What better way to start my first weekend of the sojourn than a trip to see the Fulham All Whites play Nottingham Forest in a Championship League match at Craven Cottage, the cozy and venerable home ground of Fulham FC.  The park in question is Bishop’s Park which, like “the Cottage” sits along the River Thames.  Saturday was a perfect day to

step off the Tube at Putney Bridge station and take a walk through this beautiful urban oasis on the way to the excitement of a British football match.  My seat at midfield was perfect

and I was surrounded by fellow home team supporters.  There is, of course, noticeably less media and “hoopla” in England’s Second Division, but it is still high quality football.  Officiating is not quite at the same level, perhaps, but ask me again when I see Fulham win a match because sadly it was not Fulham’s day.  But I shall be back to see them win a future fixture.  It was great to see fellow alum (and former SUNY Oneonta soccer star) David Daly taking part in halftime activities at today’s game.

Other than reaffirming my love of the beautiful game, I am also reaffirming just how much peace  get from being away from the 24 hour US news cycle.  Its amazing how free my mind becomes when I don’t have that crutch of talking  heads and the disturbance of the huge orange “Tweety-Bird.”  Also, becoming a non-car  person opens a new world too, for two months.  I’m lucky to be living between two tube stations, one of which is part of a major International rail hub (Saint Pancras – or the Blessed Pancreas, as Sally Krahn and I call it).  All the basic shopping needs are close by, as are numerous great restaurants.  So life, at the moment, is pretty sweet.

If you missed this picture of my ugly mug on FB yesterday.  Here I am at Craven Cottage, no doubt thinking of the irony of Craven being the name of the man who was President of SUNY Oneonta during its glory days in Division I Soccer.

Tonight (Sunday) looks to be great fun.  My cousins Joann and her husband Frank are in London and we will be dining together.  I love seeing family and friends and getting to show them a little bit of “my London.”  We’ll be eating at a great neighborhood place.

 

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