Paella and Bovril

Winter is (almost) coming to Barcelona . The weather keeps threatening to turn cold but as you can see the sun still shines and I am still flinging myself in open water for a wee dook! This serving up of Paella and Bovril is awe cheers to the guys and gals who help sports fans be who they are. Enjoy. PLEASE SUPPORT THE MATCHDAY PROGRAMME. About to take a 2000m dip in the Olimpic Canal de Barcelona  Training starts early for next seasons TRI-ing 4 the Rovers.  Another Saturday interrupted by the oh-so-familiar cry “It's funny how our lives revolve around 3pm Scottish time!”   I think saying “life revolves round”  is a bit strong. You’re only setting aside just a few hours on a Saturday afternoon and the occasional Tuesday night for some cold midweek cup action to see their beloved team battle it out to glory or defeat. In the grand scheme of things it is only a tiny amount of time a football fan dedicates to the sport, honest! However that argument is wearing

The nights are fair creeping in here in bonny Barcelona. This Sunday I will be finishing up another sprint triathlon and hope to enjoy it rather than be terrified for every minute. This dish of paella and B comes from an evening of  " researching " on the web. Hope you enjoy. PS still time to sponsor me or just see how I get on this Sunday at the Garmin Barcelona Triathlon. Tri-ing 4 the 4 the Rovers  PLEASE SUPPORT THE MATCH DAY PROGRAMME There are some out there who see a ladder and stroll under it with batting an eyelid, others will scatter to the other side of the road to avoid the disaster that will ensue if they pass underneath. The odds of something happening to you directly linked to that ladder are pretty low but if we are honest we are all a little bit superstitious. However some of use are maybe a little crazier than most To be a goalkeeper takes skill, practice and a dash of madness. We have seen them come out the tunnel in the same order eve

Finally I am posting a actual PnB! Thanks for all the kind comments that I have been sent, nice to know people read and enjoy. Well the reason there has been a LLLLLLOOOOONNNNGGG gap between servings of Paella and Bovril is mainly due to prepping for   TRIing 4 The Rovers 2014  sprint triathlon. Just last week I was allowed to be part of a group,who got to have a session with Cesc Godoy, Barcelona's own pro triathlete! PLEASE SUPPORT YOUR MATCH DAY PROGRAMME The person who coined the phrase "there is no business like show business" obviously had never been involved in football! But can you compare football to a division of the entertainment industry. A recent headline from a London-based newspaper read "Recent figures compare London's theatre land to the world of Premiership football". Which team got more bums on seats, theatre or football? Well, 13 million people went to see England's Premier League, however 22 million people went to visit

Wow it has been a while since a dusted of the palleador and rinsed out my mug and served up some paella and bovril! Well the reason is simple...........I have been busy getting my body ready for another triathlon that I will be doing on the 5th October. This will be my third year doing the Garmin traithlon in Barcelona for the Raith Rovers supporters trust  https://www.facebook.com/TRIing4theRovers But do not fear folks I am just finishing up some articles to post over the next few weeks after they appear in the Raith Rovers match day magazine. Thanks for your support! Please have a read of some old PnBs , I promise they haven't gone mouldy yet! Carol

It has been a long time between post but a lot has been happening.  After qualifying for a cup final yonks ago it seemed like my trip to Scotland was never going to come..........but it did, and it was aaa amazing! I even made the front page of The courier ........ I have also been getting my head down and really pushing the triathlon training. My running has come on leaps and bounds and my latest 5km time 28,26 made this Raith fan very happy. I have even bought a wetsuit, however I did discover that changing rooms are not designed for neoprene as you need plenty of space to jump around and hop into that suit. I am going to fill the gap that football leaves in the close season with swim, cycle and swims...........just don't want jelly fish.  This week's P n B comes from the last home game of the season. We witnessed a derby defeat to Cowdenbeath.  I hope to continue next season and will be using this space to keep you up with my traithlon antics and Barcelona life. Enjo

Good afternoon from a sunny Barcelona balcony. Spending a fair amount of your time contemplating on a balcony can result in an over active imagination and I suppose that is the reason for this weeks PnB. Sometimes the bests ideas are the craziest ones. Paella and Bovril Hidden contracts, presidents leaving the country, and missing millions have been all over the  front and back pages of the Spanish press. What exactly did a  certain Brazilian  starlet  get and where did this cash go? The figures they talk  about are beyond comprehension of a fan "diddy" team, several million here and few 100,000 there. These clubs are living and playing a  style of  fantasy  football . But maybe we should play a different kind of in a different type of league ? The Scottish game has changed a lot  over the past the decades,  divisions and clubs have come and  gone. Club's antics have not been confined only to  the back pages: celebrity  columns and  financial papers ar

Hola everyone. Barcelona has returned to its overly laid-back self after a few folk were in town for a wee World Mobile Congress. It has been a while since I posted and I apologies! hope the wait is worth it he he he. This weeks serving of PnB comes from Tuesday nights 1-1 draw with Alloa in a rescheduled midweek game. Enjoy Sometimes 24 hours is just not enough for one day, your to-do list is just out-doing you, sleep is for wimps. Well maybe not that hectic but close enough. España is not known for it's chaotic lifestyle; the opposite in fact, a lazy morning  with a "cafe con leche in the plaza mayor" followed by a long sangria-filled lunch that comes with a siesta then tapas till midnight. I have to admit it is not quite like that but more of  a leisurely chaos timetable to the typical day. For many sport is a big part of their day, the forever busy "futbol mom" especially. It is not just football, tennis, roller hockey, water polo, basketball an

Hola, I know this is not the usual post but I thought it could be useful. Over the next few days a few shed loads of people come into Barcelona to take part/visit the WORLD MOBILE CONGRESS Finding somewhere to have a good wee munch can be daunting in a restaurant filled city. Here are a few of my faves. For a nice and spicy authentic Mexican head to Poble Nou and Los Chiles Staying in Poble Nou, for an nice Catalan menu head to Xorus In fact if you are looking for a place with a wide variety of restaurants, Rambla Poble Nou and its neighbouring streets are a fantastic place to head. Indian,  Italian, Japanese, gourmet burgers and more. A great place near the centre of town is a  Peruvian eatery called The Market , my sister said it was "life changing cuisine", that is pretty good praise. Have fun while you are here!

Hola folks. Sorry for the long gap between posts. This is because of the terrible UK weather! The game against Alloa was postponed due to terrible rain resulting in an unsafe/unplayable pitch. Please keep an eye of for the next PnB after Valentine's day. Ciao.

It is coming round to that time of year when I book my wee trip to Bonny Scotland for my annual fix of Scottish Football. Once a year is not really enough but traveling back n forth from Scotland is not a cheap, or as easy, as it once was! This dish up of paella and b comes from the 3 all draw with local rivals, Cowdenbeath. Enjoy! A regular complaint about the modern game is kick off time. Some clubs and divisions suffer more than others. During Barcelona's pre-season there was a game that didn't start until 10 o'clock at night, and so it was going to be a struggle for many fans to get home using public transport.  The same problem had arisen the previous year therefore the club and Barcelona's metro, train and bus company, TMB, collaborated to keep the system running late enabling fans to come to the game knowing they can get home cheaply. Having to add a taxi ride home to the end of your game compared to the 90 cents city wide travel ticket makes a big diffe

Happy new year and welcome to 2014 with paella and bovril. After a wee winter break Spanish football is back and so is Messi. FC Barcelona is buzzing with the return of el Rey . This dish of P n B come from the Raith game against Dumbarton. The home side came out on top with a 2-1 victory. Enjoy Doesn't matter how hard you try to avoid it is guaranteed that the conversation will come around to football. Even in serious business meetings the talk of future company projections will be halted so they can all have their two pesetas worth of opinion on the previous night's game. For some reason they don't seem to know much about my Raith Rovers tuppence worth I have to put in, they are learning though! After the latest derby match with Espanyol a few of the my Barcelona business students were curious about Fife's local rivalries. After several attempts at pronouncing the Kingdom's finest football teams a strange question was asked "which team is the most viv