The Early Bird......

As i right this, the 2012 Munich Oktoberfest will be getting into full swing.  Believe it or not, it has been five years since we were last there, my how time flies, and it just so happens that next year Geevers turns 40.  Now the poor fella couldn't make our last trip, and well gutted he was.  So I made him a promise that when he hits next years milestone age, that I would take him.  Well it's time to make good on that promise.  Wheels have all ready been put in motion, and the numbers are good.  So, in the next fortnight any of you who want to go, need to be getting in touch, as hotels book up pronto.  It will be a good one.

Killer Keisters

Bon Jour ass fans, and how are we all today?  Hopefully you will be just that little bit better after this weeks Killer Keisters.  Sticking with my piss poor French, this fine young lady appears to be "sans coullettes" and aren't we all pleased.  Sacre Bleu!

Yet another forgetful lady, or is she is giving it the old "Come Hither?" All I know is it's a mighty fine arse...

Oooo I have always been a sucker for knee high stockings.

And laslty this weeks G.A.S.  For all you lovers of pale English Roses.

Wristband Around the World

Have added a few snaps to the "Wristband Around the World" gallery. This has to be my favourite, a slumbering Shoutster, brim full of fine Berlin ale.

Still in the German capitol, and small hole in a short stretch of the old Berlin Wall, presents a top photo op.

Across the pond now, and a confused wristband can be seen atop the Vince Lombardi Trophy, that is handed out to the annual Super bowl winning team.  Wrong sport little fella!

Who else but King Clown Jonesey, could muster a smile out of a Horse Guardsman?  Taken outside the Beach volleyball Court at London 2012 Olympics.

Top Ten 10....Away Day Wish List

Me and Alfredo were discussing getting back into the habit of our infamous Away Day jaunts the other day, and it got me thinking "What would be my ideal wish list?" Now I have been pretty lucky. Over the years most of my "Must Do" stadia have been visited. But there are several that have eluded me, and considering the advancing years and lack of funds, a couple will probably have to be visited in another life. So here they are, my El Dorado of Away Day wishes, scored out of ten for the the likelihood that they will be achieved, 0 for never and 10 for I have already got the t shirt ready.

1. La Bombonera- Home of Boca Juniors, this 61,000 capacity stadium in the suburbs of Buenos Aries is world renowned for for the noise and atmosphere generated by it's supporters, especially during the derby game against arch rivals River Plate. When the crowd begin to bounce in unison, the stadium is said to shake to it's foundations. Alas, Argentina is not just around the corner, and expensive to reach. Plus you would want to be going for at least a fortnight, which is a tough sell to the notorious M.R.S. Tickets are also hard to come by, and nigh on impossible for the River Plate game. So unless a EuroMillions win on the lottery is forthcoming, this gets a miserly 1 out of 10 chance of attending.

2.  Wembley- Even though it is in my home land, and a mere two hour something train ride away from my house, I have never been. I have always wanted to make my first visit to the spiritual home of football to watch the Mighty Bantams, which is difficult, considering they have managed to play there all of once, since the original was erected in 1923. That game was in 1996, and for some inexplicable reason, I didn't go. To this day I know not why. There were ample tickets, and I knew plenty of people who went, but for some long forgotten reason, I stayed at home. So if a visit to watch the Bantams looks unlikely, it will probably be the national team, or the Cleveland Browns (if the NFL continue it's annual game) whom I go to see. Considering it is now a 90,000 all seater, there is every chance I will get there. 10/10

3. Westfalenstadion- Home of Borussia Dortmund, this 80,000 capacity monster is regularly voted the best place to watch a game of football in Europe. Similar to Wembley, my hope is to see the mighty Lowen take the field against the home side, which to be frank, is a million times more likely to happen than Bradford City once again gracing the the hallowed turf of Wembley. So when 1860 finally manage to haul themselves back into the top tier of the Bundesliga, I will be there front and centre. Even if I have to take the Elster. 10/10

4. Stadio San Paolo- When the Bender Squad was in it's full glory, we traveled once a year, with out fail, to some of the best known stadiums in Europe. The Nou Camp, Bernabeau, Anfield, Highbury, Amsterdam Arena and the Allianz Arena to name but a few. To this list we aimed to add an Italian adventure, but for some reason it never happened. Kids and less disposable income were the main culprits, although the high cost of boozing in Italy also was a factor. The hope was we go to the San Siro in Milan, and I even began to price up a trip, but since then I have had a slight change of heart. Yes going to Milan or Turin, even Rome is the the obvious choice, but I feel some strange force drawing me towards Napoli. The city itself looks more lively, and the stadium looks a bit livelier as well. Of course the dream is to do all of them, but if I was given one, at this moment in time I would plump for the 51,000 capacity San Paolo. I will probably visit another Italian ground before this one, so it scores a lowly 3/10

5. St Jakob Park- The home of FC Basel, our Swiss branch of the Bender Squad has extended an open invitation to visit. I fancy it big time, although at £8 a pint, I may struggle to find a lot of takers. Of course, I always have the Shoutster to fall back on, and you only live once, so I will make it there in the not to distant future. 10/10

6. Emile Versé Stadium- Home of Anderlecht. I have no dying urge to go to this particular stadium. In fact I only picked it because it's in Brussels, and it's the biggest stadium in town. It could easily be any other, but it's the Belgian capital I fancy celebrating my 50th in, and at that age I will need a couple of hours off the booze. In fact I'll probably snooze through most of the game.... 8/10

7. Estádio da Luz- To be honest I totally forgot about this one, and it should be at number 4, but I can't be arsed re-editing this thread, so at number seven it stays. The Stadium of Light, home of Benfica is 65,000 beast in the city of Lisbon. The original was once the biggest in Europe at a whopping 120,000, but the new one will do just nicely. Now a couple of years back we had great hopes of making the Brazil 2014 World Cup, but those hopes are all but dead, barring a lottery jackpot, or being sexually harassed at work and receiving a huge out of court settlement. So we aren't going. Now they speak Portuguese in Brazil, so a cheaper alternative could be a spring visit to take in a match. I shall make it so... 8/10

8. Estadio Azteca- The worlds largest football specific stadium (fifth overall) is a true beast. It is also one of the planets most iconic. The 1970 world cup final, and Diego's hand of God are just a couple of the famous footballing acts to take part on this stage, but it is the strange shadow that was in the middle of the pitch that sticks in my mind. This would warrant a higher place in my rankings but for one thing. Mexico scares the shit out of me. Psychotic cats chasing super speedy mice are one thing, but the steady stream of Hollywood blockbusters portraying the place as some kind of uber violent wild west town give me the willies. My fears may well be unfounded, but trying to keep tabs on the likes of Shouty and Geezers in this bandit town means it scores a 1/10

9. San Siro- There was a time when this would have been top of the list, and at one point wheels were put in motion to facilitate a trip, but it just kind of petered out. Maybe because of this, my interest waned. The 80,000 seat beast still looks magnificent, but the more I have heard about Milan the city, the less enthusiasm I have for it. I reckon it would be a good stop on a mini tour of northern Italy, but that is about it. Yet it is still the first name that crops up when a European away Day is touted. It for this reason alone that I envision a visit. 7/10

10. New York Baseball- You may well have noticed that up till now all the Away Days have featured Association Football.  Till now.  My second favourite sport in the world is baseball, and there is arguably no bigger baseball town than New York.  Both the Yankees and the Mets play in brand new state of the art stadiums, built near where their old yards used to stand.  Now I confess my preference would be to go see the Bronx Bombers, but there seems to be some dark forces at work, as every time I visit the Big Apple they are out of town.  This leaves the less fashionable Mets, who play out in Queens.  They play in a new stadium that has been built in a retro style, styled on old Ebbetts Field, the demolished home of the long departed Brooklyn Dodgers.  And they just happen to be at home during my next visit to the city that never sleeps... Yankee Stadium 5/10  Citi Park 10/10

 So that's the 10 to do list before I die.  You may have noticed there is no Brazilian venues on my list.  Lets face it, their league teams are pretty dull (bet you can't name more than three teams) and the national team plays most of it's fixtures in London now.  As i explained, the next World Cup is probably four years to early for me.  In 2018 I will be, fingers crossed, mortgage free, and the kids SHOULD be long gone.  And if I was going to go to Brazil, I reckon it would be the beach volleyball that I would head for...  Still, with a bit of luck, I will be updating this list in a couple of years, as I hope to have got around at least four of these places. 

Quick Wood Update

A quick update of the going ons down the Wood. The Righteous had a great chance to peg the Nefarious JMF back to a solitary game lead, and it looked good from the off for the lads in white. Everyone was putting in a shift, and although we couldn't quite finish them off, all looked rosey. Till Aki went in nets. It was a chaotic display, and although we did manage to claw our way back to within a couple of scores, but the damage proved irreparable. Back to 3 up.....

2012 Season

JMF wins- 19

Euro wins- 16

Draws- 4

Top Bender

I do believe we may have begun a new annual Bender. The Saltaire heritage festival was well worth the visit. Busy, good bars and top company. You could even get your beer from the offy, there by circumnavigating the packed pubs, and saving a bob or two in the process. Good music and grub were also on offer.  Will definitely be worth repeating next year. I am also going to try and organize a shindig at least every other month.

Another Device, Another Excuse?

Well here I am posting from.yet another device, this time an HTC phone app. Will this cure my rampant idleness? So far a desk top, lap top, iPad and Nokia smartphone have failed,so the odds aren't too good,  but the proof shall be in the pudding as the saying goes. Still, a dedicated app, combined with its mobility, may just provide the ease of use that could help a labour shy old geezer like myself pull the proverbial finger out. In fact I am looking forward to giving it a spin this Saturday. As long as I don't lose it in a drunken stupor.....

General Guff

Now then, just sat here bored on a Sunday night watching the clock tick down on the weekend. Don't really have much to say, so thought I would check in. Wonder who many daft fuckers will be on Dragons Den? Oh the excitement.....

Only Seven more Sleeps

A quick reminder to what is left of the Bender Squad about next weeks reunion.  There are a few folk showing up at all kinds of different times, ranging from the noon starters, to the tea timers.  I am aiming to be in the Boathouse for around 3pm, but am flexible.  This is probably the best place to start out, it's near the station, and if the weather is good (fingers crossed) affords plenty of seating.  After that, I will be contactable by phone, but the later it get's the messier we will be.  Should be a good one, looking forward to seeing some faces I haven't seen for a spell, and once we are all out, we need to come up with some sort of plan to make it a more regular thing. 

Killer Keisters

Now then ass fans, been busy lately, so no time to spend trawling the net for fine keisters.  Even today, a day off no less, I have a bunch of shit to do, so there are just the three pics to share.  I thought I would start with something a summery, as it is a nice day, and winter will be upon us in no time. And I like her smile...

The next picture poses on major question.  "Why the heck would anybody want to be in front of this fine filly?"  Must be a JMF bike ride of some sorts, as I would be following this honey all the way to kingdom come.

Lastly, and sticking with cycling theme, a nice G.A.S.  Oh to be a bike seat.....

Now then ass fans, been busy lately, so no time to spend trawling the net for fine keisters. 

Wood Reprieved

After giving the Wood it's last rites, and with the plug about to be pulled after 22 years, Bradford Council saw the light, and matched the price of our proposed site.  So our spiritual home shall remain our home, at least till the end of the year.  And to celebrate, the Righteous clawed yet another game back from the evil female dodgers.  Aki and Jimmy are settling in nicely now, although the formers goal keeping skills need a bit of work.  There was a late burst from the JMF, that threatened the lead the euro boys had carried throughout the match, but thanks to some superlative shot stopping by yours truly, we held them off to earn the win that takes us to within two games of drawing level for the year.  Game on.

2012 Season

JMF wins- 18

Euro wins- 16

Draws- 4