Spoonster912
Vital Youth Team
...was simply amazing!
Got back Saturday afternoon after 2.5 weeks out in Russia. Exhausted and sad not to be staying on for the final, which even the most pessimistic of us out there thought that we would be in after beating Sweden. But I was well happy that we made the semi's, especially after all the pre tournament negativity from certain people. Not just for the team, but I was happy by the fact it meant that I could stay in Russia longer and experience more of the place.
Even though I had some reservations about the trip, my strong hunch that all this 'Russia is dangerous, you're going to come back in a coffin' stuff being banded about the past few months would inevitably end up being nonsense, was not only correct, but couldn't be more the opposite!
I visited 3 parts of Russia whilst there - Kaliningrad, Moscow, and Samara. All of which were quite different, but just as friendly and welcoming as each other. I would go as far as to say that Russia was the most welcoming, friendliest, safest country I have ever visited. I felt safer and happier out there than I did here. I know that the Russian people wanted to deliver Putin's plea to make it this way for all tourists during the World Cup, and that probably added an extra edge to it, but I was fortunate enough to speak with several ex pats who have lived out there for a considerable time, who told me it's always like this. One chap Robin ( a lawyer) told me he's lived out there for 13 years, and he has only ever had one situation out there, and that was with an American tourist lol.
Just a few of many examples of how well I was looked after out there personally:
I lost count of the amount of drinks I had bought for me in bars by local Russian guys, who I either spoke with directly or who just over heard me speaking, and insisted on getting me a beer or a vodka shot. On my last night in Kaliningrad, my room mate Charlie and I (Cov fan) ended up in this bar/club over the other side of town to where we were staying.. Charlie left at 2am to go back to the hotel (he quit alcohol a while back after almost killing himself, and so can't stay out for too long), and I stayed drinking with some Bury fans and some local Russian lads.. I had around 4 or 5 beers bought for me by insistent locals (who wouldn't let me get them a beer back), and was having such a crack that I completely forgot the time. I then suddenly realised it was 5am and needed to be heading back, as the club was shutting in half an hour.. so I went outside to get a cab to find my phone had died. Luckily i'd made a note of my hotel address, but had no way of calling a cab, so I asked this Russian chap for help.. he went out of his way to try and book a cab for me on his phone using the Russian alternative to Uber (Yandex), but after not having any joy, he turned and said to me "I tell you what, wait here, i'll buy you a beer and i'll walk you home. My gf won't be happy with me, but your hotel isn't too far away from where I live, and I am really interested to talk with you in English.". I knew I could trust him just by looking at him, and he was good to his word. He ended up walking us half way (ended up being further than he thought), then got us a taxi the rest of the way, which he insisted on paying for too. I honestly couldn't believe it! If this situation happened to a foreigner in Medway, they'd more likely either get laughed at and told to do one, or mugged.
Then there was this chap, who looked a little like Dolph Lundgren from Rocky, whom helped me find my Yandex taxi.. it had arrived 5 mins ago according to my app, but was no where to be seen.. spoke to the driver over the phone, but he couldn't speak any English and I can only speak basic Russian, so I had no idea where he was trying to tell me he was waiting for me. I had a flight to catch, and was already pushing it for time, so I desperately needed to get in this taxi.. I looked around me in the square I was next to, and the first person to walk near to me was this chap who if you saw down a dark alley late at night, you'd most probably soil yourself and run as fast as humanly possible away from in the opposite direction! ..He didn't seem best pleased that I stopped him initially, but after getting him on the phone to the driver, he spent some time making sure he new exactly where the driver was waiting, and then proceeded to go out of his way to walk me the 200 odd yards to my taxi! I kept thanking him in Russian, and he just kept smiling and telling me it wasn't a problem, and he was happy to help my in broken English. Fair play to him! lol.
Another situation that will always stay in my mind is the group of Russian lads who were with us in the stand in Samara, supporting us against Sweden.. 2 of them had English shirts on, the other 2 Russian, but they were all united with us.. singing our songs the best they could, cheering every time we went on the attack, won corner etc etc.. One of the guys (Vladim) had bought an England scarf at some point earlier on in the tournament, and as well as buying me a beer at half time, he handed me his scarf.. I presumed he was just lending it to me for the second half, but at the end of the game I went to give it back to him but he just shook my hand, said congratulations on getting through, and told me to keep the scarf as a gift from him. I mean the scarf only cost about £12 or something like that, but considering a hug amount of Russian fans wanted our England flags or shirts, I couldn't believe it! Another top top chap I was fortunate enough to meet.
I'll leave it at that for now, but I have many many more similar stories of the hospitality I was given out in Russia, crazy situations I found myself in, and all sorts of other stories of things that went on whilst I was out there.. if anyone is interested to hear them, let me know and i'll add them on.
From a Gills perspective..
I did my best to get my Gills flag up in the stadiums. I managed to get it up in 3 out of the 4 stadiums I went to, only Samara they wouldn't let me put mine up in after confusion surrounding dispensation with the absolute jobsworth security people on the gate I was sat in. I had it up on the top tier behind the goal in Kaliningrad against Belgium (left if looking out from behind the goal), top tier against Columbia in Moscow (slightly to the right looking out from behind the goal, and on the lower tier railings at the back of the block in the Luzhniki stadium against Croatia (to the right of the England hardcore if looking at the goal).. I'd be surprised if anyone saw it though, as none of my close mates & family who new I was there spotted it unfortunately. But nevermind, I tried! Lol.
I did however meet 3 separate groups of Gills fans out there, much to my amazement! One of them, chap from Lordswood (can't remember his name) had a lovely big Gills St. Georges flag, with the Gills badge in one corner, and 'Pride of Kent' in the opposite corner. Was twice the size of mine and much better quality. I randomly spotted it in the fan zone in Samara and I managed to track the owner down.. he told me he hadn't got it up in any of the grounds up until that point, and I didn't see it up in the Luzhniki. As a Gills die hard, he could well be on here, so if you're reading this mate.. it was great meeting you, and cheers again for having the patience to hold on to get a photo with me with your flag, with all the locals pouncing on you! lol. Much appreciated.
I was also on the tv a few times! lol.. I had no intention of doing any interviews or getting in front of any cameras whilst out there, but the media do a very clever job of enticing you in to do interviews, and sometimes the group of England fans I was with were the only ones in the vicinity at times, so we felt obliged to get involved. That and being secretly filmed whilst we got pictures with our flags. I was on BBC twice, Sky Sports News (which I still haven't seen yet, but my mates have recorded), Netflix (some documentary apparently), and some Russian FA thing (had video sent to my email, which I also haven't watched back yet). I was also quoted in The Times newspaper, and featured on Radio Sputnik apparently haha. I had my Gills flag out as much as possible, getting it on both the BBC broadcasts, and on Sky Sports. What with that and the millions of photos I got with people from all of the world with it (mostly local Russians), I should have recruited plenty of new Gills fans hopefully! :D
All in all, it really was a one off experience for me. One in which I never envisaged would be so good. And despite it not coming home.. I came home safe and sound, and with some of the fondest memories I have ever been fortunate enough to have take with me.
I hope you guys enjoyed watching it on TV too.. One of the best, if not THE best World Cups ever I think. Roll on the Euros! It's coming home! ;D
Got back Saturday afternoon after 2.5 weeks out in Russia. Exhausted and sad not to be staying on for the final, which even the most pessimistic of us out there thought that we would be in after beating Sweden. But I was well happy that we made the semi's, especially after all the pre tournament negativity from certain people. Not just for the team, but I was happy by the fact it meant that I could stay in Russia longer and experience more of the place.
Even though I had some reservations about the trip, my strong hunch that all this 'Russia is dangerous, you're going to come back in a coffin' stuff being banded about the past few months would inevitably end up being nonsense, was not only correct, but couldn't be more the opposite!
I visited 3 parts of Russia whilst there - Kaliningrad, Moscow, and Samara. All of which were quite different, but just as friendly and welcoming as each other. I would go as far as to say that Russia was the most welcoming, friendliest, safest country I have ever visited. I felt safer and happier out there than I did here. I know that the Russian people wanted to deliver Putin's plea to make it this way for all tourists during the World Cup, and that probably added an extra edge to it, but I was fortunate enough to speak with several ex pats who have lived out there for a considerable time, who told me it's always like this. One chap Robin ( a lawyer) told me he's lived out there for 13 years, and he has only ever had one situation out there, and that was with an American tourist lol.
Just a few of many examples of how well I was looked after out there personally:
I lost count of the amount of drinks I had bought for me in bars by local Russian guys, who I either spoke with directly or who just over heard me speaking, and insisted on getting me a beer or a vodka shot. On my last night in Kaliningrad, my room mate Charlie and I (Cov fan) ended up in this bar/club over the other side of town to where we were staying.. Charlie left at 2am to go back to the hotel (he quit alcohol a while back after almost killing himself, and so can't stay out for too long), and I stayed drinking with some Bury fans and some local Russian lads.. I had around 4 or 5 beers bought for me by insistent locals (who wouldn't let me get them a beer back), and was having such a crack that I completely forgot the time. I then suddenly realised it was 5am and needed to be heading back, as the club was shutting in half an hour.. so I went outside to get a cab to find my phone had died. Luckily i'd made a note of my hotel address, but had no way of calling a cab, so I asked this Russian chap for help.. he went out of his way to try and book a cab for me on his phone using the Russian alternative to Uber (Yandex), but after not having any joy, he turned and said to me "I tell you what, wait here, i'll buy you a beer and i'll walk you home. My gf won't be happy with me, but your hotel isn't too far away from where I live, and I am really interested to talk with you in English.". I knew I could trust him just by looking at him, and he was good to his word. He ended up walking us half way (ended up being further than he thought), then got us a taxi the rest of the way, which he insisted on paying for too. I honestly couldn't believe it! If this situation happened to a foreigner in Medway, they'd more likely either get laughed at and told to do one, or mugged.
Then there was this chap, who looked a little like Dolph Lundgren from Rocky, whom helped me find my Yandex taxi.. it had arrived 5 mins ago according to my app, but was no where to be seen.. spoke to the driver over the phone, but he couldn't speak any English and I can only speak basic Russian, so I had no idea where he was trying to tell me he was waiting for me. I had a flight to catch, and was already pushing it for time, so I desperately needed to get in this taxi.. I looked around me in the square I was next to, and the first person to walk near to me was this chap who if you saw down a dark alley late at night, you'd most probably soil yourself and run as fast as humanly possible away from in the opposite direction! ..He didn't seem best pleased that I stopped him initially, but after getting him on the phone to the driver, he spent some time making sure he new exactly where the driver was waiting, and then proceeded to go out of his way to walk me the 200 odd yards to my taxi! I kept thanking him in Russian, and he just kept smiling and telling me it wasn't a problem, and he was happy to help my in broken English. Fair play to him! lol.
Another situation that will always stay in my mind is the group of Russian lads who were with us in the stand in Samara, supporting us against Sweden.. 2 of them had English shirts on, the other 2 Russian, but they were all united with us.. singing our songs the best they could, cheering every time we went on the attack, won corner etc etc.. One of the guys (Vladim) had bought an England scarf at some point earlier on in the tournament, and as well as buying me a beer at half time, he handed me his scarf.. I presumed he was just lending it to me for the second half, but at the end of the game I went to give it back to him but he just shook my hand, said congratulations on getting through, and told me to keep the scarf as a gift from him. I mean the scarf only cost about £12 or something like that, but considering a hug amount of Russian fans wanted our England flags or shirts, I couldn't believe it! Another top top chap I was fortunate enough to meet.
I'll leave it at that for now, but I have many many more similar stories of the hospitality I was given out in Russia, crazy situations I found myself in, and all sorts of other stories of things that went on whilst I was out there.. if anyone is interested to hear them, let me know and i'll add them on.
From a Gills perspective..
I did my best to get my Gills flag up in the stadiums. I managed to get it up in 3 out of the 4 stadiums I went to, only Samara they wouldn't let me put mine up in after confusion surrounding dispensation with the absolute jobsworth security people on the gate I was sat in. I had it up on the top tier behind the goal in Kaliningrad against Belgium (left if looking out from behind the goal), top tier against Columbia in Moscow (slightly to the right looking out from behind the goal, and on the lower tier railings at the back of the block in the Luzhniki stadium against Croatia (to the right of the England hardcore if looking at the goal).. I'd be surprised if anyone saw it though, as none of my close mates & family who new I was there spotted it unfortunately. But nevermind, I tried! Lol.
I did however meet 3 separate groups of Gills fans out there, much to my amazement! One of them, chap from Lordswood (can't remember his name) had a lovely big Gills St. Georges flag, with the Gills badge in one corner, and 'Pride of Kent' in the opposite corner. Was twice the size of mine and much better quality. I randomly spotted it in the fan zone in Samara and I managed to track the owner down.. he told me he hadn't got it up in any of the grounds up until that point, and I didn't see it up in the Luzhniki. As a Gills die hard, he could well be on here, so if you're reading this mate.. it was great meeting you, and cheers again for having the patience to hold on to get a photo with me with your flag, with all the locals pouncing on you! lol. Much appreciated.
I was also on the tv a few times! lol.. I had no intention of doing any interviews or getting in front of any cameras whilst out there, but the media do a very clever job of enticing you in to do interviews, and sometimes the group of England fans I was with were the only ones in the vicinity at times, so we felt obliged to get involved. That and being secretly filmed whilst we got pictures with our flags. I was on BBC twice, Sky Sports News (which I still haven't seen yet, but my mates have recorded), Netflix (some documentary apparently), and some Russian FA thing (had video sent to my email, which I also haven't watched back yet). I was also quoted in The Times newspaper, and featured on Radio Sputnik apparently haha. I had my Gills flag out as much as possible, getting it on both the BBC broadcasts, and on Sky Sports. What with that and the millions of photos I got with people from all of the world with it (mostly local Russians), I should have recruited plenty of new Gills fans hopefully! :D
All in all, it really was a one off experience for me. One in which I never envisaged would be so good. And despite it not coming home.. I came home safe and sound, and with some of the fondest memories I have ever been fortunate enough to have take with me.
I hope you guys enjoyed watching it on TV too.. One of the best, if not THE best World Cups ever I think. Roll on the Euros! It's coming home! ;D
