It is really quite impressive to have over 1000 fans from an away side at a pre-season friendly , and more so when these fans came from Germany. A few photographs of the fans and some of their team from the 1-1 draw with Brentford today. Enjoy.
Sam Saunders played the friendly game versus FC Kaiserslautern as though it was a cup final, at full pace, and at times getting irritated with the occasional niggling foul.
He seems a man on a mission to regain and keep his place in the side. his fitness looks in no doubt.
When he was substituted he ran off looking like an extra from RoboCop
On a hot sunny afternoon this was a good workout for both teams that played a competitive match in terms of effort without a great deal of end result or indeed physicality.
There was the curious sight of the scoreboard using maybe a bad acronym for FC Kaiserslautern…….
As is the norm a number of substitutions in the second half rendered any interpretation of whether this was a good or bad display meaningless. Overall Brentford played with the same style as last season and looked a decent side. No one stood out today on either side. The work rate however was superb for a pre-season game. 
FC Kaiserslautern brougt almost 1000 fans it seems and there was a fair amount of cabaret between their fans and the Brentford stewards, mostly all good humoured and in fact well stewarded with no incidents that I saw. If their fans can be described as having a uniform it would be multiple tattoos and a flag per person, the noise from them was massive. They played an open style of play and it was no surprise that their goal came from quick running down the wing with an accurate cross on the floor that was finished neatly. In contrast Brentford goal came from an own goal scored from a corner.
Own goal gives Brentford the lead
Sam Saunders
A busy Maxime Colin
Romaine Sawyers
From the new players Romaine Sawyers looked industrious and moved seamlessly at times from central midfield to the wings. Sam Saunders played the game more like it was a league game and looked fit and interested throughout.
There were a number of nice touches in the game, not least the minute silence for the Munich victims, and the general noise and support from the FC Kaiserslautern fans. At times even a little too vociferous and some needed reminding that a minute silence means just that!
The stewarding was also appropriately relaxed and fans had a great afternoon in the sun.
Certainly a contender for one of the worst kits of all time . Top ten in my view. Who chose this and why?
A great place to visit in this weather. With its own vineyard and the wine tastes good. The park is just off the A3 at Cobham.
Cairns looked at its most beautiful in the early morning light. A long esplanade gave beautiful sea views. The light gave fascinating patterns as the early morning sun rose. A variety of folks in size,shape and fitness were all happily exercising. To see the clouds drift apart in the early morning was gorgeous. This was the time to capture the images, by mid-morning all the mystique had vanished.
From the moment your plane lands at 5 am and you are in a taxi at 5.20 am having been through immigration you know this is a kind of special and unique country. Maybe I was slow picking this up as obtaining an online business visitor visa was free and took maybe 30 seconds. The rules here are both sensible and enforced. A few unique ones such as a maximum speed of 10 kph for pedestrians . Australia is not cheap . Paying 4.5 Australian dollars for actually an awful mug of coffee by Darling harbour surprised me. Both that it was awful and expensive , on both counts.
Things are sensible here. Hotel rooms are not ridiculously large and have things you actually want like a free minbar not for the alcohol , though there is that, but the water and Coke Zero etc.
Wherever you look there are curious things. Parakeets sqwarking at people and plump one legged seagulls. The seagulls seem not frightened by the walking tourists and seem in competition to sqwark louder than the parakeets.
Australian people are normal but a little more blunt than UK counterparts. With a dry humour that I find infectious. Service in bars and restaurants is just that , service. Far better than UK and on a par with Belgium and Slovenia where the best customer service is found.
A curious number seem to wear no shoes although this couple seemed to be arguing after a night out . Strange things are also seen like a gate with no clear purpose or function.
Everywhere you look there are views that somehow differ from any other country. A lot of people run and exercise and driving through cities and towns it is striking how many sports facilities there are . Even the public toilets at Darling harbour are colourful and quirky.
The roads are generally well designed and with clear variable speed limits that often reflect school terms and school times. Plenty of speed cameras ensure that limits are adhered to. Do be prepared though for many tolls and the costs can be large .
The views generally are impressive and street art adorns many walls and garages with some being special. Some of the simple things in life like waking early and capturing sunrise may be some of the most beautiful things you do in Australia.
Australia is a long way from Europe and involves around 24 hours of flying but a place well worth visiting.
Whilst being in Australia travelling for a week on business waking up each morning in a different city provided very different experiences .
In this short set of photographs I have tried to capture what one may see early in the morning especially when venturing out only a few yards from the hotel.
2 . Prahran district of Melbourne 
3 . Perth 
4.Cairns
chris1957
Arcticterntalk.org 