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“Fuck community college, lets get drunk n drive to Tibet”

Part 3: FREEDOM!

Part 3 of the epic adventure of regular contributor Matt Bowen as he manages to free himself under the mountain of bureaucracy to start on his bike ride to Tibet

July 4th 2004

I had no idea what to expect. No idea whatsoever. Going north with the group felt like driving out into the country side. Leaving for Tibet on the highway felt like I was trying to escape. The day before I left I received an excited call from the foreign affairs officer Mr. Wang. “You must come to the office before you leave!”.

I had previously mentioned to Mr. Wang that I was planning on driving my motorcycle to Tibet and apparently it had just occurred to him that I might be serious. He handed me a piece of paper and asked me to list every place I plan to travel to and which hotels I will stay at. He wanted a detailed travel itinerary. I told him that I hadn’t booked any hotels, and I was bringing a tent with me. He stared at me like I was from another planet “You must give me your itinerary”. I told him I didn’t have one except to drive to Tibet and back. He told me “write down all the information you have, when you will return etc…” I grabbed the paper and wrote “I am driving my motorcycle to Tibet, I don’t know when I will return.”, signed it and bade him farewell.

Mr. Wang and I had our moments together. Though he would always smile at me when I saw him I’m not sure if he ever actually liked me. Mr. Wang was a short bald guy who wore wire rimmed glasses. He was around 45 years old and had extraordinarily rotten teeth I guess in large part because he chain smoked and drank tea all day long. He also couldn’t speak a word of English. At that point my Chinese language ability was still pretty basic so the majority of the conversations between Mr. Wang and I were through whomever was nearby and could speak some English. Sometimes it was an English teacher but usually it was a student. We made good use of the dusty old English/Chinese dictionary he had on his desk. It was never easy communicating with Mr. Wang.

I am not sure what exactly qualified Mr. Wang for his position as Head of Foreign Affairs or what his job was exactly but I definitely didn’t make it easy for him.

The winters in Baotou were brutal, and one of the biggest reasons was the general lack of heating. If a building contained no water pipes, like many of the school buildings, they were only minimally heated, and it was necessary to wear a heavy coat. And in many of the offices were placed a small coal stove that was perpetually heating up an old rusty tea pot. The smell of coal burning is distinct and sharp and it coloured the days and nights of winter in northern China. Mr. Wong’s office resembled his teeth, stained brown and faded with years of chain smoking, steaming tea kettles and the ubiquitous small coal burner in the middle of the room.

During the first few months at Number 9 Middle School I spent a lot of time in Mr. Wang’s office. I needed to get a criminal record check. I needed a health check at the local hospital. I needed to have my TESOL certificate and resume be notarized and translated and sent off to the police somewhere to be approved and stamped and issued a residence permit, a work visa and a foreign expert certification.

I was not the first foreigner to have worked at Number 9 but I was the first to be left alone. I was told that the previous foreign teachers lived in the teacher’s building on campus. I met many different foreigners while I lived in China. In Baotou, there were not many other foreigners and among the ones I met there was quite the range in personalities.

The first foreigners I met in Baotou were just before I left on my journey. I was sitting in a restaurant eating dumplings and reading a book when I glanced up and saw a white guy riding a bicycle past the restaurant window. I quickly paid the bill, rushed out of the restaurant and jumped on my motorcycle and caught up to him. He told me that he was living in Baotou teaching English at the other end of town at the 2nd rated high school in Baotou. We exchanged numbers and he invited me to his birthday party which was scheduled for the following day at a popular baozi restaurant “Gou Bu Li”.

At the party there were 5 or 6 Americans, they were all in their 30’s and 40’s, very religious – a lot of “gosh”s and and “darn”s etc.. – and were probably the most boring people I had ever met. Their conversation was almost entirely focused on complaining about the quality of everything compared to the US, something I find to be highly tedious. After our lunch we parted ways and I never heard from them again. I presume they finished their time in Baotou, went back to the states and from time to time tell a story about how awful it was in China, and how great the USA is, of course.

The previous foreigners at No 9 Middle School only ever left the school during school sanctioned and approved trips. Mr Wang was not prepared for my aggressive level of freedom, and I think was in a state of denial after I left. It was not until I called him from Xi’an, about a thousand km’s south of Baotou, that I think he realized I was serious about driving to Tibet.

To be continued…………………….

First part here

Second part here

Twitter: Matt Bowen @mattbowen78
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/mattiusb

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Carry on Camping, the unOrthodox Celtic way!

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Appowila Highland Games

http://www.appowila-highlandgames.ch/

I have to be honest, camping isn’t something that I am big into, it doesn’t really appeal at all. And how would it, I am from the countryside, if I wanted to experience the airs and sounds of the country life then I’d just step outside the house!
(Or truth be told I am shite at putting up a tent)

A band I have followed for a long time, The Orthodox Celts were playing in Switzerland. This is a must see, but unfortunately it’s the other end of the country. And they are playing as part of the set-up of the Appowila Highland Games. So that explains the camping bit.
Buying the cheapest tent I could get, 35 Swiss Francs (24 sterling), me and my mate set off across the country.

I like Scotland, I like the Scots. I had lived there for a short while as a kid. But I have never experienced a Highland Games shindig. Don’t know what I think about this to be honest, it all seems a small bit twee, and contrived. For me Scottish culture is much more than this, it’s the people, the humour, the recklessness and fecklessness, it’s the music, it’s the great cities of Edinburgh, Glasgow, Aberdeen, and Dundee, and not least it’s the whisky (and the buckfast!) But not really the bag pipes and the skirts, or at least in very small doses. So what exactly goes on in these games?

A Highlands Games event is to showcase all traditional aspects of Scottish culture, especially that of the Highlands and revolves around athletic and sporting competitions with a bit of music and culture thrown in for good measure . Certain aspects are well known: The bagpipes, the kilt, some of the sporting events, the dancing, and the Haggis! The origin of the games goes way back into prehistory, thousands of years back but the modern Highland games are largely a Victorian invention.

The sporting activities include:
The Caber Toss, where a long log is balanced and tossed forward in such a way that it turns right over, preferably in a straight line. Distance is not important more so the style and way it is thrown.
Weight over the Bar: Using one hand, toss a heavy weight that has a handle over a bar.
Tug of War: Two teams pitted against each other where they have to pull a rope to determine who is the strongest.
It must be pointed out that all competitors in these sporting events must wear a kilt when they compete, which is great for lovers of hairy legs and tweed (and that’s just the Swiss mountain fräuleins, ruff ruff!)

Music is also an important part of any Games, Bagpiping is the main deal here with the massing of the pipe bands considered one of the highlights of any highland occasion. All the pipers en masse march and play in unison, banging out all the classics! One bag pipe great, a whole mass of them, hmmm I am not so sure!

Of course in events like these you have a wide range of other activities and side shows such as clan tents, armouries showing off all manner of lethal swords and axes, highland dancing, Haggis eating, herding dog trials, and highland cattle showcases. Fun for all the family!

Highland games now take place all around the world. From the US and Canada where there are over 200 annual games, right up to places like Norway and Brazil.
And that takes us nicely to Switzerland, and to the Appowila Highland Games of 2015. Apparently they have been bringing a little bit of Scotland to this quiet part of eastern Switzerland for the last few years. Situated in the heart of Abtwil, the events attract over 15,000 visitors. Abtwil is a small town in the canton of St Gallen, which is important to note.

Important in that St Gallen city (about an hour from Zurich) was founded by an Irish monk Saint Gallus in the 7th century, so linking in nicely to all the Celtic culture we experienced in the region.
And even more significant it was Saint Gallus and the boys in his monastery, who were the first to brew beer in Switzerland. This all leading to Switzerland’s oldest brewery, set up in 1779 (the Schützengarten brewery), which also has a Beer bottle museum.
So we were bringing it all back home for our compatriot St Gallus, proving that the Irish were sharing the brews from time immemorial.
Also must mention the local football club, FC St. Gallen who play in the Swiss Super League. The oldest football club in Switzerland, founded in 1879, they play in green. I was lucky enough to see them play once, and have to say it was an awful lot of fun. The fans were uber friendly, and great craic. Must be the wearing of the green?

“The Belgrade Irishmen”

www.orthodoxcelts.com

Back to the reason why we were in Appowila, to check out the one and only Orthodox Celts

From Belgrade in Serbia this Irish Celtic rock/folk band have been playing since 1992, but it wasn’t really until their YouTube video of “Star of the County Down” was uploaded around 2006 that the band started to get the recognition they so rightly deserved. From the video, shot in what looked like the Irish countryside (it wasn’t!), frontman Aleksandar “Aca Celtic” Petrović gives a superb rendition of an old classic. Aleks voice was deep and heavily accented but in a weird way it worked perfectly. The video announced to the world (Via social media) that Celtic music was alive and well in Serbia. The Orthodox Celts had arrived.

The band are popular in Serbia leading to a huge interest in all things Irish and Celtic, and they have even influenced other bands to take up the genre, most notably Tir na n’Og and Irish Stew of Sindidun.

It is a grand tradition of the band to celebrate St. Paddies Day with a large concert in Belgrade. The band also performs on the Belgrade Beer Fest every year.

In 2010 Bojan Petrović, lead singer of the excellent Irish Stew of Sindidun, joined Orthodox Celts, playing whistles and singing backing vocals, while also continuing to front his own band

It must be mentioned that they, have as of yet, not visited Ireland!

The Albums

In 1994 they released their first album, Orthodox Celts, featuring cover versions of old-style Irish trad songs. “The Irish Rover”, “Nancy Whiskey” and “Bog Down The Valleyo” the highlights for me, a good introduction to the band.

The next album, The Celts Strike Again (1997), the band continued with some great covers but this time included two of their own tunes (“Drinking Song” and “Blue”). They also did a few videos, one of which was “Star of the County Down”, and the rest they say, well, is history! The song going down a real treat. “Mick McGuire” and “The Wearing of the Green” are my own favorites from this album. One of the best renditions of “The Wearing of the Green” I have ever heard, love it, and gets me going every time.

In 1999 came arguably their best album, Green Roses, and with it a new break, now more than half of the songs were originals, albeit still mostly in the Celtic rock traditional style. In what must have given the band some pride the most popular songs from the album “Green Roses”, and “Far Away” were their own tunes.

“Gravel Walk” an instrumental, a great tune that builds to a crescendo, “Rocky Road to Dublin”, an excellent cover of an old favourite, and “Far Away” my particular favs in an album that works. Put it on and play it from start to finish, trust me you won’t be disappointed.

In 2002 came the next album, A Moment Like The Longest Day, and for this album only one song was a traditional number, all the songs penned by the band. A rockier album, “A Moment Like the Longest Day”, a haunting slowish number the stand out song of the album.

Their final album, released in 2007, One, Two… Five reverted a little back to the traditional songs, including an Irish rock classic, “Sarah” by Thin Lizzy, and giving a nod to their love of all things Celtic , “The Fields Of Athenry”, the popular football number!

Soon the band will be releasing their latest album, One / Milk & Honey

The Orthodox Celts are:

Aleksandar Petrović – Lead Vocal

Dejan Lalić – Octave Mandola, Mandolin, Back Vocals

Nikola Stanojević – Violin

Bojan Petrović – Whistles, Back Vocals

Vladan Jovković – Acc. Guitar, Back Vocals

Dejan Grujić – Bass, Back Vocals

Dušan Živanović – Drums, Bodhran

The Concert

After hanging around all day, mulling about mostly drinking strong Scottish beer that more than likely had whisky in it, and trying to avoid bagpipes, the stage was set for the Orthodox Celts. But there was a problem…………….they had yet to arrive. Nine o’clock came and went and still no sign of the band. We were hearing that they had an horrendous bus journey from Serbia via Hungary, and were running late. What with the refugee crisis in Eastern Europe, would they even make the concert!

The warm up band stated to play the same set again. Having listened to them in the bar a few hours previously,this was the fourth or fifth time I heard them murder N17 and other Irish classics.

Then the band came onto the stage around half ten, and proceeded to play a cracking full bloodied concert that lasted over two hours or more, got the crowd going and spread the love around for Celtic music. It was a great concert, full of energy, and I might have even partaked in some dancing.

Interview with Aleksandar, not long after the concert

So that was a tight deadline, wasn’t it?

You tell me, tell me your impression

Well you were on for 9 but you didn’t start until 10.30

You know we planned to be here at 1 pm. To make a sound check at half past 5, to have some kind of relaxed time before the gig and to start playing at 9
But actually everything went wrong, first we started our journey last night at 9.30 pm, there was heavy rain in Belgrade so we started to travel an hour later, 10:30
We went to Hungary, we were in Budapest around one o’clock
Those guys closed the highway. We lost two hours in Budapest, then we arrived at the border around 7.30 and were there until 1.30 pm (the next day)
We really were wondering shall we make it our not, actually we didn’t believe we would be on time,
We were ready to call the organizers to move the concert until tomorrow, but everything went ok
We came here at 9.05, so we did a sound check and then we started playing as soon as we can

The warm up band played some similar songs, but ye guys rocked it tonight.

The set list for this occasion, and for occasions like this, is always full of traditional’s, but when we cover other songs we try not to do as other bands do, we are trying to make it personal so maybe that’s why it sounds different.
The band before us, a great traditional band, but we make it much more rock

So where does the inspiration come from?

Me, personally, the start was my father, as I was little he was always listening to the Dubliners and stuff like that so I was used to listening to Irish folk, to Celtic folk, to Scottish folk
Later on I discovered the Pogues and that was the trigger . I can say that with pride just because they were the first to mix all those punk and rock stuff with folk
When you are listening to all those bands after the Pogues, just punk, the Pogues were much more than that
Why Irish music, because it was the most comfortable thing for me to express myself
You know when we are talking about music it’s a huge thing, I like classical, I like rock, I like punk, but overall I express myself through Irish music

You finally got the chance to play with Shane MacGowan, what was that like? (Exit Festival, Serbia, singing the Irish rover, 2002)

I cried, you can believe me or not, when he came onto the stage I was crying like a child
Shane was like, “what the fuck is going on”, why is he crying. It was great!
My wife was with me, she was like, “come on”, but I was crying!
I was trying to get in touch with Shane for some time before that and when they told me I would be on the stage with him it was, first, an honour, secondly for me something special, he is the one reason why I am doing this.
But actually the main impact on me is Ronnie Drew, not Shane himself, but Ronnie Drew it was his attitude , Ronnie was the main man, Shane was an inspirational person, the one who made me writing lyrics, but attitude, I don’t know how to say that but gentleman stuff was Ronnie
I always think that if I am Irish he’d be my grandfather, that’s it, I was so familiar with this person, just listening to him

The success of Star of the County Down video?

First of all you must know we didn’t start doing this because we wanted to be famous, this is what we are, believe me, Serbians are much in love with the Celts, I mean the ancient Celts, most citizens are from Belgrade, the Celts disappeared, sorry, but we are Celtic people, some-parts, so it was a reason why people feel what we feel
We didn’t know what it would sound like to be honest, I mean the greatest breakthrough of ours, Yes we uploaded ten years (after it was first produced), so when YouTube came around we grabbed the chance, and we did it!

“The Other Belgrade Irishmen”

www.irishstew.net

A mention of Irish Stew of Sindidun.
Another band from Belgrade, following on the footsteps of Orthodox Celts, this Irish folk/Celtic rock band were founded in 2003. And like the OCelts, they cover both traditional Irish tunes and their own Celtic inspired songs. Bojan Petrović plays with Orthodox Celts on tin whistle and as a backing singer, but still maintains his main gig as lead singer of Irish Stew, who are still growing strong in and around Serbia.

The Albums

After finding some initial success gigging locally and getting positive feedback, the band decided to capitalise on this popularity by bringing out their first studio album, So Many Words….,in 2005. With only three traditional covers, most of the album was made up of originals, but it really is hard to say which is which. Patrick Malone, for example, is a fine tune, but you would never guess it was penned by the band, expecting it to be an old Irish classic. They also do a cracking version of the old rebel song “Black And Tans”

Their next album “Dare to Dream” released in 2008, continued with a couple of traditional songs but mostly originals. This is my favourite of their three albums. “Ditch” is a cracking tune, my favourite Irish Stew song, with a great video to boot. High foot tapping song that really gets me in the mood. (for drinking and all the rest!)

“Blessed and The Damned” and “Pile of Sins” are another of those originals that could easily pass for a traditional classic. I guess Irish Stew are contributing to the massive back history of rousing Irish songs, by adding their own tunes.

“New Tomorrow” is their third album, coming out in 2011. All numbers original but still keeping the Celtic style, but the feel of the album is more polished, a step up. Songs “Lady of Tomorrow” and “Take me High” the two most popular songs from the album that made an impression on social media. “Take me High” a particular soulful number, very melodic, where you can really feel the passion from the band for their craft. (The violin really stands out here)

Irish Stew Are
Bojan Petrović
Nemanja Jovanović
Ivan Đurić
Nenad Gavrilov
Aleksandar Gospodinov
Marko Jovanović

Managed to grab a short chat with Bojan off Irish Stew

Celtic music: Why? What’s the reason you play Celtic music?

Well it’s a simple answer, why not, we believe we all have the same Celtic roots back in Serbia, actually the Celts were there 1000 years ago
I listened to a lot of Irish music, I grew up with Irish music, I didn’t listen to Serbian music at all. I just heard the Pogues and that was that.

Why did you call the band Irish stew of Sindidiun?

Sindidiun is an old Celtic name for Belgrade, so that’s the reason

What was the first Irish song you tried with Irish stew?

I think it was the most popular traditionals like Whiskey in the Jar, the Irish Rover and stuff like that, then after we did some covers and then we decided to make our own songs and do that

Playing with the Orthodox Celts, did those guys give you much help?

Yeah yeah, of course They were the first band in Serbia playing the Irish music, so they were also a big influence and I’m proud to be member of the Orthodox Celts as well
(on OC front-man Aleksandar) What a great singer and a great person

If I go to Serbia, is there really a deep love for Celtic music, is the connection really that strong, the connection?

Yeah, historically yeah, the Celts were all round Europe they actually founded Belgrade, before the Romans, they set up the city

What’s the ingredients for a good Irish Song?

A good energy, a bit of happiness a bit of sorrow, that’s basically an Irish song, ha ha!

What’s your favourite song that you composed?

The Lady of Tomorrow, from the latest album. When I wrote this song I imagined she was from Ireland!

Closing comments

Brilliant concert, and great to have a small chat with Aleksandar and Bojan, they were both really friendly, chilled and it was cool to see and hear their obvious passion for Celtic-rock and folk music. It was a pleasure to meet the guys, and I appreciate them taking the time to have a quick word considering how tired they were after a hellish bus journey and a rousing concert with not much rest in between. Hopefully thisdrinkinglife.com can try and get to see them both in Serbia next year. Watch this space Belgrade beer festival 2016!!

Check out the two bands on Facebook, Twitter and the rest

http://www.orthodoxcelts.com/

http://www.irishstew.net/

Full highlights of the Appowila Highland Games 2015 (if you can be bothered!)

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Away days in the Duchy

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As it was summer and I had a bit of time on my hands I decided to head over to Luxembourg to get in a new ground and see UCD of Dublin play F91 Dudelange in the Europa League First round. The first game in Ireland ended 1-0 to UCD so the stage was set for an exciting second leg to see if the Students could hold out and progress.

Here is my trip in video form

UCDAFC, or University College Dublin Association Football Club, play in the second tier of League of Ireland football, and are a semi pro team that mostly use players who also attend the university. Many players avail of the opportunity to earn a degree while playing top class, or relatively top class football. Before this game UCD’s claim to fame was running an Everton team close in the European Cup Winners Cup in the 1984/85 season, a team that had the calibre of Southall, Sheedy, Sharp, Reid and Gray in its line-up, going down just 1-0 in aggregate.

Also more importantly it is said that Socrates, the legendary Brazilian chain smoker and sometime footballer, played for the team when he was a student of UCD back in the day.

(Even though I love to dream, that’s unfortunately more than likely an urban myth)

F91 were formed in 1991 from the amalgamation of three clubs, Alliance Dudelange, Stade Dudelange, and US Dudelange, who all had varying degrees of success, but it was hoped that a new club would be financial viable and more successful on the sporting field. Which was proved right as F91 have won 11 national league titles since the year 2000.

In European competition they will be remembered as the plucky Luxembourg team that knocked out Austrian champion’s Red Bull Salzburg from the 2012–13 Champions League. A result that was quite unexpected considering the relative sizes of both nations leagues.

Had organised a good deal with two bars before the trip. Justin from the Tube Bar had offered me a cracking deal on shots and draft pints, and he got in contact with the Irish bar for me, PYG bar, who also offered bottles at a discount.
Now the sad thing is I wasn’t able to visit both bars at all over the day/night. Which was a pain in the hole.
I simply couldn’t find the Tube Bar, and the PYG looked closed when I passed it in the middle of the day, and later was far too much of a walk away to check it out. Virtually no signage or street maps at all on the streets of Luxembourg.
Thanks to Justin anyway for the effort
And I will definitely check it out both bars next time I am in the Duchy
Check out the Tube bar and the PYG

Bistrot Le Journal Bar n Café
31 Avenue de la GareL-1611 Luxembourg

On arrival in Luxembourg City, the first bar and the first beer (first draught!) was in Bistrot Le Journal Bar, just around the corner from the train station. Was early afternoon, but had a good lively crowd in the bar. Nice décor, old floor, and a bit of chat with some of the customers. Had my first pint of Bofferding, the local brew. Truth be told it was disgusting. I figured that it was a bad pint, as later on in the day I found that Bofferding wasn’t that bad.
Just had the one, but heh sometimes you can get an unlucky pint.

As time was of the essence, I decided to see if I could have one in the Irish bar PYG, an early scouting session for later on in the night.

Now this was before I know how hilly Luxembourg City was. After what seemed like well over an hour, I eventually came upon the bar. But it was closed, or at least it looked that way! What a disappointment.

Maybe Not Bob’s
107, rue de la Tour Jacob, Luxembourg City L-1831,Luxembourg
http://www.maybenotbobs.lu/
Facebook page

Noticed that just a small walk up the way was an interesting bar called Maybe Not Bob’s. Again the front door was closed, but I heard some noise from inside. I checked it out and yes it was open! Which made me think that perhaps the Irish bar was indeed open as well. WTF with closed doors, hardly a way to entice customers!

Anyway asked for the local brew, got another Bofferding. But thankfully this one was prefect, no bad aftertaste, and was exactly what I needed after my long haul to this side of the town. Got chatting to the barman who was an Ethiopian called Addis (like the capital!), nice friendly guy who gave me the low down on life in the Duchy. Place was busy enough, with people eating what looked like pretty tasty food. Had a gander at the menu, and tried to order something off it but was told the kitchen staff had just left for lunch! Yes, they left for lunch at lunchtime, most be a Luxembourg thing. Indeed I saw them heading out the door, a couple of Chinese fellas. Pity as I read later that this place does the best burgers in the city. Damn!

As for Dudelange, the town is located in the south of the country, and a short 30 minute train journey from the capital. The town itself is a small “city” of about 20,000 people (3rd largest in the country) and is straddling the border with France.
As I didn’t have a whole lot of time, I managed to just visit the one bar in the town.

THE SYNDICATE BAR 33, avenue Grand-Duchesse Charlotte, Dudelange Facebook
I popped into the first bar I came across from the train station, and that was The Syndicate Bar
The Syndicate Bar is an old school bar, nothing pretentious about it, with good classic rock music playing away from the juke box. I liked the bar, wasn’t full at all, but it was the middle of the day, on a Thursday in Dudelange.

Got talking to the (bar owner) Assia and (staff) Mandy, who were very chatty, and fun.

Had a nice bottle of Strongbow, cold from the fridge which went down well. I liked this bar, and would have easily stayed for more than the two ciders I had if I wasn’t pressed for time.

Bofferding
www.bofferding.lu
The beer I was mostly drinking on my short trip to Luxembourg was the local brew, Bofferding.
Bofferding is produced by the Brasserie Nationale, founded in 1975, which is the largest brewery in Luxembourg. A small brewery, but they export to their close neighbours, Belgium and France, and their not so close neighbours, China!
Without giving a full detailed review, the beer was fine. Certainly did the business over the few hours I was in the Grand Duchy.

Leffe
www.leffe.com

Another beer I was drinking over the few hours was Leffe, a beer from Belgium. The beer, is known as an Abbey beer, which means it has a close connection with a real Abbey where real monks develop real ales! Using knowledge passed down through the ages and ingredients found in the wild near the abbey, the canons developed a unique ale, brewed only at the Leffe abbey.
Now all Leffe brands are brewed at the Stella Artois brewery in Leuven. But the connection remains with the original Leffe abbey, who collect substantial royalties to this day from InBev Belgium.
The beer was decent enough, a bit hoppy, but did the business.

The Game

It took me over 4 hours to get home, via 3 trains, 3 long trains!
But it was worth all the effort, as UCD held out to go through on an aggregate score of 2-2, winning on the away goals rule.
Cracking start to the game for UCD as they got off the mark first , with a def header from Swan (2-0 on agg.), but the game plan went astray once Coyne was sent off. His tackle was a bit reckless, but I think a red card was very harsh. With him UCD would have coasted this game, without him it was a struggle.
Both goals near the end of the first half for F91 were very disappointing. The first Dudelange goal was like in slow motion, he got so much space and got to pick his spot, the second was comical, from a throw in where everyone for UCD fell asleep, a simple free header.
Wasnt looking good for the second half, as the aggregate score was now UCD 2 F91 2, with the Luxembourgers only needing one more goal to go through against the ten men of UCD.

But UCD held out, I don’t know how they did, but they did. The stats might show how much of a colossal effort it was, 27 shots on goal for F91 to 4 for UCD
The UCD support were great too, for a small bunch they made a lot of noise.
The moment the ref blew the final whistle was fantastic, great craic, immense joy and what a relief. That was a very long second half, plus the 5 added on as well!

Overall the trip might not have had as much beer or shenanigans as I would have liked, but the game made up for all that.
Met some of Swan’s family after the match as well which was cool, nice people, and overall Luxembourg was a fantastic city. Must remember to bring the wifey there some day! As for UCD, they went out in the next round to Slovan Bratislava, a team of pros, but heh, thanks for the memories,.

Herein I give you some really fun and cool facts about little old Luxembourg

Luxembourg, and its capital, Luxembourg City.
Luxembourg officially the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, is a landlocked country in Western Europe. It is bordered by Belgium to the west and north, Germany to the east, and France to the south.
Another small country, another tax haven, another country in Europe run by a family of wealthy Royals. This time little old Luxembourg, with its amazing capital city, imaginatively called Luxembourg City. The city is truly magnificent, covered by hills and valleys all around, divided by rivers, and all surrounded by the many fortifications, bridges and viaducts dotted all over the city, it’s a city I fell in love with. And it’s no surprise to see that UNESCO gave it World Heritage status.

According to the OECD (2010) Luxembourg sold the most alcohol in Europe, per capita. Yes Luxembourg! But before you get your knickers in a twist, a large proportion of this alcohol is purchased by customers from neighbouring countries contributing to a statistically high level of alcohol sales per capita. So blame the French and Belgians, and perhaps the occasional Irish visitor (well what can I say, I do try!!)

Luxembourg is a parliamentary democracy with a constitutional monarch. Headed by Henri, Grand Duke of Luxembourg, the world’s only remaining grand duchy (don’t ask I am still confused about that one!) who has the power to dissolve the legislature, but he doesn’t as he is a good lad.

Luxembourg is one of the smallest countries in Europe, and ranking 179th in size of all the 194 independent countries of the world; the country is about 2,586 square kilometres (998 sq mi) in size, and measures 82 km (51 mi) long and 57 km (35 mi) wide, with a population of 562,958. (2013 World Bank)
The people of Luxembourg are called Luxembourgers.
Luxembourg is a secular state, but most Luxembourgers, including the Royal family, are Catholic.
Not a nation that produced a lot of major sports stars, but in Marc Girardelli they had an Alpine skier who was World Cup overall champion five times, and with Nicolas Frantz (1927/28) and Andy Schleck (2010) they bagged three Tour de France wins.
General George S. Patton, “Old Blood and Guts”, is buried in the Second World War Luxembourg American Cemetery and Memorial at Hamm. This cemetery is also the final resting place of 5,076 American military dead.
Luxembourg is sometimes called “Little Switzerland” for all its hills and valleys, and not, I repeat NOT, due to its vast wealth and somewhat questionable dodgy banking transactions. Other names we can use for Luxembourg is the “Green Heart in Europe” and the “Forest and Fortress”
Speaking of tax havens, according to one British newspaper, The Sunday Telegraph Kim Jong-Il’s had some $4bn hidden away in secret accounts in Luxembourg banks. Make of that what you will!
Three languages are recognised as official in Luxembourg: French, German, and Luxembourgish. Luxembourgish is the language that Luxembourgers generally use to speak to each other. Most official business and legislation, and the language of the government is carried out in French. German is usually the first language taught in school and is the language of much of the media and of the church.
They are rich buggers with a stable economy, low inflation and unemployment, and a highly educated populace, money is what they are good at making. In 2011 the IMF put them as the second richest nation in the world. Banking, insurance and finance is the major sources of wealth in the nation but recently the Luxembourg government has started to attract internet companies to set up base in the tiny nation, with Skype and Amazon being two of the many internet companies that have shifted their regional headquarters to Luxembourg.
Since the country is so small it only has an army of about 800 soldiers and no navy (landlocked) or air force, but that’s all A.OK as they are in NATO so if ever attacked they can get the big boys to bail them out.
But who would want to attack such a small nation? Well quite a few have: Utilising its natural strategic location it was the Romans in the 10th century who fortified and used Luxembourg city as a base for trade and defence. Over time Luxembourg city was one of the strongest fortifications in Europe as a long list of conquerors arrived and continually strengthened the city walls. Build a big wall with a nice city inside and it’s just natural that someone’s armies will attack, so a long list of attackers have conquered Luxembourg: the Burgundians, the Spanish, the French, the Austrians, the Prussians, and the Germans in both World Wars. So I guess one can understand if Luxembourg was eager to join NATO and align itself with one of the world’s strongest military alliances.
As mentioned alliances were important for Luxembourg. They also were a founding member of the United Nations in 1945, and were also heavily involved in the setup of the European Coal and Steel Community in 1951, a precursor to the European Union. Luxembourg City is the seat of several institutions of the European Union, including the European Court of Justice, the European Commission, and the European Investment Bank. As an aside Schengen is in Luxembourg, giving its name to the Schengen Agreement, which a lot of travellers know only too well helping with the freedom to move all around Central Europe!

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“Fuck community college, lets get drunk and drive to Tibet”. Part 2

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Regular contributor Matt Bowen continues with his story of himself and his dilapidated motor bike driving around the wild and bad lands of North Western China.

First part here

Part 2: Rules of the road

The idea came to me when driving on an organized trip up near the Mongolian border with some fellow adventurers; the idle rich of Baotou, who could afford BMW motorcycles and slick new Yamaha and Honda sport bikes. It was a 2 day one night affair, a dozen motorcycles followed by a rented bus full of gear, food and the women, ending at a Chinese-Mongolian camping area 20 clicks south of the Mongolian border in the desert. The trip there was uneventful aside from the complaints of my ‘nouveau riche’ traveling companions that my bike was too “farmer” for them being that it was made in China and not Japan or Germany and that it topped out at 70km/h.

I had met these other adventurers at a local outdoor gear shop where they had a motorcycle/hiking/camping club. I had been in China for just over a year and I had not heard or seen anyone interested in these sorts of things so I was excited to join their club. They were more than welcoming though quite a lot of the members were only there to show off their expensive camping/outdoor gear, sometimes in a very aggressive way, an attitude that I found to be quite pervasive – and extremely irritating – in China. Camping seemed more like a materialistic competition rather than a hobby, though thankfully it was usually only the men who were this way,.

During the drive up to the Mongolian border we passed through a few small towns, and at one of the towns the police stopped us and wanted to check our ID cards and passports. There was a brief argument and eventually the police let us pass, and due to my limited Chinese vocabulary I was unsure of what the problem was. At the time I did not have a drivers license and my motorcycle was registered in the name of one of my students.

Before I came to China in 2003 I can honestly say that I was expecting a more authoritarian, more strictly controlled place. I was expecting constant checkpoints, and a heavy police/military presence and though it is possible to see police everywhere in China, most of them are traffic police or Cheng Guan who give off the distinct impression that they are unconcerned with enforcing any laws, especially in Baotou where it is common to see police drift through red lights at about 10kms/h while on the phone with their lights on. My first impression of China when I arrived in Guangzhou, a city of 15 million people, was complete chaos. Without any order whatsoever.

My first solo attempt at crossing a road was unsuccessful. I was forced to stand beside an old man while he crossed. I quickly learned that the only traffic rule universally applied was that you never make eye contact with larger vehicles. If you do you will never step off the curb on a busy street. You simply look in the direction you are walking and go, it forces the driver of the passing car to either stop for you or run you over, and since running someone over in broad daylight is considered bad form in China, people generally don’t do it. (At night this rule changes to brightness of headlights; the brighter light has the right of way which of course leads to “brightness war”, where everyone drives around with their high beams on. I do not recommend driving a motorcycle at night. No, I do not recommend that at all.)

The same principle applies to driving a motorcycle. But since a motorcycle is larger than bicycles and pedestrians, it is them who must avoid your gaze, while you avoid the gaze of car drivers. This rule is so deeply engrained in China that even if you are driving 100km’s/h and mistakenly make eye contact with the driver of a car that is in front of you waiting to turn, he/she will turn out in front of you. This happened to me once directly after buying my motorcycle and it made a deep impression on me. I realized that there is no special caveat for speed and ignoring the eye contact rule can kill. When it happened to me I was so shook up that I chased the driver down and asked him if he was actually trying to kill me. His genuine look of confusion was instructive and it was there at the side of the road that I realized that I could die if I didn’t follow the eye contact rule.

Part three coming soon…………………………..

First part here

Twitter: Matt Bowen @mattbowen78
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/mattiusb

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“Fuck community college, lets get drunk and drive to Tibet”

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Regular contributor Matt Bowen recounts his stories on his motor bike around China

Part 1: Leaving

Baotou, Inner Mongolia is a city in northern China on the eastern edge of the Gobi desert. In the spring time intense sand storms sweep across the city, sometimes with very little notice. The sandstorms abate around May/June and the summers are dry and warm.With a population of over 2 million people Baotou is not a small city.

[Sara Johnston] – singing
But we did nothing, absolutely nothing that day
And I say, what the hell am I doing drinking in (Baotou) at 26?
I got the fever for the flavour
Know the payback will be later
Still I need a fix

It was in May when I bought my bike, June when I left. A Zhongshen 125. Red. Beautiful. The first bike I’ve ever owned. A classically styled dirt-bike, capable of pumping out nearly 25 horse power and topping out at nearly 70kms/h. I was 23 years old and in love.

Though I need to start earlier… I was teaching at Number 9 Middle School and for the first 3 months or so in Baotou I had no “foreign” friends. I spent most of my free time wandering around the dusty streets just absorbing the city and making friends with locals. I arrived in Baotou in March, right in the middle of a sand storm. For the locals, the sandstorms were a serious nuisance, for me it was amazing.

I absorbed everything with optimism and enthusiasm and through the ever present sand and dust, the air in Baotou smelled fresh and new. It was a combination of sand, iron and concrete dust and the ever present smell of coal burning. To me though, it smelled bright and alive. It smelled like freedom, and I was instantly addicted. I don’t think I stopped smiling the first year I was there.

I lived in the teachers compound, which was a section of apartment buildings that were owned by the school and where many of the teachers and school administrators lived. It was a utilitarian concrete affair, a 5 story walk up in 1950’s communist style. Outside the compound gate and up the street from my apartment was a small shop. The owner was the same age as me, and we fast became friends. He had a wife and young son who both lived with him in the tiny room in the back of his small shop. He sold candy, watery ice-cream, beer and cigarettes. Most important though, he was open 24/7.

Beside my apartment building there was a brothel that was poorly disguised as a KTV. On weekends I would often head there after class to play cards and get drunk with the girls in the lobby. It was a great way to practice Chinese. The lobby had that classically 1980’s Chinese feel: sticky tables littered with little plastic dixie cups for hot water, tea and beer, an over sized jade dragon boat on a small bar with a bottles of baijiu behind it and cigarette butts and mellon seeds littering the floor. The brothel felt unloved and temporary, and I can’t recall any decorations or paintings on the walls and the lobby was lit with unadorned bare fluorescent lights.

The brothel sold beer to me though usually when most of the customers started coming in, around 11pm the Madam, a large and quite brusque woman would politely make me leave. I had an annoying habit of wanting to make conversation with the besuited and drunken customers, I also tended towards laughing at the absurdity of the whole place.

"Fuck community college, lets get drunk and drive to Tibet" Part One

Elvis, tank you verey verey muchh

I would then often wander down the street to my good friend the shop keeper. There we would drink beer and play super Mario on an old pirate Nintendo system. We never attempted any other game, only Mario, seeing who could beat the game several times in a row without losing a man. Some nights depending on how much beer we drank, we could go up to 6 or 7 times. Diagonally opposite the shop was one of Baotou’s more upscale clubs, inside they had live music and ktv. Nights when they had live music I would sometimes go there, but I much preferred playing Mario with my friend.

One reason it appealed to me was the steady flow of customers who I could talk to and practice my limited Chinese. Most of the customers were middle class middle age men buying cartons of overpriced Zhonghua cigarettes to impress their friends. But also the girls from the brothel would come over during their break and buy sweets and smokes. Some nights other neighbours would join us in drinking and chatting.

It was from his shop that I left on my adventure.

Part two..HERE

Twitter: Matt Bowen @mattbowen78
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/mattiusb

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“Fuck community college, lets get drunk n drive to Tibet”

Part 3: FREEDOM!

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“Fuck community college, lets get drunk and drive to Tibet”. Part 2

Part 2: Rules of the road

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“Fuck community college, lets get drunk and drive to Tibet”

Part 1: Leaving

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Part 3: FREEDOM!

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Appowila Highland Games

“The Belgrade Irishmen”

The Concert

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Part 2: Rules of the road

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Part 1: Leaving

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