being on the leeds team and took the 3 points.

we left the ground and hung around watching the feds herd the city fans away from the exit, and build a human wall of feds to keep the city fans away from the leeds fans as they went back to their coaches. we then made a quick exit to the pub.

me and the spark let the iguana know what we think! thanks to the iguana for the pic (stolen from his blog hehehe)

me and the spark got the key to iguana HQ and left the iguana still supping his cider in the boozer. on arrival at iguana HQ the spark broke the key in the lock so we had to wait for the iguana to get back some 2 hours later! all was good though and we spent a damn fine evening listening to music and chatting. the iguana does have a most impressive book and CD collection, i must say i am quite jealous!

cardiff train station - realising we had just missed the train and had an hour wait!

the ever popular random arty shot!

so back home in england now, the spark is visiting this weekend and we're off to london on saturday for the troops out of iraq - no trident demo.

with love and light as always xoxox