DORTMUND FANS

I had a wander down to the village this afternoon to collect a parcel and do some shopping. The weather was nice and dry.  However I hadn't been home for long when it started raining and it more or less rained for the rest of the day. 

Newcastle United were playing in a Champions League game this evening against German team Borussia Dortmund - kick off was 8pm.  The Dortmund fans were due to march to St James Park football ground  between 5pm and 6pm and there were lots of road closures planned - and bus routes disrupted.  I decided to go to town early so I wouldn't be affected. I caught a bus around 3.20pm.  However it only went as far as Gateshead and then went out of service. (no idea why... didn't seem to be anything to do with the footie  )  So I had to seek out another bus to get me across to Newcastle.

Town was already " buzzing". Lots of fans around both Newcastle and Dortmund.  I had something in mind for my Wide Wednesday shot so I headed in that direction.  But as I walked down the Cloth Market I decided that the cobblestones there would fit the Wide Wednesday theme of stones or bricks. Apologies to the host BobsBlips but Ive added the cobblestones shot as an Extra and my main blip is two Borussia Dortmund fans. 


I spotted these two fans  walking up the Cloth Market and I plucked up the courage to ask them if I could take their photo.  There was a bit of a language barrier but they seemed " chuffed to bits " that I wanted to take their photo. Im so pleased I was brave enough to ask.

I had a lot of time to fill in before kick off so I went into Eldon Square shopping centre to find a seat --- and get warmed up.  The rain was quite heavy by this time.  Around 5pm I went to Greys Monument where lots of Newcastle and Dortmund fans were milling about.  Everyone was very friendly and there was no trouble.  There was a large police presence and a few of the police seemed to be able to speak German.  I overheard a policewoman speaking in German to a group of Dortmund fans and from what I gathered they were asking her where they could buy more beer... she directed them to Tesco.

I hung around until the German fans started their march towards St James Park and watched them pass by.  Extra police appeared and lined both sides of the streets to try and prevent any trouble.  But it all seemed very friendly. 

It was still only 6pm so I went back into the shopping centre for a while.  Around 7pm I made my way to St James Park. Fantastic atmosphere inside the ground.  The Dortmund fans were very vocal.... and some of them were banging drums... and they banged those drums all through the match. 

The match was very fast paced and it soon became apparent that Dortmund were no pushover. The first half looked like it would end 0 - 0 but Dortmund sneaked in a goal bang on the 45th minute.  In the second half Newcastle had lots of chances to score - they hit the woodwork a few times  - but the ball just wouldn't go in the net.  It just wasn't their night and no goals came their way.  Final score Newcastle 0 - Borussia Dortmund 1.  A narrow defeat but that was no consolation to all the disappointed Newcastle fans.

Then there was the problem of getting home. Not much choice of buses for me at 10pm.  I did manage to get on a bus at 10.20pm but it didn't go near my house and I had to get off in the village and walk for about 15 mins to get home.  It was still raining heavily and my clothes and shoes were soaking when I reached home around 11.20pm. Luckily I had remembered to set the central heating timer to come on at 11pm so the house was nice and warm.

No time for any comments this evening.  I will catch up tomorrow I hope.

Steps today- 16,024