Fun games and big wheels…

Yesterday I went to see England v Israel with my sister at Wembley, it was absolutely fantastic. I haven’t been to a football match for about a year- that was also an England game, but at Old Trafford. It was more of a trek to get to this game, car, train and then about an hour stuck on the tube underneath someones armpit- which for anyone who knows London Underground- ain’t too much of a pleasant experience on any day – let alone a hot day.
Oddly the final tube train that got us to Wembley wasn’t busy at all. I think people paniced because it was getting a bit late in the day so they slammed themselves in one train not realising that the one on the next platform also went to Wembley, but just with a few more stops. There was about 6 people in our carriage till one stop prior to ours when it filled up a bit- but I certainly wasn’t complaining as I didn’t even expect to get a seat on that section of the jouney, which we did! Anyway, we got there in one piece.

The tube station was rammed when we got there – that wasn’t really much of a surprise – but when I saw 90,000 people all wanting to go down one walkway to the stadium I was a bit agog, awestruck is probably a fairer way to put it.

The new Wembley is an impressive sight when you come out from the tube station. I wasn’t sure if I would appreciate it because I heard comments about it looking like an airport terminal and having no soul, but to be honest I don’t really agree with that. Yes, it is modern and I think the character of the twin towers are missed from a historical viewpoint ( I am convinced they could’ve incoporated them somehow) but it is nice to look at it- quite architecturally interesting. I took some photos of the arch meeting the glass windows and the reflections… was trying to be artistic…
There was a fantastic atmosphere, walking down there(apart from a protest that was going on, much as it might not be very PC- I chose to ignore it) there is something great about football and international games I really enjoy and to be somewhere so special… well, I loved it. I  got us a programme each and we headed to the Stadium to fin where we were sitting, a long walk round the back I’m afraid and then up a load of escaltors to the equivalent of the Gods… which I was a bit worried about but actually the view was terrific we could see everything.

This match might not have been technically a big challenge, at the start I had the feeling it might be one of those situations where you sit there on the edge of your seat for 90 mins because they play so deep you can’t get anywhere near the goal- which doesn’t make for interesting play, but it does contibute to heart problems- which with my family history is perhaps not what you want on a Saturday evening!
However, a relatively early goal from Shaun Wright-Philips 20 mins in seemed to give England the impetus to move forward in a positive, although slightly disjointed, fashion. Israel seemed to pick up the pace a bit although never got close to scoring really. Second half saw Michael Owen score No. 2, with a terrific half volley… gotta love little Michael Owen! Micah Richards sealed the win with a header in the 66th minute by which time I think Israel wanted to call it a day.

My sister and I waited until most of the crowd had dispersed before leaving our seats- we both were annoyed by quite how early some people left to miss the rush of people leaving the stadium. If you go to a match, you should support your team till the end! I think because we don’t have as much money, it makes us relish our day out a bit more. I appreciate that the game was pretty much over but it ain’t over till the fat lady sings and leaving with 10 mins to go seems a bit premature. I suspect the atmosphere and the time it takes for everyone to filter out of the stadium after the game could cause problems in the future if, for example, a result didn’t go someones way, cranky people given even more reason to be cranky isn’t good…so I might understand people leaving early then – but I still wouldn’t go even if I was fed up- the team needs your support even more under those circumstances… anyway, I’m rambling again.

After the game my sister and I looked for the Wembley Shop, hoping to get a souvenir but stupidly they closed the shop after the game- I have learnt in future we shall go earlier and have a peek in the shop BEFORE the game. We wandered about for a while, looked at the Bobby More Statue, gazed across London a bit and stared up at the stadium before heading for a bit to eat- I chose a dodgy looking van to get meself a hotdog ( sister sensibly stayed away from dodgy meat products from the van… ) and I got us a t-shirt each to commemorate our day out!

I then decided to treat my sister to a night time trip on the London Eye, it was amazing. We could see the illuminated arch of the new stadium from the top of the Eye right across in the distance to the West. (I borrowed the following photo from http://www.bbc.co.uk )

 The city lights are beautiful at night it’s sort of like Christmas. We were lucky because we only just made it on ( the trip across to Waterloo from Wembley was a bit longer than I remembered…) ! Here is a little pic of the London Eye – I didn’t take this but it’s just to give you an idea how cool it looked, I shall try and put one of my own on at a later date but in the mean time I borrowed this one from:

http://blogs.zdnet.com/mobile-gadgeteer/wp-mobile.php?p=251

After our trip on the London Eye we headed for home, back across London, tubes and trains and buses later we were back at my mates house … think it was at 12.45 this morning we got back. I am tired and a bit skint today but v happy.