All aboard for first day Abroad!

After a couple of weeks of Olympic fever it is time to settle down to some football. The season is here and we were treated to a Raith win at the weekend. 

This weekend also saw the return of raith rovers abroad and it was nice to get back into the swing of things, even if I did have to have an ice lolly at half time to cool down here in Barcelona! 

Next game is the 14th of August 2012 so if you can't get to Stark's Park, bring Stark's park to you! 

This serving of Paella and Bovril comes from that match against Hamilton, which saw Raith win two nil, with goals coming from the man of the moment Brian Graham. 

I hope you have not had too much Olympics as this P n B has an Olympic feel. Enjoy.

PLEASE SUPPORT LOCAL FOOTBALL. 

Paella and Bovril

Oh my gosh it is hot out here in Barcelona. Sometimes it can get too hot. So why in such heat was I chasing a flame around the city? Cause the Barcelona Olympic flame was giving us locals a wee taste of history.

Now I have been made very aware by the Spanish media that the London Olympics is happening this year so I can only imagine what media explosion is happening over in the UK at the moment, or should I say GO TEAM GB! I love the Olympics, over two weeks of sport to lose yourself in, how fantastic!

With all the build up I started to think about my “first” Olympics, Barcelona 1992. Barcelona bid to hold the games of 1936 but lost out to Berlin. 1992 was going to be the first games without boycotts.  I remember getting a Mars easter egg with a Barcelona games mug! These games were going to be the best games ever!

Over the past few weeks leading up to London 2012 local catalan television has been gently reminding you that it has been 20 years since wee Cobi, the sheepdog mascot of the games, had been part of the historical moment in the Catalan capital. We have been treated to re-runs of the best and of course worst moments from the games, Sally Gunnels 400m hurdles win, Linford’s lunchbox crossing the line and of course many a Spanish medal moment! But of course being in catalunya you can’t get through a sporting news story without mentioning Barca, and what a moment they had for you, Spains men taking gold, at the nou camp, in the football final, in front of 90,000 fans! But who should be on the winning team, no other than the ex Barca manager, Pep Guardiola! This city is proud of it’s own and recently Pep was awarded an honour by the city only a few months before he left the hot seat at camp nou! Not a bad legacy from a local boy. Legacy, the buzz word of the London games, but what and who will benefit from this legacy?

I now live in the Olympic regeneration zone of Barcelona, and 20 years on this city is still benefiting from these games, well I like to think so. Before the ’92 games Barcelona had it’s “back” to the sea and  it’s rocky beaches, and the transport system left you skimming the outskirts of where you wanted to go! All this changed. Tonnes of sand was shipped in to makes miles of beaches to provide a perfect backdrop many an event, events that you could easily get too!  Existing stadiums, pools, and many other venues were given a much-needed tidy up, and the Olympic village gave a wasteland between two parts of town 1000s of swish flats, loads of shops and of course some questionable art instillations. Now do not get me wrong, many of these shop spaces lie empty and the flats are now beginning to need work, but when you take a dive in that Olympic pool or see 100s of kids using the sailing club, playing volleyball, running round the track you realize that the legacy is worth it, if done right!

Maybe I am biased but I think Barcelona got it right in many ways.  Maybe 20 years from now, one team GBs stars will carry a flame on a wee tour down memory lane!