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theolivechickken · 5 years

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Partially blessed by the Pope

Feb 3

Place your bets on how late Elisabeth will be! We had a quick complimentary breakfast at the hotel before departing on our walk to St. Peter’s Basilica. On the way over, we stopped at the Pantheon and Piazza Navona. I’m impressed by these grand buildings and pillars. The sky really is the limit, and the Romans aimed for nothing less.

When we entered the Vatican, I was nervous that I’d be stopped for having my Hydroflask and worried that they wouldn’t let me in or that they would confiscate my water bottle. One security guard stopped me, shook around my bottle, figured that it probably wasn’t a bomb, and then allowed me to continue on my way. BLESS. First day bringing it around and staying hydrated.

We had a quick tour of St. Peter’s Square and then had time to explore. I attended mass for a hot minute. Bryn and I sat patiently as we had no idea what was going on. She’s Jewish and I’m not religious - nor could we understand since the service was in Italian. So, I took the time to take in my surroundings, reflect on life and my weird thoughts, and question religion. We dipped from the service a little early and made our way to the top of the dome.

We paid the 8 euros to take the stairs. Who needs an elevator when you’re young and able-bodied and also a college student on a budget. Turns out we only climbed 320 steps and had a whopping 231 more to go. And boy were they steep and narrow. At one point the walls were completely slanted too, which made it slightly more challenging to climb the stairs. Totally worth it for the view at the top though. Extraordinary lookout of the entire city - far, wide, and green. It was cool and windy, but it was the perfect natural AC to cool off my sweaty body.

We took the time soaking up the scenery before making our way back down the endless spiral staircase/ramp. By then, everyone had gathered in the square for a blessing. We were told that the Pope originally does the blessings, but he wouldn’t be here today. Bryn and I made our way through the crowd and looked up to see who was giving a blessing. Up in a tiny window was an old, bald, white man in a red robe. We squinted to try to see him better and noted that he looked a lot like the pope. Man, they did a really good job finding a look-alike Pope. Our stomachs were growling, so we exited the gathering to begin our quest to find our group and a place to eat. Turns out, it really was the pope. Whooooops. At least we were partially blessed!

We waited for Aubree, Raine, Ayetzy, and Patrick to join us, and navigated our way to the metro station. First, we had to buy a ticket - but the automated DIY machines kept breaking down after each person bought a ticket. Bless Aubree’s experiences with riding the metro in DC. She was able to find our tram and stop. Public transportation so far has been a bit stressful mostly because I don’t know what I’m doing or what I need to do and where I need to go. Luckily, we all made it to Piazza del Popolo in one piece. Energy was burned and we needed food fast. We found a youth/ American friendly pizza place called Jimmy’s Eatery. Probably the best pizza I’ve eaten in Italy. We got to choose 3 different pizza slices and a drink for 10 euros.

It’s interesting to people watch in main squares. We watched as some individuals walked up to groups of people and tried to sell them anything and everything. A handful of us came up to us too. They started out with roses and as soon as the rain came, the bouquet of roses magically transformed into a bouquet of umbrellas and a handful of ponchos.

We began our walkthrough of the Piazza del Popolo, Santa Maria del Popolo church, Via di Ripetta, and Piazza di Spagna. Honestly don’t remember much about this tour because I was distracted by the brief afternoon showers and gusts of wind challenging our umbrellas to a duel. Thankfully, it didn’t rain for long. At the end of the tour, some went back to the hotel to rest, but I figured “this might be my only time here, so when in Rome…” and went along with Patrick, Bryn, Michaela, and Elisabeth to the Trevi fountain.

I’m curious about what Rome/ hot traffic spots are like during the summer or high tourist months. We’re pretty off season for everything so far, but we still manage to see large groups of tourists everywhere.

On our way back to the hotel, I think we missed a turn because it seemed like we were walking forever. I was happy to see more of the city, and we also stopped by a neat art shop. But my feet were starting to fall off at this point.

Later, Raine, Aubree, and I accompanied Bryn and Patrick for dinner before they went to their soccer game. I had some dank spicy penne pasta, but I think the restaurant we went to was also a shady tourist trap. Afterwards, we sat outside the Trevi fountain to people watch. Kaya and Sara also had the same idea and joined us for the night. I swore, we sat for hours just talking and enjoying each other’s company.

Ripley’s believe it or not, the night was still young. We finally managed to snag a few seats in the Tiramisu bar next to our hotel. BOMB TIRAMISU YO. We tried a Nutella one and a pistachio one. Ugh, it’s like my birthday cake from Nothing Bundt Cakes. I want to cry every time I think of it because it was so good.

#Studying Abroad #Salzburg Semester #Rome #Italy #Vatican #Pope

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ijustfeelokay · 3 years

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Entry August 4 2021

I don’t even know where to start with this one. I’m listening to a song that puts me back into a time two years ago during the winter exam season when my parents went on vacation and my lab PI was expecting the absolute most out of me. And yet I still had a multitude of other club responsibilities in addition to classes. At the time I knew I had to practically give up any sense and reason of social or rec activities and just work. I remember it was such a dark time because I had no weay of getting out except to keep working just to barely get by. I’m actually going through my “gratitude” notebook that I barely even used. I made a couple of pages but it really did help. The goal with it was to write something that I was grateful for at least once or twice a week. I had read in various places on the internet that one of the biggest correlations in prediction happiness was simply one’s gratitude, so I gave it a shot. I feel like it helped at the time but only because it forced me to step away from all the work and to give time to myself and to think about anything I wanted to. Thankfully it was only positive thoughts as well.

Five days ago I asked HK out through the most convoluted plan possible. I was at a barbecue with friends from highschool the week prior on June 24, which lasted the entire day and night. I was really happy to see MC doing well, since he had a very rough patch at the beginning of uni. And then I lost touch with him for most of uni after second year. I don’t remember how the topic came up but the boys found out that I couldn’t exactly talk to any new girls since I was already talking to someone, and they just had to know the details. I really tried to reveal as little as possible, but one of my closest high school best friends that I kept in touch with throughout all of uni, SH, punched me on the shoulder and told me that I needed to ask her out. I was trying to explain that I was GONNA DO IT EVENTUALLY ANYWAY but I was getting extremely pressured to do it literally the next time I see K. …So I sort of did, except the Monday afterwards was only a short visit in Brampton. I looked at which day had the best weather, which was conveniently the Friday, which I also had nothing to do the whole day except workout in the morning with T at his condo. After the barbecue on Saturday, I woke up on Sunday already trying to figure out plans. I was talking to K and I originally planned to ask her out at High Park, since I guess it would be cool if High Park is where we first met (in person) then it would be cute if that’s also where I asked her out. The day prior to the highschool friends barbecue, I was visiting friends of my VSA on June 23, and we were playing a card game “The And”. It consists of prompts on each card that are designed to help the players get to know each other better. Considering that VSA members are always required to be able to discuss heavy topics due to our focus on inclusion, mental health, and generational obstacles faced as second generation Vietnamese Canadians, it was really fun for all of us. I enjoyed it. Answering these questions also came so naturally to me. I still remember MY perspective of playing whatever that whiteboard game is called with K while I was on edibles and I feel like half the game was just me looking like a doofus and neither of us were saying anything. K would obviously describe her perspective of that night differently haha. But since The And was so fun I figured it would be such a great way for me to actually help K get to know me better since I realized these questions came to me really naturally to answer.

…So that was Friday night, when I decided to borrow the card game.

And then it was on Saturday, that I was pressured into and deciding to ask K out.

Then it was on Sunday when my doltish plan simply clicked into place. Since I know that I can cram up, my plan was to ask her out by surprise while playing The And. I realized that the game had (only a few) wild cards, where you could ask any question you want. I thought this was amazing. My picture was us sitting on a hill at highpark with K’s trusty picnic blanket from Indigo, and we’d be playing the game after Chako. And then when she least expects it, when the game is almost over and I have the last wild card, instead of asking something not-deep like the previous wild cards (that would have/should have been played) I would just be like “do you wanna go out as my girlfriend” and that would be that. HOWEVER. The plan quickly evolved into something even better, and the night turned out even more amazing that I could have even thought.

I was on Instagram and I scrolled past an ad for Terra Lumina which I direly wanted to go to three years ago, but since I didn’t have anyone to go with or didn’t know who I’d ask to go on something like that with me I never ended up seeing it. I mentioned it to K and she said that she’s interested in seeing it too. That made me really happy inside. I asked if she would want to go on Friday as well, in addition to our other plans and we agreed to it. To make the travel easier for us we moved our plans from High Park to Scarborough Bluffs, which is also amazing because we’ve been meaning to go the Bluffs for a while now as well. I kept going through the itinerary because I wanted to make sure everything would go to plan, and that we’d have enough time for everything before Terra Lumina. We agreed together to arrive to the Bluffs and bike/hike around the trails in the morning, and then eat a packed lunch and snacks. I brought condensed milk and hot water in a thermos because I was surprised to hear that she’s never mixed the two and drank it before. I’ve always done it as a kid so I thought it was normal. I asked some friends later about it and they said they’ve seen or heard about it too. She thought it was good, but not that good I guess because we were drinking it with cottage cheese, salsa, and chips. Since she was used to soy milk it was a bit underwhelming in terms of taste and it was mostly just sweet-tasting. Which, really that’s all it is haha and that’s why I like it. Anyway, the plan after the hiking and biking was for us to take a nap and in my head the nap would have been somewhere under a tree or in the car but we ended up trying to have my nap at the beach. It ended up not going so great because the sun was directly above us, and we didn’t have much to cover us from the sun. The umbrella wasn’t able to block the sun and sand for some reason kept blowing onto us. I guess it was a windy day. Either way, let’s just say the nap was a bit of a failure and I ended up just laying there while I got sand everywhere.

After the attempted nap we went back to the car to get our swimming gear and headed back to the beach, with pool noodles! She brought four of them because they were supplies for her mirror frame. Since I couldn’t float, she placed noodles under my leg, back, and neck, and floated me around in the water. It was pretty fun, although the water getting in my ears and occasionally my mouth would momentarily break up my zen moments. We dropped off the noodles with our beach stuff and walked around in the water. The water started feeling cold to us so we couldn’t really swim around as much. I must say though, the water at scarborough bluffs is really clean for a beach. I also gave her a piggyback for a little bit to zero-gravity K. When we went back to our stuff we noticed all our pool noodles flew away, and we could only find three of the four. We walked around to see if it was nearby but we eventually gave up looking for it. We brought all our stuff back to the car and I guess once we left the water another wave of sleepiness was hitting me and I was ready to nap on the ground, so we ended up going to the park area at one of the peninsulas. K brought her surface and my USB stick and watched some episodes of Demon Slayer while I napped. The most vivid memory of my napping is some weird honking noise, since it kept playing while I was dreaming as well. Though, I don’t even remember what I was dreaming about. They were short naps. I basically slept during the episodes that K watched. I think she only watched two episodes.

When I woke up after the second nap I realized we were a bit late from our plan to get to Chako by 5, since I think it was already 5:30, so we’d get to Chako by about 6. When we arrived, I was a little concerned and shocked to find out that there would be an hour wait until we could get a table inside. There would have been little time for us to play after Chako’s so K suggested we play while we wait. We also walked into the Home Depot Gardening section and I found out K likes “different looking plants”. Still not sure what her criteria are that would make her like a plant or not though lol. We played The And, and when I first opened the box I was frantically going through the cards to make sure we wouldn’t go through the wild cards because I reallyyy wasn’t trying to waste them in the parking lot. After about twenty minutes of playing we received a call from Chako’s, finding out that there was a table available. They asked if sitting outside was okay and immediately I know that was A SCAM and I suggested K to ask if there were inside seats, and they said that there would be one available if we waited an extra five minutes. Eventually when we were seated inside. I started to get desparate though because if I couldn’t ask her out before Chako’s, when am I going to do it? Right after we finish eating we’re going to have to head to Terra Lumina. I was thinking maybe we play in the car after we eat. I even suggested we bring the cards with us into Chako’s in case we’d somehow get the opportunity to play while we eat. ..And that definitely didn’t happen because cooking and eating took up all our time. I was very full. Also the bill was so expensive. Chako’s used to be much more affordable I’m pretty sure… we basically paid premium Gyubee prices so that was a bit regretful. I’m glad I was able to have Kelen experience the AYCE Korean Barbacue experience though, even though I wouldn’t recommend it again for those prices haha. I practically grew up in highschool with my close friends going to Chako’s so it was such a nice feeling to share this experience with K. I was really excited for that.

After we ate, we headed back to the car and headed straight to the Toronto Zoo. It was dark by then, and we were met with winding roads at night. There were parts of the drive where the bridge was only wide enough for one lane of cars, and there were stop lights on both sides. When we arrived, we accidentally took the wrong right turn at zoo Rd. which we later realized was the exit of Zoo Rd. When we eventually found the correct ramp to get onto Zoo Rd., which was also a right turn…. K suggested we bring The And with us, in case we found time to play. I quite literally have no clue how I was going to ask K out if she didn’t bring those cards with us. Throughout the exhibit, we would bring the cards to the light and ask each other questions as we enjoyed the exhibits. I noticed her hands were a little cold. She brought a hoodie but was still in shorts. I hope she wasn’t feeling cold.

The entire exhibit, I was a) trying to figure out how many wild cards could be in the deck and how much time we had, and b) rehearsing the same damn question over and over again. K took a small deck of cards earlier and when she finished them I asked if I could take the box so I could take a pile, since I knew where the discard cards were. That was a lie because we ended up playing a bunch of cards we already played earlier in the parking lot haha. But I got ahold of the box so I could strategically place four wild cards into a large stack of cards that we could go through, and leave the rest in the box, in her purse. The plan again was to prime K into recognizing the wild cards and getting used to me asking questions on the wild cards. But every time a wild card came up, I would watch her immediately skip it without even a second thought. And worst part is that it was always her turn with the wild cards!!!! At the back of my mind I was severely starting to feel the sweat and massive desperation. Meanwhile, there were parts of Terra Lumina that I felt were just absolutely beautiful. Many of the light exhibits were incorporated into the actual Zoo exhibits. The way they incorporated lights into the trees and paths was also just stunning, with the music as well. I felt walking doing many of the paths was a little romantic with K as well. Not that romantic though because I was mostly freaking out of my mind that my plan is literally about to fail. I figured the exhibit was almost over so I had to make some sort of move soon.

On the next wild card she pulled, it was actually my turn. AND YET SHE HAD THE AUDACITY TO NEARLY SKIP IT AGAIN. I went straight for the card, grabbed it, and said that I’ll think of a question. I just held on to it though. The moment I had my hands on the card, I realized in that moment that the time that I was waiting all week for, had finally come. The moment that I was frantically trying to get to during all of Terra Lumina. I couldn’t say it. Do I say it while we’re walking? Are people going to hear us? Is this the right time? I really couldn’t. We ended up finishing the exhibit and we went to the washroom. At that point I was again feeling frantic, but for a completely different reason. I was still cramming up. I have this habit of pacing when I need to think, and we quite literally walked back and forth at least twice in the lobby of the Toronto zoo, until I decided that walking was the complete opposite of what I needed to do. So I suggested we sit down at a bench.

We sat a bench far from the main entrance and traffic of people exiting the zoo. Kelen went on top of my lap, and I held her close as I tried as hard as I could to just clear my head. At this point, she knew exactly what was coming. I asked her if she knew how I felt when we first matched on Tinder. I mentioned that I thought it was so odd how all of this started, after a 6AM morning conversation. I saved the sappy talk though and kept it to a minimum, and then eventually I just took a deep breath

I forget the exact words I used.

I asked her out, and she said yes. She gave a small forehead kiss, and I would have turned towards her but we both still had our masks on so I felt that would’ve been a little unproductive. I was holding her tight as we sat there a little longer until we saw a skunk run by and realized that sitting there was the exact opposite we needed to do, so we left and went back to the car. We drove home afterwards. All the tension was gone as well, after.

That god damn wild card.

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lovemesomesurveys · 3 years

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How do you handle stress? Not well.

Is there anywhere you like to go because you find one of the employees attractive? Nah.

What's the closet coffee shop to you? Starbucks.

Choose: a million bucks or to be able to fly? Money, please.

Is it currently cold where you live? Yes and I love it. We’ve been having windy, rainy, stormy weather the past few days.

Have you been to the movies in the last 7 days? No, it’s been almost a year since I last went to the movies for obvious reasons. I miss it.

What are you doing after this survey? Another one, of course.

Are you watching anything on TV right now? No, I’m watching/listening to an ASMR video.

Last person you kissed, are they into any type of sports? Which ones? Nah, he’s more the artistic type.

How many children would you ideally like to have one day? Zero.

If you could have any car right now, what would you want exactly? I don’t drive, so I don’t have a need for one.

Do you like clunky rings? No.

Are you on the pill? Is it for contraception or for other reasons? Nope.

Are you addicted to any kind of soda? Not anymore. I used to be a regular soda drinker for many years until about 3 years ago.

Is your keyboard missing any keys? No.

When's the last time you took a relaxing bath in the dark with candles? I’ve never done that.

When's the last time you were outside in the rain? About a year ago.

What are you tired of? Being sick and tired and the way things have been these past few years. I’m just tired.

Do you have an older brother? I do.

Have you ever broken a bone? Yes.

Do you have any giftcards? For where? Nope.

How old are your sibling(s)? My younger brother is turning 22 next week and my older brother is 37.

Have you ever sold anything on eBay? No.

Do you ever read your old surveys? Yeah, every once in awhile.

When was the last time you received flowers? A few years ago for my birthday.

What was the last series you finished watching? Do you have any plans to begin another? This show called Dare Me on Netflix. I was so upset because it ended on major cliffhanger and they clearly planned on a season 2, but I found out afterwards it had been canceled. D: It originally aired on TV, so I’m hoping Netflix picks it up.

When was the last time you had a headache? These past few days because of the stormy weather. As much as I love it, it also causes me body aches and headaches.

Do your parents use social media? If so, which ones? Yes. My mom uses Facebook, Snapchat, Twitter, and Instagram and my dad just uses Facebook.

When writing stories, do you have trouble coming up with character names or do they come to you easily? I don’t write stories. I used to when I was like 12 and 13, though, and dabbled some with fan fiction when I was like 15. I loved writing short stories.

Are you saving money for anything? Nothing in particular right now; I just like saving what I can.

What was the last thing you scratched? My neck.

Are you content with the current weather? Yeah, I’ve been loving the stormy weather we’ve been having the past few days.

What all different pieces of furniture do you have in your bedroom? My bed, a bookshelf, my dresser, a 6-cubed shelf, an ottoman, and two 3-drawer storage things.

Did any bad situations happen for you today? Nothing as of now.

What search engine do you prefer online? I always use Google. It’s the only one as far as I’m concerned.

Are you usually wide awake in the mornings? Pfffft, no.

Do you normally have nightmares or good dreams? My dreams are usually just super random.

Have you ever done surveys someplace other than your house? Yeah, at a hotel.

Are you better at science, maths or art? None of those were my strong areas.

Do you have any songs in your head at the moment? Not at the moment.

Do you ever get more than one song stuck in your head? Yeah.

What is your favorite kind of cheese? I love various different kinds. I just love cheese.

Are you happy with your height? Would you change it if you could? No, I wish I was taller.

Did you ever call any teachers by their first name? Who? There were some in college.

How old were your parents when you were born? Early and mid 20s.

Were you born in a hospital, or somewhere else? I was born in a hospital.

Do you often have doors held open for you? Yes.

Have you ever shoplifted, even just once? What did you take? When I was a kid I thought the candy in the big candy bins at the grocery store was free to take.

Have you ever witnessed someone else shoplifting? Did you say something? I have, but no I didn’t say anything.

Do you know anyone who volunteers a lot? Not currently.

Have you ever been cheated on? Tell me your story. No.

Which would you choose between chocolate chip cookies and oat & raisin cookies? I like both actually, but I’d probably just pick the chocolate chip cookies.

Write the first person you think of whose name begins with T? My grandpa, Thomas, comes to mind. RIP. <3

When was the last time you got a haircut? Last February. Jeez, almost a year ago.

What did you have for dinner tonight, or last night if you haven't yet? It’s only 4:42AM, but I know I’ll have Wingstop cause it’s Friday and that’s what I always have.

Do you plan ahead for your dinners? Sometimes.

Do you have a night of the week where you usually get takeout? I get takeout most days.

Is your hair thick, thin, or somewhere in between? Somewhere in between.

Are there many baby photos of you? Where are they kept? Yeah. We have all photos and photo albums stored away in the garage.

Are you the eldest child? No, I’m the middle kid.

Have you ever been in the same class as someone named Emma? Probably.

Have you ever kissed someone named Luke? No.

Do you have any neighbors with loud animals or children? My neighbor’s dogs used to bark obsessively and it was super annoying, but they finally got it under control.

How old were you when you had your first crush? I was 9.

When was the last time you were so sick you couldn't get out of bed? Two years ago when I got hit with the flu and bronchitis. It knocked me hard on my ass, it was horrible. I wasn’t back to my normal for a few months and it caused setbacks for me with some of the health stuff I was dealing with.

Do you blow-dry, towel-dry or air-dry your hair? I let it air dry.

Are your parents smokers, or have they ever been? My dad did when I was little, but he quit.

Can you count to ten in any other languages? Which one(s)? Yeah, in Spanish.

What have you eaten today? So far just ramen. It’s only 4:49AM, so I’ll eat more later on.

When was the last time you stayed in a hotel? Where was it? Last February during my Disneyland vacation. I can’t believe that was a year ago already. This time last year we were getting ready and I was super excited. I miss itttt D:

Do you drink alcohol? Nope, not anymore. It’s been 8 years since the last time.

#personal #text #survey #surveys

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rememberthattime · 3 years

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Chapter 59. Cornwall, Charleston, and Chicago

Well we’re into our final chapters. It’s nearly time for Chelsay & I to head home… The end of our time as expats.

The preceding post, our EuRoad Trip, may go down as our last big adventure abroad. That’s not how we planned it but, if it turns out that way, it’d be a helluva last hurrah. We have this “on-again-off-again” thing Egypt initially scheduled for November, then delayed to December, and now delayed again until January… but an escalation in Covid cases makes that trip less & less likely.

Regardless of whether Egypt comes through, our last few months abroad will be anything but boring. This post is going to cover December alone, where in just four weeks, Chelsay & I enjoyed TWO winter retreats in Cornwall, and visited Charleston & Chicago for prospective neighborhood tours.

As mentioned, we’d been planning an early winter trip to Egypt. I had the flights, hotels, itinerary, visas… everything was arranged. I even had a dog sitter for Indy. But Covid infections had been rising since the summer, so Chelsay & I always knew this trip was a long shot.

Sure enough, just a few weeks before the trip, our flights were cancelled. We were prepared though and already had a back-up.

3.5 years ago, the same week the Bears drafted Mitch Trubisky, Chelsay & I took a four-day trip to Cornwall. There were two surprises. One turned out to be a good surprise, the other was bad…

The bad surprise was Mitch. As I wrote in our 2017 Cornwall post (Chapter 20), he wasn’t good in college and the Bears passed on so many safer prospects. Fast forward to today, where Mitch is likely in his last season with the Bears while the two quarterbacks drafter after him, Pat Mahomes and Deshaun Watson, are future Hall of Famers.

Well, at least that 2017 Cornwall trip was blast. It’d been a few years though, and with winter surfing a possibility, we decided to use our now-cancelled Egypt vacations days for a return to the Cornish coast.

It seemed like we arrived at our small cottage, Scilly Stack, in the middle of the night. It was actually just dinner time, but the sun sets at 3 pm these days so everything feels like midnight. That first evening, we enjoyed homemade Bolognese and Planes, Trains, & Automobiles. …This cosiness would be a theme.

The trip really began the next morning, with the Cornish wind being our wake-up call. We were visiting the nearby Crown Mines, abandoned for 70 years but still bracing along the Atlantic coastline. I don’t know how they’re still standing: essentially at land’s end, there is no hiding from the elements. Gusting gales, salty mist from the crashing waves… even hail. Still, Chelsay, Indy, and I were stirred by the wind, and bounced around the craggily coast.

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The next stop was one of our primary draws to Cornwall: the beach. It’d been a year since we left Manly, and I missed the water. I keep telling Chelsay that my outdoor activities are limited in London: all I can do is go to the park – no surfing, swimming, or running along the beach. Later in this post, I’ll get into our house tours in Charleston & Chicago… It isn’t a coincidence those cities are both waterfront.

Cornish beaches are unique though: at low tide, the beach seems to be a million football feeds wide. Boats moored in the harbour gradually sink and settle in the sand. The winter crowds are sparse, so Chelsay, Indy, and I had miles to roam. We raced around the beach, threw his ball, played in the waves, and dashed through the surrounding dunes. After wind and hail earlier in the morning, the extreme weather continued: we raced through snow and rainbows in our few hours on the beach.

Afterwards, we warmed up with lunch at a beachside cafe in nearby St Ives. I went a bit risky with the Korean fried cauliflower, which I thought was ambitious for a beachside cafe. This place knew what they were doing though: lunch was delicious, and Chelsay said it was her favorite fish & chips thanks to a special tartar sauce. The town was quiet in the winter, and while we ate, Chelsay and I watched as a lone surfer catching a few waves. I distinctly remember us saying: “We can do that.”

We wrapped up lunch, but with the sun was quickly setting AT 2 PM!, we quickly made our way to the day’s final stop: the Wheal Coates mines.

As a refresher, we’d been here before. We visited in our last trip to Cornwall, but only thanks to a bit of luck. We’d lost cell service so our GPS couldn’t find the mines, and to complicate things, Chelsay had to pee. Somehow, the solution to both problems was the same. We pulled off at a public restroom, where a cartoon map led us directly to the mines.

This time around, I downloaded ‘offline maps’ beforehand, so finding the mines was much. That said, the setting sun made the coastal setting just as special as our previous visit.

Just as we’d done the previous evening, we closed the night with a homemade pasta. This time amatriciana.

We pretty much only had one goal for our second day in Cornwall: surf. It’d been a full year since Chelsay & I left Manly, and we were so anxious to get back in the water. So anxious, in fact, that we were willing to go in the winter.

That morning, we had some serious doubt as we picked up our rental boards & wetsuits boards in Sennan. Literal gale force winds over 40 mph were battering the shoreline. And as if the speed of the wind wasn’t enough, it was directly onshore and killing any chance of wave formation.

That said, the great thing about Cornwall is that it’s a peninsula. If you’ve got onshore winds on one side, just go to the other and you’ll find perfect offshore conditions. Gnarly green faces. Rad rollers. Clean barrels. Smooth breaks. SETS. OUT. THE. BACK.

The surf shop recommended Praa Sands, where a surrounding cove funnelled the south-easterly winds offshore from the beach. We knew it was the right call when, as we pulled up, noticed Cornwall’s dedicated (though small) surf crowd had also chosen Praa.

Because it was too cold, windy, and rainy to be outside, we awkwardly changed into our 5mm wetsuits in the car. This was awkward… Not only were the steering wheel and limited space difficult, but anyone passing can look in. Have you ever pulled 6 muscles all at once, while shirtless, while making direct eye contact with someone? I have now.

The wetties (and accompanying boots) were critical for this surf session. Just the day before, it had both snowed AND hailed on us. Today there were gale force winds and spots of rain. 5mm of neoprene and incalculable adrenaline were the only things keeping us warm as we plunged into the water.

I specifically remember trying to keep my head high as we paddled out, attempting to stay dry and well above the water. This was one of our strategies to stay warm, with the other being our “get in-go hard-and-get-out-quickly” strategy... Rather than wait for the right wave, we’d paddle hard and take whatever came first.

Luckily there was a pretty solid wave as soon as we hit the lineup: a four foot face that, based on our Manly riding, was perfect for our skillset.

We quickly turned our boards and paddled hard to match the wave’s speed. This was it. Our return. After 12 months, we were going to catch our first wave - Let’s gooooo-NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO! Chelsay and I both flipped directly over the front of our boards, tumbling through the churning wave. Adding injury to insult, each of our boards popped out of the water and landed on the other person’s head.

No return to surfing glory: just a face-first dive into the frigid water, resurfacing only be whacked in the head by each other’s boards.

This was pathetically unathletic, but also hilarious. Chelsay and I both popped out of the water laughing. We’d now been submerged in the winter water, but survived and actually weren’t *that* cold. Chelsay thinks I’m crazy, but I really think I had colder swims in Manly.

We needed to reset our wave-riding expectations. The biggest problem was that we were out of surfing shape. Our back & arms lacked both the power and stamina we’d built in Australia, so we never had enough speed to keep up with the waves.

After several misses, we ultimately decided to settle for white water (the wave post-crash), and caught a few beginner sets. Like, true novice waves. The kinds you’d see the kids surf school handle in Manly.

We were probably in the water for just 30 minutes, but our arms were already wrecked. Little did we know, our upper body workout was far from over. The same offshore wind that built up perfect waves was now standing between us & the car.

The combination of these 40 mph winds, our soft surfboards, and utter exhaustion created the funniest scene of the trip. Chelsay and I were fighting for every inch as we made our way up the beach… If our boards even slightly opened to the wind, gusts would catch the board like a sail, punching us back several steps. We’d torque around, trying to get the board into an aerodynamic position, but the heavy wind wouldn’t let up. We’d twist and turn, completely out of control and hyperventilating from laughter. It genuinely looked like Chelsay might fly away with her board, before she eventually gave up and collapsed in the sand.

Needless to say, our Cornwall surf day was very different from the sunny, guacamole-on-the-beach days in Manly. We still had a blast though.

After the most necessary showers ever, and coffee to energize our depleted muscles (and egos), Chelsay and I returned to Penzance to visit St Michael’s Mount. We let Indy play on the beach with other dogs (all collies, which seems to be a UK theme everywhere except London), while Chelsay & I searched for critters until the tide pools were once again flooded.

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The sun set by 4 pm, and I don’t need to tell you our dinner that evening: pasta, along with the Mariah Carey Christmas Special.

The next and last day was another highlight. Although Cornish weather is turbulent, the forecast said our clearest day would be the last. I was so excited about this hike that I initially planned it for our first day, but reschedule to ensure it coincided with the best chance for sunshine.

Well, we got more than just sunshine. It was mild, almost warm. Light breeze. Dry. Absolutely perfect for our hike from Lizard Pointe to Kynance Cove.

The Lizard Peninsula is known for its craggily coast, where its countless coves were popular for pirates hiding their treasure. Chelsay, Indy, and I didn’t find any treasure, but we felt very lucky to enjoy the seaside setting in essentially summer conditions. To complete the sunny scene, we enjoyed ice cream cones once we arrived in Kynance Cove’s, playing fetch with Indy along the beach. You can’t ask for any better in December.

These few days in Cornwall were excellent. Very different from the Egypt trip they replaced, but somehow both relaxing and adventurous. We had a such a great time that we booked a return visit just three weeks later.

This return Cornwall visit was entirely intended to decompress. You’ll see when I write about it later: we did nothing.

Why was an ‘exhale’ trip necessary? Well, between our two Cornish holidays, we were visiting Charleston & Chicago, evaluating if either were right for Chelsay & I’s eventual return to the US.

These visits were mostly Chelsay and I independently exploring each city, gauging “What’s Possible” in terms of neighborhood and home quality, outdoor activities, community values …and, as mentioned earlier, access to the water.

I won’t go into too many details here, but a few memories worth noting:

That first sunrise in Charleston. It felt like we hadn’t seen a single sunrise since we moved to London… because we hadn’t.

Biscuits and gravy to start the day, followed by walks along the large beaches on Sullivan’s Island and Isle of Palms.

The charming homes of Charleston, which Chelsay and I agreed, made this the prettiest city we’d visited in the US.

Soups, sandwiches, and warm waterfront views at Kiawah Island’s Freshfields Market.

The unbelievable size of American grocery stores. They’re like airplane hangars, with an entire aisle for cereal. We counted 12 unique flavors of Oreos alone! It wasn’t until we browsed these snack aisles that we realized how much we missed all this variety and convenience.

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The views from my parents’ 14th floor condo, including surrounding skyscrapers, sunrises over Lake Michigan, and the general city buzz.

Portillos!

The smell of heavy incenses and grilled cabeza steak in La Chaparrita Taqueria.

Our no-nonsense realtor Greg, who handled our four house tours with the militaristic precision of D-Day. This style was in direct contrast to the selling agents, who were all very kind but far too affable for Greg. There was one agent that couldn’t answer a single question without sprawling in a million directions: “Well the first thing is location… Wait did I tell you about the… Actually my oldest daughter lives down… Oh, where was I?”. The question we asked was the difference between Winnetka & Wilmette.

The safety measures necessary to make this trip work. This was our first time flying since the start of the pandemic, and we were as careful as possible throughout. Our extra precautions included getting tested, paying extra attention to social distancing, and even investing in hospital-grade KN95 masks.

The trip was extremely informative, and we enjoyed envisioning what our lives would be like when we eventually return to the US. That said, it was a sprint and, especially considering our jet lag, we were exhausted. This is precisely why we’d booked another 5 days in Cornwall upon our return.

After our overnight flight into London, we picked up our rental car, stopped by the house to grab Indy (and a shower), then started our five-hour drive to Newquay.

This Christmas Eve trip was surprisingly easy. I was nervous beforehand, anticipating minimal sleep on the plane followed immediately by five hours on the road. Just think of how extreme a trip Chicago-to-London-to-Cornwall is in under 15 hours… Although my fears about plane rest turned out to be accurate, the drive was made immeasurably calmer thanks to Obama’s A Promised Land audiobook. Something about having an empathetic, logical President was reassuring. The good ol’ days.

The calm vibes would continue in Cornwall. Round two was nothing like the round one I previously wrote about. In fact, it was unlike any trip Chelsay & I have taken: we did nothing. No itinerary. No plans. No sight-seeing.

This was our opportunity to exhale, and we took full advantage. We slept in until 10:30 several days, hardly leaving the house and never driving more than 30 minutes from our accommodation. Some of the most memorable highlights:

The accommodation itself, a four-bedroom cottage overlooking Mawgan Porth Beach.

Our Christmas calls with family, where we opened presents with all the nieces and nephews. Miles got a dragon toy, Orly a stuffed pony, and Jeff & Liv’s couch got leather care formula.

Christmas Day with Chelsay, where we made Beef Wellington and gingerbread cookies, and watched Home Alone 1 & 2.

Our daily beach walks with Indy. After our Cornwall trip earlier in the month, we knew to expect turbulent weather. In just a few days, round two provided a mix of every kind of winter weather: rain, hail, sunshine, gale force winds… Regardless of the weather, we enjoyed beach time with Indy as the tides shifted.

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I need to re-emphasize just how windy the beach was. I’ve never seen anything like it. As we walked, the sand kicked up by our boots would catch the wind and shoot 15 feet away.

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Playful walks along the Cornish coastal paths, including stops at the Bedruthan Steps and Port Isaac.

Teaching Chelsay to play chess. Although she was skeptical at first, we both enjoyed the light competition in an otherwise relaxing few days.

Stealing a line from Jeff & Liv, “Well, that’s Christmas.” …That was December 2020.

I’m actually writing this post on January 1, 2021, which I’m sure I’ll look back on as a significant day. Not only is today a celebratory end to one of the worst years in history (pandemic, economic decline, racial tensions, Trump…), but it’s also excitingly the beginning of what will likely be Chelsay & I’s biggest year yet.

Our December 2020 was actually reflective of today’s mixed New Year’s Day emotions. Our two Cornish holidays represented closing chapters to our international travels, which have consumed our past five years. Meanwhile, our tours of Charleston & Chicago foreshadowed our exciting return to the US. Our past & future look bright …and filled with dozens of different types of Oreos.

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szopenhauer · 4 years

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Who will you be spending Christmas with this year? no idea, I’d like to spend it with my parents but dad might work at the time and also sister can visit, I’m not even sure if I will be alive at the time nor if I want holidays as I have no money nor can’t eat much anyway

Did you go to high school with your current best friend? no Have you ever wanted to be vegetarian or vegan? maybe vegetarian but not a vegan for sure Do you park your car in a garage, carport or just in a driveway? we have no car

Have you seen any extended relatives in the last month? from afar Do you take part in paying the bills for your household? I don’t :( Have you ever properly listened to classical music? Did you like it? you mean if I listened to a live orchestra? not really Do your parents know how to text? not my mother Do you text your parents often? I text my father at least once a day when he’s at work What television channel do you watch the most? none anymore What will you do when this survey is over? take a bath and go to sleep, I play choices in the meantime, I might listen to music yet What’s the weather like today? there was a thunderstorm How do you usually celebrate New Years? I was listening to music with my family, we had special food and then we looked at fireworks through the window drinking non alcoholic champagne Is the place that you’re in right now quiet or loud? it’s quiet

What was the last thing you took a video of? what kind of friend I am on snapchat or smth on tik tok that I set as private

What’s something that used to really stress you out, but doesn’t anymore? school as I no longer attend it Do you prefer to be around introverted or extroverted people? I’m an introvert and I prefer NOT to be around people Have you ever been somewhere where you didn’t fluently speak the local language? never but sometimes I go to the mall and there are ppl speaking russian instead of polish Have you ever dated someone from a very different socioeconomic background? yep Were you born before or after the collapse of the Soviet Union? year after How often do you go grocery shopping? about every second day or third? If you got pregnant the 1st time you had sex, how old would the kid be now? it wouldn’t be born What was your last received text message about? M. wishing me good night Have you ever lived in a small community where everyone knew each other? my town was a bit like this when I was a baby Are you a procrastinator? huge What was the last thing you said out loud? BYE or smth like that

Have you ever worked over 50 hours in one week? I haven’t

Have you ever studied abroad? neither Do you have any medication that you keep with you at all times? sorta List three things that you need to get done in the next few days? take my dog to the vet, get my examinations results and give them to my gastrologist, go on a date, do grocery shopping etc. What’s something that’s much more difficult than a lot of people realize? being me What’s your opinion on couples ‘staying together for the kids?’ ugh... What was the last website you were on, before this one? Google Do you ever lose track of what day of the week it is? who doesn’t Were you raised by both of your parents? If not, then who raised you? could say so, my dad was busy often but I also had my grandma around Have you ever spent over $50 (€43) on a bottle of wine? - Have you ever locked your keys in your car? I don’t get it, how is that even possible? :o What season do you wish lasted longer? summer How old is the last male you texted? 60+ How old is the last female you texted? 28 Have you ever ‘taken a break’ in a relationship? If so, how did things turn out? could say so

How many times have you ever ridden an elephant? 0 but I want to What do you think about Lord of the Rings? cool

Do you have a lot of clothes hangers in your house? shitload Have you ever been in a Latin class? floristry Have you ever had bubble gum stuck in your hair? once Is there any pet hair stuck to your clothing? I don’t think so Have you ever watched The Gremlins? nah Is your cell on charge? it is indeed What do you think about rainbows? ... Are you wearing anything on your head right now? am not Do you own a pet spider? I don’t Do you like mouthwash? I dislike it Do you use green pens? very rarely Are there any fake tattoos on you? none Can you roll your belly? a bit Is there a rocking chair in your house? there isn’t Have you ever gone to a Monster Truck show? would like to someday but it’s not necessary Have you ever been kicked in the throat? punched/slapped/hit Do you like the song “Barbie Girl”? ironically Do you own a feather boa? blergh Do you wear ribbons in your hair? used to have this special decoration that I made myself - it was a ponytail made out of ribbons and my friends’ mom or grandma was calling it Krakowianka Do you use cheat codes on video games? motherlode How long has it been since you last slept? over ten hours Is the sound on your laptop or computer turned off? it’s on How many keychains do you own? too many lmfao Magnets? several Do you own anything with a peace sign on it? doubt it When is the last time you wore shorts? this month which is new/weird to me Do you like elevators or escalators? use them when I need to Is there anyone in the room with you? I’m alone When is the last time you pet an animal? today

Is it windy outside? who knows Have you ever met a dog named ‘Spot’? I called one this way

Do you usually wrap gifts or just put them in a bag? give them without packing or anything When was the last time you were given jewelery as a gift? this year If you look out the window closest to you - what do you see? darkness Have you ever used crutches? for “fun” If Willy Wonka invited you to live with him, would you? ewww, creepy Do you own a pair of pink shoes? mhm Have you ever been in a tree house? sadly not Have you ever been outside in freezing cold weather with no jacket on? ha! it reminds me of the time we’ve been using hot glue for couple of hours to make floral decorations in class and we all started going crazy like on drugs and we wen outside in T-shirts in a freezing cold winter time to finish projects and we didn’t feel anything pfft - I wasn’t sick afterwards :P The last time you said “I want it” - what was it that you wanted? not sure what was last but I want health constantly if that counts What color are your sunglasses? they’re not colorful Are you picky about how your clothes fit? I like ‘em oversized Would you ever flirt with somebody in front of your parents? slightly Would you ever move to China? what for What material are the pants you’re wearing made of? cotton

How long have you had your current mattress? years Do you usually pay with cash, debit card, or credit card? cash always What do you usually drink with breakfast? I drink water an hour after breakfast

Are you the type of person who can make friends with just about anyone? me? r u kidding? What’s your least favorite time of day? morning because of waking up but sunrises are pretty How many burners does your stove have? 4 When you go to a restaurant, do you prefer to sit at a booth or a table? table Which room of your house is currently in the greatest need of cleaning? *shrug* not mine When was the last time you shipped a package? uh oh I don’t even remember Have you ever made a homemade pie? with my mom How old is your oldest cousin? don’t ask me

Do you ever have binges that last for hours, watching YouTube videos? not that long

Have you ever recorded yourself doing a cover of a song? ^^”

Are there any movies out there that basically make you want to puke? Gummo *someone once told me it reminds them of me and I wasn’t able to watch half of it as it was so disgusting and that comment feels like one of the worst offensive shit anybody ever told [about] me

Are either of your parents laid of from work at the moment? retired

Any secrets you’d never tell anyone? No matter how close they are to you? no secrets like this

Have you ever told a secret on one of your friends you promised otherwise? you got me

Do you consider yourself a promiscious person? I’m an asexual but recently... Look to your left, what’s the first blue thing you see right now? there’s nothing blue on my left side atm as there’s a window

Do you know anyone who has AIDS? What about yourself? no one that I know of

Has anyone ever mistaken you to be a member of the opposite sex? plenty of times

What’s one thing in your room you would die if your SO found? I wouldn’t die, I might be embarassed if anything

Does your school have a swimming pool? Or no? my schools didn’t have swimming pools

Do you prefer cappuccinos or frappuccinos? I only tried cappuccino before Would you rather swim in a lake or the ocean? lake Are there any plants in your home? omg yes What food does honey go best with? I liked yoghurt with honey when I was a child Have you ever carved a pumpkin? less than 5 times Do you love seeing frost hanging off leaves in the Winter? I like it on windows only Have you ever reread a book? no? Would you ever like to own a chandelier? not crystal one

Do you have any religious symbols in your home? bunch What religion do you identify with, if any? Christianity If you could have a small garden in your backyard, what would you plant? you mean vegetables?

Do you enjoy those tins of butter cookies? yeah Do you own any art supplies? I gave away most of them Do you prefer writing in pen or pencil? pen How many notebooks do you own? Are they all filled? I own lots of filled and empty notebooks

Are you currently sitting on your bed? I’m not

Did anything tend to make you extremely happy today? nope

What month is it? August

Do you know where the remote to the closest television is located or not? I know

Name one interesting fact about yourself that people might not know about? I hate The Nanny Affair on Choices and play it only to get diamonds

Do you ever have to write down a phone number to remember it, or not? every single time

Do you know anyone who has man-boobs? many men have “boobs” *in middle school we had a guy who they were calling Pamela (Anderson) because of that

Do you know anyone who constantly puts themselves down? that me

When was the last time you had a piece of cake? yesterday or day before

Do you know anyone who has their septum pierced? Does it look painful? not personally

Do you think some famous people just shouldn’t be famous at all? lots

Has anyone ever complimented you on your singing? Did you believe them? once in primary school and I think they tried to flirt with me but I believe they were lying or maybe they just tried to make fun of me?

Has anyone ever kissed you in the rain? Did it seem romantic at the time? no thx

When was the last time you listened to a genre of you music you despise? in public, it was loud so I couldn’t help it

How satisfied with life are you at this exact moment in time? Why is this? no comment

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celticnoise · 4 years

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CQN continues its enthralling and EXCLUSIVE extracts from Alex Gordon’s book, ‘That Season In Paradise’, which takes us through the months that were the most momentous in Celtic’s proud history.

Today, we look at another dramatic chapter in the players’ club and country exploits on their way to never-ending glory.

JIMMY JOHNSTONE took a knock against the Czechs and was forced to withdraw from the Scotland team that was due to play world champions England at Wembley the following Saturday. Stevie Chalmers, as first reserve, expected to get his team-mate’s No.7 jersey, but new international manager Bobby Brown had been so impressed by Wallace’s two-goal salvo against Dukla that he was brought in and immediately given the right-wing role.

Ronnie Simpson’s wonderful fairy tale continued as the Scots triumphed 3-2 in front of a crowd of 99,063. There might have been some English fans in attendance, but they were rarely seen and certainly not heard. Brown, the first-ever full-time manager appointed by the Scottish Football Association, awarded the Celtic keeper his first international cap at the age of thirty-six – fifteen years after playing at Wembley and helping Newcastle United to a 1-0 English FA Cup victory over Arsenal. A relatively unknown forward who had failed to make the grade at Chelsea, Jim McCalliog, at the age of twenty, became the first Sheffield Wednesday player to be capped by Scotland in forty-seven years.

Bobby Lennox and Tommy Gemmell completed the Parkhead quartet for football’s piece de resistance. The defender recalled, ‘You could have written Bobby Brown’s pre-match tactics on the back of a stamp and still have had space left over. In short, there weren’t any. Of course, I was used to Jock Stein meticulously planning for all our games. It didn’t matter if it was Real Madrid or Raith Rovers, you knew exactly what you had to do when you went on the pitch against your opponents.

‘To be fair to Bobby Brown, if we didn’t already know what were about to face at Wembley that day we must have been living on the moon for a year or so. We got England rammed down our throats constantly after they won the World Cup. According to the scribes across the border, we were wasting our time even turning up for the game. Apparently, it would have been easier to nail jelly to a wall than to believe we would win. It was a foregone conclusion.

‘The bookmakers rated us as 7/1 against and, as we all know, these guys rarely got it wrong. They might just have lowered those odds had they been in the Scottish dressing room that day. I sensed a real ‘we’ll-show-’em’ attitude from my team-mates. Absolutely no disrespect to Bobby Brown, but we didn’t really need a manager that wonderful afternoon. The atmosphere was electric.

‘We were in London to do the business and shut up the English once and for all. We didn’t need anyone to stoke the fires in our belly for this one. There was no point in any motivational speaking. In fact, there was no point in tactics. Every single Scot in that dressing room was puffed up and ready to go long before the kick-off. We all knew what we had to do. I do admit the adrenalin was pumping a wee bit fiercer than normal.

‘They had gone nineteen games unbeaten until they came up against us that afternoon. No doubt they were confident of extending that run against a bunch of no-hopers. Didn’t quite work out that way, did it? The Celtic players were getting used to creating a sensation or two that season.’

WEMBLEY WONDERLAND…Tommy Gemmell strolls onto the pitch before the 3-2 win over world champions England in April 1967.

Willie Wallace revealed he was more than just a little surprised to receive the telephone call to tell him to pick up his boots and join the international players just two days before the Wembley extravaganza. ‘Amazed? You could say that. I hardly had time to draw breath. It was unfortunate for Jinky, but it opened the door to me and presented me with a truly memorable occasion. I was playing through the middle at Celtic, but I was asked to take Jinky’s place on the right against England. That might have seemed strange to some, but, in fact, I had played outside-right on a few occasions for Hearts before moving to Parkhead.

‘Happily, I was involved in our first goal when I fired in a low shot from the right side of the penalty area. Gordon Banks went down and got a hand to it, but couldn’t hold the attempt. He spilled it and that was all Denis Law needed to swoop and put the ball away. Denis’s reflexes in the box were like lightning. Make a mistake when this lad was around and you would be punished. He was incredible. Banks must have had that sinking feeling as soon as the ball bounced from his grasp. It came back to Denis at a fair pace, but he didn’t even break stride as he walloped it into the net.’

England’s world-class keeper Banks recalled, ‘The Scots really had themselves stoked up for that match and we knew they were ready to run through brick walls for victory. As far as Scotland were concerned, this was the World Cup Final. Denis Law scored their first goal from a rebound after I had pushed out a shot from Willie Wallace. Twelve minutes from the end, Bobby Lennox, who had been giving George Cohen a lot of problems on their left wing, made it 2-0. Jack Charlton pulled a goal back almost immediately and then I let in a bad goal from Jim McCalliog. I committed the cardinal sin of not guarding my near post properly as I came out to meet him after he had evaded two half-hearted tackles. Geoff Hurst made it 3-2 and we nearly scrambled an equaliser in one of the most dramatic finishes to an England v. Scotland match.’

DEBUT BHOY…Ronnie Simpson, at the age of 36, makes his first appearance for Scotland.

Remarkably, there had been opposition from some quarters to Ronnie Simpson getting the No.1 position in front of Bobby Ferguson, who was on the verge of leaving Kilmarnock for West Ham for a record £65,000 fee for a keeper in the summer. Bobby Brown, a former Rangers goalie, stuck firmly to his guns about the decision to bring in the thirtysomething Celt.

He said, ‘I knew Scotland had a problem in that position. I had witnessed it first-hand on several occasions. I thought it was time for a change and not for one moment did I ever think Ronnie Simpson would let us down. He was a reliable, safe pair of hands. He also had experience of the Wembley pitch after having played there twice for Newcastle United in the early Fifties, so the ground would hold no surprises for him.

‘To my mind, he was the most consistent goalkeeper around at the time and it was hardly a risk putting him in against England. I didn’t care what age he was; I was only ever interested in ability. Anyway, he must have been doing something right if Jock Stein picked him for Celtic week in, week out.’

Afterwards, in the jubilant Wembley dressing room, Gemmell recalled, ‘Faither was genuinely upset that England had managed to score two goals in the last six minutes or so. That underlined the perfectionist in our goalie. We had just had a very famous victory over the reigning world champions, but, clearly, he hadn’t wanted to concede any goals. Some people are never happy!’

A wicked, wet and windy Wednesday evening in the grey east end of Glasgow provided the unlikely back drop for a heroes’ welcome for Celtic’s four Wembley victors, Ronnie Simpson, Tommy Gemmell, Willie Wallace and Bobby Lennox. Throughout a blustery day in the city, the rain had been incessant while ferocious gusts of piercing wind did little to assist the entertainment factor.

Aberdeen, for their part, showed little intention of providing anything by way of enjoyment for the 33,000 paying customers as their team boss Eddie Turnbull, no-one’s idea of a favourite uncle and a well-known antagonist of Jock Stein, set out ruthlessly to stop his opponents from playing. It had been billed as the dress rehearsal for the Scottish Cup Final at Hampden in twenty days’ time and the Pittodrie chief, clearly, wasn’t going to risk his team getting turned over.

If it was the Dons manager’s sole intention to ruin the game as a spectacle, he succeeded spectacularly. It was a non-starter as his players, with the exception of lone striker Jim Storrie, displayed an unfathomable aversion to crossing into the Celtic half of the field, especially after a nondescript opening forty-five minutes. So, there was no surprise that the game ended goalless and provoked the terse response from the Celtic boss of, ‘Well, at least, we’re a point nearer the title.’ He refused to elaborate.

A newspaper reporter noted that play throughout had been ‘scrappy and inconclusive’ and there had been a severe lack of ‘directness, thrust and accuracy’. Under the headline of ‘Celtic held to draw in featureless game’, he added, ‘From the restart, it was obvious Aberdeen would be content to settle for a draw. They set up a defence calculated to keep Celtic out and succeeded without undue strain. Altogether it was a frustrating occasion for the home supporters, who cannot yet be certain that their favourites will clinch the championship. Having played the same number of games as Rangers, thirty-one, Celtic are three points ahead of their nearest challengers, whom they have still to meet at Ibrox, having also to play Dundee United and Kilmarnock at Parkhead.’

LOST IN THOUGHT…Jock Stein ponders the game as he sits on the bench in Prague.

On April 25, Celtic proved they, too, could put up the shutters when they cemented their place in that season’s European Cup Final with an uncustomary withdrawn performance against Dukla Prague in the Czechoslovakian capital city. The unsung hero was Stevie Chalmers, who spent a punishing ninety minutes being pummelled by a frustrated defence who couldn’t risk taking their eye of the eager Celtic attacker.

Chalmers remembered, ‘That was the one and only time I was banned from entering my own team’s half of the field. Big Jock laid it on the line, “Keep busy, Stevie. Let them know you’re out there.” Thanks, boss! I was never afraid to put myself about and, as I recall, a few players bumped into my elbows that afternoon. It’s a man’s game, after all. I just kept going for the entire game and the Dukla back lot weren’t pleased. It was one of the hardest shifts I ever put in, but we were ninety minutes away from the European Cup Final and if that doesn’t give you momentum then nothing will.

‘Obviously, Dukla wanted to give me a hard time. They tried to get me to retreat back into my own half beside my team-mates, but I was having none of that. I had a job to do and that was to get about their defence and keep them stretched. Not the most glamorous role in the team, I’m sure you’ll agree, but one that was vital in that game. The Czechs were a very good team and they liked to build from the back. They used their captain Josef Masopust a lot, passing the ball through the midfield. So, that’s where I came in. I was asked to harry them, chase them and make sure they didn’t get the opportunity to dwell on the ball.

PARADISE IN PRAGUE…Jimmy Johnstone and Tommy Gemmell, in Dukla Prague shirts, celebrate the scoreless stalemate.

‘If that’s what Big Jock wanted, then that’s what Big Jock would get. I was desperate to stay in his first team. But Dukla did pin us back by their attacking play. They had scored that vital away goal and they must have thought a 2-0 win against us was within their scope. They may even have been heartened to know we had thrown away a three-goal advantage in Budapest against MTK in a European Cup-Winners’ Cup semi-final only three years earlier. But this was a different Celtic team with an entirely different attitude.

‘So, if Dukla believed they were about to face a collection of players who would collapse under pressure, then they were to be sorely disappointed. They may even have noted that we had also lost in our previous away game, the 1-0 defeat in Yugoslavia against Vojvodina. But we were learning all the time and we put our experience to a good use in Prague.

‘Ironically, Big Jock actually looked a bit disappointed at the end of that match. Sure, he was delighted that Celtic had become the first British club to reach the Final of the European Cup. However, he realised we hadn’t done it in our normal fashion. The flair, the attacking ambition, the adventure weren’t in evidence and those facets of our play were very important to him.

‘Afterwards, he gathered us around him in the dressing room and said, “We will never play like that again. I will never ask you to play all-out defence again.” If we were defending in games after that, it was because we were being pushed back and never because it was a pre-arranged tactic.’

Billy McNeill, in commanding form throughout the tie, recalled, ‘What a game Stevie had in Prague. We felt a bit sorry for him. At one stage, late in the second-half, he got into a bit of bother and suddenly he was surrounded by about four of their players. We were too far away to lend him some support. Thankfully, the referee sorted it out!’

ALL ALONE…Stevie Chalmers is chased by a posse of Dukla players after an incident.

LISBON HERE WE COME…Bertie Auld and trainer Neil Mochan lead the celebrations in Prague.

Bobby Lennox added, ‘Big Jock had come up with a strategy that was foreign to all of us and we were going to make sure the backdoor was bolted firmly shut. My pal, Wee Jinky, just about played the entire game standing beside Jim Craig at right-back. I spent an awful lot of my ninety minutes keeping Big Tommy company over on the left. That’s not exactly how it was planned. Dukla, a fine team, pinned us back for lengthy periods of that game. They took control in front of their own fans and they made a real contest of it.

‘They made it hectic for all of us and we were forced to defend to the very end. The only guy who wasn’t given any defensive duties that day was Stevie Chalmers. I remember Big Jock telling him, “Chase everything.” And, you know, he did. From start to finish, Stevie put himself about all over the place. The Czech defenders must have hated the sight of him. He never gave them a moment’s rest. He was a one-man forward line. Somehow, it seemed so fitting that Stevie should get the winning goal against Inter Milan. He earned it with his exhausting stint in Prague.’

Ronnie Simpson didn’t remember being too flustered during the encounter. ‘The Dukla Prague coach Bohumil Musil admitted he had been very impressed by our performance in the first leg. However, he stressed his team of soldiers still had a chance in front of their own fans in the return. We didn’t try to be smart in Prague and set out to contain the Czechs. Just before we went out on to the pitch, for one of the most important games in our careers, Jock Stein told us, “Right, we’ve done our job. Now let’s see what Dukla can do.” He reassured us that he was convinced they couldn’t raise their game enough to upset us. He was right again.

GLORY BHOYS…Bobby Murdoch, Billy McNeill, Bertie Auld, Bobby Lennox, Stevie Chalmers and Tommy Gemmell celebrate in Prague.

‘They had a couple of shots which went close, but nothing more. They appeared to lack the speed required to beat our defence and we calmly settled for 0-0. The Boss was delighted. He even bought champagne for the Press and I got a half-bottle to myself – all over my suit when somebody opened a bottle behind me. But who cared? “We’re on our way to Lisbon, we shall not be moved!” we sang until our throats were dry.’

John Clark observed, ‘The Juliska Stadium has a nice ring to it, hasn’t it? That was Dukla’s ground and it was anything but pleasant. It was a foreboding, grey old place that could have done with a lick of paint. It looked as though the construction outfit who were putting it together got fed up halfway through and went home. The atmosphere wasn’t helped when it looked as though the entire Czechoslovakian Army was there, too. It could have been a terrifying experience, but, being only ninety minutes away from the European Cup Final, we were prepared for anything.

‘Jock, of course, went against all his principles and philosophies that day to play defensively and those poor Czech fans never saw the real Celtic on that occasion. They must have been more than just a bit bemused when they saw us perform against Inter Milan; surely they didn’t believe they were witnessing the same players or the same team.

‘I think even wee Jimmy Johnstone was given defensive duties against Dukla. Can you imagine the Wee Man as cover at right-back? Me, neither, but that’s where he played for the entire game. We were helped, too, with the presence and reassurance of the experienced Ronnie Simpson behind us. His was the fairytale to end all fairytales and he wasn’t going to allow anyone to take it away from him. He talked us through that game as only he could. When the Czechs got through and, thankfully that wasn’t too often, Ronnie was there to pull off the save.

‘The Dukla players were gracious in defeat, but I do remember Masopust being a bit grumpy. He had played in a World Cup Final in 1962 and now, in his mid-thirties, he must have been looking forward to an appearance in a European Cup Final. Sorry, Josef, we were in no mood to be denied our place in Lisbon.’

Now for the little matter of the Scottish Cup Final.

TOMORROW: Big Jock’s Hampden masterplan.

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#CelticNoise #Celtic #CelticFC #CelticQuickNews

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xottzot · 6 years

Text

2017-12(DEC)-17th---Sunday--early am...

Saturday:----..........had aboriginals wanderng all over the streets especially just before darkness where criminal abo children were out wandering all about the streets including toddlers-in-diapers wandering all about totally alone......

One of the newest neighbours, who has no fence, found out for themselves...AGAIN....and what follows is only a tiny taste of the shit that is about to engulf them.......a criminal barefoot abo toddler-in-diapers was out on it's own in the streets and entered their yard as big vehicle was pulling up on their street verge there.

The vehicle also had inside a pit bull? and was just in the process of parking on the street verge close to the front door of that innocent housheold, when a criminal abo toddler-in-diapers wearing nothing else walked about right next to the moving vehicle, then the toddler turned and went straight into the yard, then to the front door of the housheold. The ONLY thing that stopped any further progress into the innocent householder house was a closed security wirescreen front door, otherwise it would have entered INTO the house itself.

Guarenteed, if they had have contacted anyone in authority about it all, then THEY would have been 'blamed' for something, anything, maybe something as insane as trying to lure the criminal abo toddler inside their house to murder it? - I'm not joking about the insanity, how NOBODY believes ANYTHING about this hellhole let alone ever trying to ever tell ANYONE about the TRUTH. - And of course nobody was trying to murder the criminal abo toddler-in-diapers. It's enough that NOBODY right now and for YEARS doesn't believe about how much the abo criminals toddlers-in-diapers wander all over the roads IN TRAFFIC at this hellhole area.

The adult driver got out, remote-locked his vehicle, and walked to the front door only to discover the criminal abo toddler-on-diapers there at the door. Of course he couldn't believe it. Nobody ever can of the entire hellhole area, not even the authorities and Police who LOVE to keep everything quiet and unknown about.

The toddler then went off on its own and went down the path inside the yard and out and down Kalara Way street, Koongamia, and rejoined abo kids roaimg about on pushbikes (without bicycle helmets of course) on the roads. There was absolutely no adult abo about at all, which was strange even for the criminal abo's. Perhaps 2 Western Australian POLICE visits in as many days had thrown off the abo's criminal routines for the abo adults.....

The innocent visitor in the large vehicle went to his vehicle, unlocked it, and released a pit bull? dog which immediately rushed out and rapidly raced around where the abo toddler had just been in the yard, and it relieved itself everywhere as the visitor talked with the home owners, no doubt wandering why a barefoot abo toddler-in-diapers was in THEIR yard and at THEIR front door and was wandering all about ALONE by itself.

But this is standard hellhole aboriginal 'responsible' parenting....that is no doubt going to be explained away as 'traditional'.......AGAIN.........

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During the darkness of night not long afterwards, criminals and shitheads were all about.....

Cars loudly tearing about, doing burnouts in Bellevue and because of all the noise no doubt once AGAIN, laying down fresh evidence of burnt rubber tyre marks all over the roads, to re-cover the mass of ones they had put there beforehand like grafitti. The same vehicles then were tearing about Koongamia, and all around, into Greenmount, Bellevue...etc.

Also, adult shitheads on totally unlit pushbikes were all over the roads and travelling about whilst drinking from alcohol cans as they did so. They can also return to their high-powered cars parked/hidden stored elsewhere and tear about the darkness.

I wonder if anything related will show in the NEWS?

Strangely, probably because of the POLICE raids earlier over the past few days, Fatguts abo criminal household was very strangely quiet and devoid of wandering adult abo's. Instead the criminal kids were travelling all about rampant on the streets and everywhere.

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Sunday:-------very early AM, long before dawn......

The guarding dogs poor Sam & Max needed to go outside for their water ablutions despite myself having let them outside just hours earlier. It gets hot inside this hovel, hence they drink a lot of water.

So I took them outside and went with them to safeguard them, only to find it absolutely suddenly pouring down with RAIN. And they BOTH GOT QUITE WET in the short time they were doing their business. I got a litle wet too as I stood there with a towel to vainly dry them down before letting them back inside this hovel to feed them before dawn.

THIS is a measure of the total unreliability of ANY weather forecasting for this hellhole.

The forecast had stated: (copy & pasted here before they erase it)...Perth area....Cloudy. Slight (20%) chance of a shower about the southern coastal suburbs later this evening. Winds southwesterly 25 to 30 km/h turning westerly 15 to 25 km/h in the evening.

And so...because this hellhole is NOT the "southern coastal suburbs" (far from it), it rained and is still raining as I type this.

The 'Perth area' is a vague reference now (over the past few years) is used so inaccurately by the weather department in its forecasts that they try to use the innacuracy should anyone dare to complain.

THIS is the measure and inaccuracy of any crystal ball bullshit weather forecasts for this hellhole area, which has gotten so bad that it can be almost half-an-Australian-state (the biggest state in Australia) off in it's official forecasts. (let alone ANYTHING else).

They have forecasted that there's going to be severe weather, "chance of a squally thunderstorm", for Sunday and Monday to arrive ahead for the nebulous forecasting they do, utterly unreliably innacurate and have been doing for the past few years and increasngly geting more being unable to be trusted at all with each passing week and month and year.

Australia is NOT a tiny place like England which is an island nation with multiple weather types and weather influences, which has had it's own utterly bizarre extremes weather and swings of weather much featured in NEWS events, but Australia is now treated the same as if Australia was a tiny carribean island of a few palm trees and tin shacks with totally useless weather forecasting with feeble attempts to keep explianing it all away whilst proclaiming it all with a straight face and authoritiarian seriousness....'we have the most accurate and up-to-date technology and experienced and knowledgable staff'.........

I wonder how soon now when some utterly crazy 'once in a lifetime'.....or 'once in a century' (their favourite catchphrase they keep saying for recent years now), weather event, that will assail Australia and cause utter devastation and woe, worse than the horrific hot, water-less, months and deadly years of no rain has assailed Australia?

et tu tornado's anyone?

Australia has't yet had it's scheduled yearly earthquakes assailing Australia yet, (as if it's become 'earthquake season'), as if it was a regular windy day of a normal weather season. -- Maybe we can fully expect that before the end of this year as has happened in the recent years past, OR....in the new year.....? -- Maybe it'll happen in New Zealand instead AGAIN? -- It's already happened in some Asian places this late year.......AGAIN......like other regular events....AGAIN.......

The rain this morning was supposed to be part of it all over Sunday (late) and Monday morning, (so as not to interfere with commerce), but maybe they're letting their schdules slip over a litle to cover their tracks and throw off any crazy forecasters with a penchant for joining-dots-together based on life experience........

Maybe the trial-run this morning was a test to determine accuracy of aiming? (as if they haven't had enough tries these past years). - Or maybe the new office boy pushed the wrong button and wrongly scheduled a seeding event that was too early.........doing stuff like that would get him promoted of course...like it does military staff......he could be the next el presidente with chutzpah like that, and just as reliable.......you wants extra wars with those fries sir or our own inhouse tatare sauce?

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Going back to bed. Poor Sam & Max are still damp from their soaking. The roads are all wet. I wonder how long before all the sirens of Police and ambulances will be going on as they try to deal with everything.....?

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I love you dear Fliss and so want to to be with you just as you PROMISED.

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