A nice early start at Harrold Co-op on the Friday of the inaugural Harrold and Carlton FC Tour de Belgique
2 vehicles were in convoy to take the Lads and Dads into Europe, one, a 17 seater driven by yours truly and the other, driven by Mr Kelf and HUGE thanks to him for driving his wagon, it kept the trip on budget and was a key luggage store. Thanks again Steve!!!
Tour T-Shirts were handed out and the Lads looked splendiferous!!!
Big Al was awarded the top job as my PA, he had his work cut out but he seemed to have a desire to deliver. Time would tell.
We picked up the Lewis’s at Turvey and the Barnstaple’s in Marston. Everything was going to plan and we were all present and correct. The M1 beckoned followed by the M25, would they be our nemesis..??
The 17 seater would only go 62 MPH so no danger of speeding fines and early signs were, the wagon would deliver us safely to our destination!
Adele boomed out from the Stereo and the Lads found top voice, it was not perhaps the 3 Lions on a Shirt expected but it brought tears to myself and Big Al. Sam’s voice was rather special…… Alistair was most proud….
Saro knows his pop music and was spotted bopping in the back…
We made super progress and Big Al had the paperwork in order. Apologies to Mr Smith for having to put up with mine and Big Al’s drivel for many many hours!!
We made Folkestone in record time and coffee and bacon rolls were consumed. Some of the Lads were dismissed from the Coffee shop and another area, there were ominous signs!!
We waited for the E train to be called and we all made our way onto the Channel Tunnel. A swift 35 minutes later and we were en Francais. The 2nd stage of the journey was over and now we had a 100 mile trek to Belgium.
The land was flat but spirits were high, we were making super time until we were around half an hour from Geraadsbergen. (spelt wrongly). A man had done a runner in a field. We thought it may have been Andy Dicko but no, it was some Belgian bloke. The police were combing the area. We soon got through
We made it to the Hotel. Very nice it was too! We all settled in and then took a 10 minute drive to the Bonanza Stadium for a loosen up.
We met our Erik and Tom. It was an emotional moment. Erik brokered a friendly within minutes of our arrival. That Henau does not mess around!! The pitch was not ideal but the same for both teams. The opposition looked small but were U11’s and we beat them around 9-0. It was a fine start to the tour but we were not getting carried away. Alistair was not convinced this would be the same side as tomorrow…… how right he was!!
We went to the local pub and the boys stayed and played football. We ordered meatballs for all, Gavin ordered extra…….
Big Al made friends rather quickly. He is a light to the moths and seemed to find his soul mate. The guy was rather plastered and the conversations were deep. We left Big Al to it
Gavin ate meatballs
Mr Fowler drank beer
Saro, Martyn and Kelfy also drank beer
We all drank beer
Hurrah
We all ate meatballs and CHIPS. The Belgians like their chips!!!! They are everywhere you turn!!!!
We ordered more….
They ran out of meatballs!!!
The locals were a delight and brought us beer. We found it rude to refuse.
Dicko loved it
We headed back to the Hotel around 9 ish and Big Al shrugged off his future pen pal. Erik was on fine form as was Karen.
The boys dashed between rooms and we drank beer in the Bar
And then…….
CRISIS!!
Our first issue of the Tour happened at 21.58. Saro ordered another round BUT, the bar closed at 10PM…… Saro was shocked. Alistair aghast. Dicko turned white as a sheet. Gavin said this would never happen in Scotland. Alistair demanded management. Martyn wanted an inquiry. Erik was not contactable. Karen’s phone rang and rang. Kelfy passed out. Big Al shook his head in dismay, John wanted to take a picture of the issue… It was dreadful. Terrible indeed.
We had to move on. We did. It was not easy.
We had another drink or 2 and got the lads off to bed, big day tomorrow!
A splendid breakfast was had and a stroll about Town to buy chocolate and ladies fashion (Big Al in the main). We left around Midday for football, chips and the odd beer…….
The weather was shabby but Bonanza FC had set-up superbly. I met Erik’s brother who I thought was Kris but it turned out he was Michel but I called him Kris. He seemed not to notice. Kris was the other chap. Oh dear…
There was a bar open and chips and sausages. The other 7 teams showed up and Bonanza looked different. How right was our Alistair!
There were 4 pitches and we were on the main pitch in front of the Clubhouse.
Our first game was on paper, the toughest. It turns out they were the Academy team of Zottegem, a Belgian League side with a 9,000 capacity stadium. I set a 2 3 2 for the game but after 5 minutes had to revert to the more familiar 3 2 2 as Zottegem over-ran us. They were fast, physical and passed it around perfectly. We probably deserved to be one down in the rain but the boys dug in and kept it at 0-0. We took the lead against the run of play, Max smacking in after the keeper saved his first effort, nice link up play with Sam to carve open the defence. We held out till half time but we were lucky but we had fight in us!
We took charge in the 2nd half, the defence were super, Alex, Luca and Fraser did so well and Owen was very lively. Tom came into the game well and Jack was assured at the back. Although we dominated that half, Zottegem should have scored but they shot wide with the goal gaping. We won 1-0. A fine result against the pre-tournament Belgian favourites!
We went straight back on against Deftinge. We dominated from start to finish. Joseph released superbly and this was his best game of Le Tournoi. We took the game 8-0 with Sam, Max and Sean scoring 2 each and Owen and Tom scoring the others. It was a convincing display against the Deftinge side.
So, the 3rd and final League game and what a scene was set. Bonanza had surprisingly beaten Zottegem 1-0 so who-ever won would make the final. It was a perfect script. Tom was Captain and handed the Pennant over. A proud moment for Young Henau as his Uncle Kris I mean Michel looked on as did his Grandfather.
The game was tight on a bumpy pitch. Few chances early doors but the Panthers were on top. Owen was tricky and Tom delighting the home fans who took the son of Henau to their hearts. Again, the defence was firm and the whole back-line should be so proud of themselves throughout the event.
Half time was 0-0. The main Bonanza threat was No.11 who rivalled Sam and Joseph with slick wing-play. However, from a classy Frensham corner, Max headed in at the far post. It was a fine goal and the lads were delighted. Fraser went close with a header a few moments before, again, good delivery from the left.
The 1-0 win was secured and it was Final time versus Herne who had won all of their games. The Final was a bit of an ante-climax as HCFC dominated. It seems our Group was most definitely the toughest. The result was 6-0 and goals from Sean, Luca, Max, Sam, Fraser and Owen sealed the victoire. The lads were cock-a-hoop and the tournament secured with lots of goals scored and NONE conceded. Superb!!! Happiness and then some.
The Trophy was awarded to Max Le Glove and the team savoured their win for Club and Country on Foreign soil.
Coach B had a beer to celebrate and we moved over to the Pub. Erik dropped myself and Kelfy back so we would drink some beer and Big Al avoided his Pen Pal. Ipswich had won, Carlisle had won, Norwich lost, Chelsea won, Motherwell had won 4-2, MK Dons had won and Liverpool were about to win. Martyn was happy. We were all happy. Time to savour the day and company. Erik again was awesome and we were brought beer and we brought some for the locals.
We were introduced to Duvel. It was 8.5%. It was nice. It was strong!
Gavin had some meatballs.
We all had chips. Some had Stew.
I had said to the Lads that if they won the tournament, I would take them all on the dodgems that were near to the Hotel. Some random fair had set-up, there were bands, it was all a tad bizarre. Max, Sam and Alex gambled a lot on claw grabber games and watches were won. Odd folk were observed. I got hit by Sean and Saro on the dodgems. Most unfair. Others turned up as the local cabby dropped us all back, gratis. As I say, it’s all FREE over there.
It turns out, EVERYTHING IS FREE IN BELGIUM!! Erik’s kitty lasted forever, it never ran out and we never topped it up. We love Lucky Erik and his kitty prowess. Absolutely amazing!
We dropped the boys into rooms and Match of the Day was on and The Championship to follow. Did I mention Ipswich won and Naarwich lost..??
Some of us went for beer and we played darts. Alistair is a ringer. He dominated. John was OK. Saro OK. Big Al quite good. Dicko and I were awful. The locals could not believe that folk from England could be so bad. We blamed it on the Duvel.
So, the night was done and the day was great. It had a bit of everything, a true treat for us all. Huge thanks to Erik again!!
After a lazy breakfast, we headed off, on the Sunday morning, to a Water-Park place. Erik had been 20 years previously. It was FREE!!!! The kitty had stretched again. Once we worked out how to get to the lockers the boys headed off and swam and had a great time. We drank coffee and ate Erik’s Mum’s cake. It was fabulous, like a bread pudding but better. It was FREE. It all was. Dicko could not pronounce Saro’s name so they agreed on Zorro.
The issue now was getting the boys out of the pool. It was not easy so I asked if we could get an announcement to them via the PA system. They said I could use it. The boys seemed slightly taken aback when there was an announcement from me, to get out NOW!
The boys had lunch and we headed off to Calais. Big Al used Sat Nav to negotiate our way to the French Port, again, he did well, some mini issues I picked him up on, but as a general rule, he was a worthy assistant.
We expected the boys to sleep. They did not. The music was bad. Dicko was not impressed. Bob Marley boomed out, I am not sure who shot the sheriff etc but the boys loved it.
Kelfy was always just behind. He is a class act.
CRISIS No. 2 occurred at the Port
Now, my PA Big Al, had all the paperwork in order, all was good. When we arrived we were told to park behind a coach to do a Passport check. I headed to one such coach but Dicko piped up and said, NO, that coach. We took Dicko’s lead. The Calais Police soon caught up with us and we had to be escorted us back, Dicko sunk into his seat. Big Al shook his head, Bob Marley did not shoot the Deputy.
We took an early Ferry and some bought cheap plonk. No Erik so we had to pay for it. Bloomin’ outrageous! All was super and the crossing was calm. We heard Man U had won 8-2.
We thought the boys would sleep between Dover and Beds. The boys did not sleep. They had a disco. Kelfy sped off. Alex took photo’s. John looked weary, suffering from loud boys.
We ordered food from Wongs. We met Kelfy in Harrold. We went home. Victorious!!!
It was a wonderful trip. Thanks to all the boys for behaving so well. To Kelfy for driving. To all the Dads for making it such a memorable time and to our Link Man Erik, he made it all possible.
Until the next one!!! Viva the Panthers!!!
