It goes without saying Sheffield United, but, like a fair few older ones Wednesday are higher on my detestation list. It goes without saying that TWS are top of the pile, a lot of which has to do with Hull Whites and East Yorkshire Whites. Always thought we shouldn’t have been playing the likes of Scunthorpe in league games, just Cup ones if they made it to the third round.
Not sure if Oostende isn't the nearest - tram ride from Zeebrugge. Bruges is a short coach drive away. Couple of years back, with a a couple of hours to kill in Bruges took a walk to https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jan_Breydel_Stadium in fact I walked right in the bastard stadium! Thank goodness any would-be terrorists are preventing from doing this at our stadium. Recommended walk - an old fashioned local connossurs cheese shop, a supermarket with a vast array of bottled Belgian beer, a cycling shop etc Negative point: the locals drive on the wrong side of the road
Nice place Bruges. A lot to see in a relatively small area. The square there, as in many .European cities, is an example for squares in this country which are devoid of life in the evening with rows of shuttered up shops instead of bars and cafes. Was in Ostend, as we say it, in 1972 a week or two after they had played a preseason friendly against Man Utd. Much mayhem, unknown there in those days. When we went in a bar and spoke English you could feel a bit of tension. They had a good system then where the late night club type bars charged a cover charge of a slightly higher price for your first drink then normal prices. Meant you could try a few before settling on one you liked. Worked out cheaper than paying a one off charge in this country and finding out the place was crap. The beer then was eye wateringly expensive compared to here back then. How times have changed. Mind you it was a lot stronger than the weak stuff we had dished up in those days,
All in all, prefer Ghent to Bruges.....less chocolate-box and Judith Chalmers. Made it our base for the Lokeren game, - enjoying a pavement beer sat outside a bar in sunny Ghent sure beats Middlesbrough or Burnley as a destination.
Great place Ghent. Up with Amsterdam for waterside enjoyment. First went there on my trip in 1972. Almost exactly the population of Hull. Went once because of a work trip which involved Chamber of .Commerce exchanges. What struck in my mind was the amount of bars per capita.(Been on a few of those in Belgium and Holland and a constant was a bar for every 450-500 people I worked out that in Hull that would have been nearly 600 and over 1500 in Leeds. The area around the waterways in Leeds then was a miles long bombsite. Making better use of it now. Unfortunately the river in Hull doesn’t lend itself to that sort of thing.
I went to Ghent last year and thought it was really nice. We where only there for about 6 hours so didnt see enough of it . I'm going to Antwerp next month for a couple of days but next year a weekend in Ghent will be on the cards .
Antwerp is a good place for bars and restaurants. Not as touristy as Amsterdam. One of those cities I could have lived in when I was younger, As is Ghent, which is a really nice place. Wish we had their sort of bars and more relaxed and mature approach to drinking. They drink a lot but you don’t see the roaring drunks we have. Look too wobbly and they won’t serve you as most are small, independent bars and they aren’t going to risk their licence,
Us oldies grew up in a time when you wouldn’t have thought about playing Scunthorpe unless it was a Cup game. Unless you are old enough to have been going before 1966 in which case we saw them but then after the promotion in 1966 anyone who started going then would have had to wait until 1982,
Yeah you really need to find as weak a beer as poss really. We had a 2/3 then found one called Bourgoine de Flanders. 5.5% You dont get a full pint it's about 350ml glass . Lovely dark beer and just the right amount to sit ,sip and have a chat . Sat sipping in a bar in Ghent just to the side of the Ghent xmas market last year . Lovely day out
Yeah I little bit before my time . 1st one I went to was the 4 v 4 game at The Old Show ground . Really strange game !
They won’t serve people in the state people still get served in here. Not that you see many Belgians, despite the strong beers, in the state you see loads here.
Was in a bar in Anvers one afternoon a few years back, and it started snowing heavily outside, so a pseudo lock-in developed. Classic small couple-run bar, with hardened old locals, formica tables, lino floor, but each beer brought in its proper glass. Smoking permitted! The woman running it justified it by saying 'Here I make rules, not the EU' Can't imagine that in GB.
I like the attention to detail of having the correct glass for different beers they have in Belgium and Holland. Here you just get what is nearest yo hand. Not a tulip glass in sight on most places.
I was in a bar in Ghent and had 4 different beers. Each one in the correct glass supplied with nibbles on the table each time . Terrific! Stylish
They back their own beers and local brewers big time. Unlike here where people demand Carling and Coors
