Not so great Cardiff City FC moments: Rochdale away, 1997

It takes a certain type of fan to willingly set off on a 350 mile round trip to the bleak, wintry wastelands of Rochdale in the middle of winter.

It takes a certain type of fan to willingly set off on a 350 mile round trip to the bleak, wintry wastelands of Rochdale in the middle of winter.

Away days don’t get much better than this.
By the end of the 1992-3 season, Cardiff had assured their promotion out of Division Three, with a win away at Scunthorpe guaranteeing we’d go up as champions.

Closed in 1986 after a long and lingering death, the once bustling terminus at Broad Street was in a parlous state at the end, with its extensive canopies cut back, rails lifted and abandoned platforms sprouting weeds and small trees.

This video is hilarious. The clueless American commentator seems to think that a massive mob of Welsh ‘soccer’ fans have somehow transported themselves into a Russian stadium parking lot.
SUDDENLY THE WELSH BREAK FREE!
Backed by dramatic fighting music, the commentator bangs on about the “pre-game showdown” in a “flurry of fists and fire,” as ‘The Welsh’ regroup and form a “defensive bottleneck” on a bridge. It’s absolutely bonkers.

Another top night at the Grosvenor, at the Acoustic Insurgency benefit for Haiti.
Here’s Princess Maha (Frome the KUT) onstage.
I’ll be DJing tonight at the Acoustic Insurgency Haiti benefit, taking place at the excellent Grosvenor pub at 17 Sidney Rd, Stockwell, London SW9 0TP
The event is a monthly evening of political folk, comedy and “plotting the overthrow of absolutely everything in South London,” with proceeds going to the TUC-AID Haiti appeal.
I’ll be (ahem) spinning the platters that matter with Offline regular nipsla tonight and long serving cub compère Vic Lambrusco will be keeping things running smoothly, and there’s another interesting bill lined up:

After watching the testosterone-packed, hyperbolic nonsense that is Sky Sports this afternoon, I simply had to post up this superb parody from comedians Mitchell and Webb one more time.
“Football all the time, everywhere!”. Priceless stuff!

Great win today at Selhurst Park, against a Crystal Palace team who battled hard. Here’s a few pics:
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Another top night at the Brixton/Stockwell Grosvenor, with the irrepressible Pussycat and the Dirty Johnsons headlining. Heaps of fun!
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Easily the best day I’ve ever spent at the Wembley Stadium – new or old – was the glorious sunny afternoon where Scott Gibbs jigged past several players to score a dramatic last minute winner over the English.

After a lovely long walk across snow-covered parks and – unwittingly – over a frozen lake or two, I decided to catch the train back to my hotel in the centre of Chicago.
I waited on a deserted 57th Street station for nearly an hour, taking in the chilly air and listening to some suitably wintry and melancholic sounds on my MiniDisc player (remember them?!).

This is why Brixton is the best place to live in London: where else can you see a fine bill of indie bands, curious acts and a girl tap-dancing to, “Heaven Knows I’m Miserable Now” for free – and then walk down the road to see Jack Blackburn rhymin’ about people “smoking on a crack pipe” in a poetry club, and then go to a free club afterwards.
I salute Brixton JAMM, HDIF, Brixton Prince Albert and the Dogstar!

Taking a nap on the Palace Pier, Brighton.
Regulars to this blog may have noticed that it’s enjoyed something of a revamp, with a shiny new interface and new features being introduced.
As well as posting up all the usual drunken photos, obscure railway pics and urban75-related news, I’ll also be slapping up photos from the archives that I hope you’ll find interesting.
With summer coming up, here’s a few photos from a delightfully sunny day spent on the south coast.

Ten years ago, I found myself being unexpectedly invited to be a guest on a popular US tabloid chat show called Jenny Jones.
They asked if I’d like to do an interview with their London film crew or – wait for it – be flown over to stay for a week in Chicago, all expenses paid.

There’s a very bright blue light shining up into the central London night sky from what must be somewhere around the Southbank.
I don’t think we’re in need of Batman right now, so does anyone know what it is?
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