Arcticterntalk.org

The blog of a travelling psychiatrist and football lover. Who happens to be a halfway decent photographer. Takes a cynical view of the world

Archive for the tag “doubletree by hilton”

22 Apr 2014

Brentford Fans of Real Football! Conga and Pitch Invasion at Milton Keynes


Brentford fans have had plenty to grumble about over the last decade but the last few years have seen the club spiralling upwards at a frenetic pace. Crowds this season have almost doubled and the supportive atmosphere is almost palpable. Promotion to the Championship was finalised on a very Good Friday and the away game at Milton Keynes was at best a celebratory exercise. Somewhere in the region of 3,500 Bees fans made the trip and from visual inspection that seemed to make up at least 50% of the crowd. The crowd was given as over 10,000 though.

The game was almost irrelevant as the fans sang and played their way through the game. A conga down the aisle, a happy small pitch invasion at the end and a few amusing songs about the joys awaiting MK Dons next season with visits to Fleetwood!

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21 Apr 2014
2 Comments

A Trip to Milton Keynes Dons


There are many opinions about MK Dons and few of them favourable. Visiting their stadium today for the first time was a fairly fascinating experience.

  1. The ground although well signposted as it has no floodlights when one arrives it is really not at all clear that it is a football ground. There is a hotel at the front of the stadium and to a casual observer one is arriving at some multiplex DoubleTree Hilton hotel.
  2. For mere mortals there is no parking at the ground, although as the ground is within a major shopping area, how this is policed is not clear. What however is clear is that getting out of the shopping area parking after the football game might need a lifetime investment.
  3. The ground from the outside looks dull. Black and 50 Shades of Grey. Why?
  4. There are decent KFC and McDonalds on one corner but no signs and effectively hidden from the starving fans
  5. The ground inside was superb. I cannot fault anything about the inside other than the relative lack of toilets and the fact that the toilet floor was covered with some unspecified water, liquid and substances. Not good.
  6. Parking was actually easy opposite the ground in the industrial estates. Escape did take maybe 20 minutes though at the end of the game.

All in all, one of the best grounds I have ever been to.

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16 Nov 2012
4 Comments

Reflections on Scotland


Scotland is really not an average place. Expectations of lochs and bagpipes are millions of miles away when one lands at Edinburgh airport. The surrounding areas are industrial if one is being polite. Driving along one finds places like “Ratho” ( is that Rat Ho, or Rath hoe?), that bring one to the worst roundabout in the world. Said roundabout has more traffic lights than the whole of london and all are set perfectly so that only one car can get through. Gridlock is not a possibility but a guaranteed state of affairs.

The motorways are tedious and even though fields are around they are invariably decorated with smoke producing buildings, towers and who knows what else. In short this is not the idyllic part of Scotland as one drives to Dunblane.

In Dunblane what used to be the Dunblane Hydro is now the Doubletree by Hilton………..which is the better? Double is actually not a bad description as they see fit to advertise : “Tea for two for only 31.50£”. Which is actually also the price of breakfast for two…………so one might then see why I chose not to donate money to this institution that wanted 176£ for a room for the night.

Lastly, it is good to see that the Tramway in Edinburgh is getting nearer completion and is being built at the airport. That will be joyful!

Dunblane Hydro or Doubletree by Hilton?

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