Wembley Stadium - Rugby League Challenge Cup comes home
4 years late, a succession of financial and legal problems, and a price tag of 798 million pounds for the stadium itself… it could only be a British project! But the world’s most expensive stadium is open for business, and from my first experience there for the 2007 Challenge Cup final, it has certainly been worth the wait.
Wembley Stadium, formerly the Empire stadium, has been the spiritual home of the rugby league Challenge 
Cup and football’s FA Cup since 1923 when it was built. In comparison, the old Empire Stadium cost ? 750,000 quid was to build and was constructed in 300 days - who said productivity is higher these days! The old stadium had an original capacity of 127,000 but things like capacities and health & safety didn’t stop people in the halcyon days of sport; for the first FA Cup final between Bolton Wanderers and West Ham United (known now as the White Horse final), between 240,000 and 300,000 were crammed into the stadium, and another 60,000 were locked out outside the ground. The crowd were overspilling the seats and were covering the pitch at one point. After 45 minutes the crowd were moved back to the touchlines and the match was allowed to take place. Can’t really imagine that happening these days, can you?! This game, incidentally, has the highest ever unofficial “non-racing” sporting attendance of any event in the world. Other famous occasions at the old Wembley Stadium include Bobby Moore’s World Cup win in 1966 (a game which my father attended, incidentally) and Martin “Chariots” Offiah’s length of the field try against Leeds in the 1994/95 Challenge Cup final. My first Wembley experience was in 1992 when Wigan played Castleford in the Challenge Cup final. The stadium has an amazing aura about it, although even then it was starting to feel old. Views were obstructed by the stanchions and seating was cramped at best. The seats at the very bottom of the stands didn’t even have seat backs. That was certainly going to change for the new stadium.
And so in 2000 Wembley was closed and scheduled to re-open in 2003 with grand plans and an entirely revamped stadium due to be unveiled. 2003 came and 2003 went without any signs of the stadium being completed. News reports of the budget rising became an almost daily occurrence as dismay spread about what was turning into another farce of almost Millennium Dome proportions. The Challenge Cup finals were played at the Millennium Stadium in Wales, Murrayfield in Scotland and even Twickenham (the home of rugby union) for one year. In 2006 it looked like the stadium was almost ready, but then further delays put the opening back one year. Finally, we get to 2007 and the new Wembley Stadium opens, and what a stadium it is.
Trip to North Korea - review of an unforgettable journey (pt. 5)
Well, after a 4 month hiatus, the fifth and final part of this rollercoaster journey through North Korea is here. With more excitement and adventures than a Harry Potter film, we return to the land of Kim Jong Il, The General!
If you recall, when I left you in part 4 of this travelogue, you’ll find me in traditional Korean accomodation with heated floor, lying on a futon and havig a back massage from a North Korean masseuse (who was also possibly my waitress earlier in the evening), having previously eaten dog soup that night and lying 10km from the Demilitarized Zone. Even I’ve got to admit it’s going to have to be an eventful day to live up to that! But saying that, a series of events like nothing we could have imagined happened the following day, which made the trip become very interesting indeed. So without further adue, let’s get into it…
Tattoos on Japanese girls
Here’s an observation I’ve had over the past 3 years of living in Okinawa, and I wonder what your opinions of it.
You quite frequently see Western girls with tattoos of some descript on them; whether they be something on the shoulder blade, upper arm or the delightfully named “tramp stamp” above the butt. However, on Japanese girls they are much rarer. In Okinawa, when I see a Japanese girl with a tattoo, I will immediately think one of 3 things:
1) She’s a hardcore diver/surfer, who probably got it when she was travelling somewhere in Asia
2) She’s connected to the yakuza (usually applicable if it’s the full-back tattoo)
3) She’s got a military boyfriend/husband
The latter is the one I’d like to focus on. Firstly, the chronology of said tattoo - did she get it before the military partner (and was it done as she thought it would get her a partner?), or did the boyfriend come first. And then what caused her to get the tattoo if she started seeing the guy first - was it that she saw more western women around bases with tattoos and it became more appealing to her; was she attracted to them by her new boyfriend’s tattoos, or did she think it would make her look more westernized?
I apologise if I somehow offend anyone in this post by generalising or stereotyping. This definitely is not the case but it’s a thought that often goes through my head when I see ink on a Japanese girl. Does anyone have any thoughts on this one?
Good diving day (and cuttlefish closeup!)
Saturday was a beautiful day, and what better way to spend it than in the water? With barely a cloud in the sky, 33C temperatures outside and the water being almost bath-like at 30C, I headed to the ocean.
I was already on a bit of a high after having my car returned on Friday with a couple of new parts fitted (new rear brake pads, uprated fuel pump, fuel regulator & meter, and a boost controller). Plus there was the added bonus of having a good old friend back on the island for 2 weeks. She was the one who travelled to the Kansai region with me last year, and who, along with Brian, was my regular dive buddy for a good 8 to 10 months before she returned home to the States. But she realised how much Okinawa held a place in her heart (as most do after they leave), and has saved up the money for a trip back. Her intention here is to become Rescue Diver, EFR, and Divemaster certified, and hopefully I can do that for her in the short time she has here.
The previous 2 days at work had been pretty long and tiring, as I was involved in the English summer camp for 1st year students. This camp is only in its 2nd year and has a lot of teething problems still, despite going more smoothly than it did last year. As one of the main teachers involved in organizing and supervising the camp, it was mentally and physically draining. One of the main problems with the camp is that it’s compulsory for all 1st year students in the international course of our school. The fact of the matter is that around 50% of the students simply don’t want to be there. They’ve had a long first term at high school and just want to relax and enjoy their summer holidays like all of their friends in other classes and schools. But hopefully I will become more actively involved in the planning and scheduling of the camp next year so I can help to make it more successful for the students.