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Finally another place to brag about my holiday. Most of my friends have stopped listening to me at this point.
Currently a week into a 3 week trip around India. Taking in Delhi, Amritsar, Srinagar, Varanasi, Agra and maybe Jaipur. Visited the Golden Temple last night and saw the Wagah Border closing ceremony yesterday. Fed some holy cows this morning and visited the site of the Jallianwala Bagh massacre of Indians by British troops afterwards.
India is insanely polluted, the roads are terrifying, the poverty is horrific and the heat at this time of year (currently 40C plus most days) is insufferable, but god its amazing. Should be on everyone's travel list.
For those out of the UK, if you add the Hola app to your browser it allows you to listen/view BBC content. It also allows you to do a bunch of stuff, like watch US/Canadian/Mexican/Whatever Netflix on your UK subscription.
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On a Saturday afternoon just before Christmas, as Manchester City's diamond encrusted side carved out another seemingly inevitable win, I was at Champion Hill in South London, where 800 Dulwich Hamlet fans are in full voice. "We're the famous Dulwich Hamlet and we look like Tuscany!" they shouted. The Pink 'n' Blues were taking on Witham Town FC in an Isthmian League Premier division clash — it would take three promotions from here to reach the football league and six to reach the Premiership.
As fan alienation with the upper echelons of football grows, many are turning to non-league clubs to watch the sport — and Dulwich Hamlet is one of the most popular. In this part of South London, you're within easy reach of a game further up the football pyramid, so why do hundreds bother with such seemingly inconsequential football? After all, Dulwich are leagues below teams that can be seen as a by-word for lower league insignificance — Accrington Stanley, Dagenham and Redbridge and Morecambe, for instance, are all three leagues above.
For one thing, money. Football ticket prices are increasing at twice the cost of living. At Dulwich I paid £4 at the turnstile, £2 for the match programme and £3 on a locally brewed Hamlet lager. That's another attraction — you can drink and smoke on the terraces. If you plan ahead, you can even sneak in a stock of cheap tinnies from the nearby Sainsbury's for an even more economical experience. Compare this to Arsenal's £97 on the gate and £4.40 for a Carlsberg.
Really pleased with that result. Obviously it wasn't a perfect performance, but it had passion and invention. We have some strength in depth, and there's every reason to be optimistic that we can build on that and get results in coming games.
With a morale inspiring win the coaches can now focus on defensive and attacking drills with a general positive attitude in the camp. Plus, the other results of those around us are good. Onwards and upwards!