West Ham 'Aggro

I suppose my opening statement should be that I don't condone the events at Upton Park last night. It's sad that I have to point that out, but I feel much of this post will go against what is appearing in much of the media and could therefore be taken a support of those involved. Make no mistake, it isn't.

I should say that I am a West Ham season ticket holder, so my views may well be a little biased, but I will try to put that aside. This is my 12th season as a season ticket holder and while I don't know the exact figure, I have attended around 300 matches. I am not therefore a casual observer, or occasional supporter. I know what it's all about and have been to matches between West Ham and Millwall on a number of occasions, even back to the old Den.

Geographically the two nearest clubs to Upton Park are Tottenham and Millwall. By pure chance the first two home matches of this season have been Tottenham and Millwall. What that does mean is a comparison can be made. On Sunday we hosted Spurs, and whilst we really don't like them, and they are the team to beat each season what happened last night just wouldn't arise against them.

Why not? Well for a start the Spurs fans are generally amongst the quieter and more reserved to visit. They are more akin to a theatre audience than a football crowd so the confrontational element just isn't there. It's like having an argument with someone who doesn't argue back, it can't escalate.

On the other hand you have Millwall. A club who's only chant is "no-one likes us...". I wonder why. Their fans always try to be confrontational. Now Millwall are a small club, there is no getting away from that. In their history they have spent 2 seasons in the top flight and reached 1 cup final. There are even smaller clubs, sure, but Millwall are pretty insignificant to many people. The only way they could ever be regarded as a 'big' team was in the hooligan stakes in the 70s and 80s. As this is their only 'claim to fame' they try to live up to it.

It strikes me that recent lapses in behaviour at football have tended to involve Millwall (think Birmingham and Hull for two such), when playing other teams which had a well established 'firm' or hooligan element in the past. West Ham 'fans' were far from innocent in those dark days, with their own ICF being feared countrywide. Add this to a local rivalry and you can imagine the tinderbox waiting to be lit last night.

All matches that I have been to involving West Ham and Millwall have been league encounters. The kick offs have always been moved to a time before pubs open. Alcohol certainly has it's part to play. An evening kick off was bound to add complications to the security, but (excluding the final) this competition is played exclusively in the evening and the crammed fixture lists just do not allow for this game being switched to a weekend morning.

I can't (or won't) pass an opinion on what happened outside the ground as I saw nothing untoward there. That's not being blinkered, just not wanting to rely on hearsay as many are doing this morning.

Inside the Millwall fans were in the lower tier of the Sir Trevor Brooking Stand. Sensibly West Ham left the upper tier empty. Perhaps with hindsight more of the West Stand lower tier should have been left empty too to give more of an exclusion zone. Not so sensible was that fact that tickets were on sale until 5pm yesterday. I know it's not quite the same as paying on the gate, but it's a bit too close to kick off in my opinion.

Millwall fans were vociferous. West Ham fans were vociferous. Chants were exchanged. The atmosphere was building, but there was an underlying feeling of hatred that just doesn't exist for any other match. Nothing new though.

The first sign of any trouble was Millwall fans throwing bottles onto the pitch, and fighting with stewards and police at the front. Millwall scored, and their fans were goading their West Ham counterparts. The underlying hatred was increasing. Now a scuffle started at the front of the West Ham section in the West Stand lower. It seemed that the verbal duelling now wasn't enough and the crowd wanted to get at each other physically.

While this is all unsavoury, and we do not want to see it, it does happen occasionally and it was dealt with fairly well by those in authority. The two sets of fans never came together inside the stadium. Millwall's lead in the match enabled their supporters to continue their incitement. When West Ham finally equalised with 3 minutes to play relief outpoured.

I believe the stewards were taken a bit by surprise, as those who now came onto the pitch did so from all sides. This was not, in my opinion, an attempt to storm the Millwall section and riot. It was a combination of celebration, relief, and a will to get back at the Lions fans for their taunting. I'm not defending it, and those who did it will know they face life bans. It's the way things are, and they can have no excuse when they are identified and punished.

As a West Ham fan though it was embarrassing that our supporters were causing the problem. It lowered us to their level, and I'm sure the club will face some penalty for it.

As the players prepared on the pitch for extra time we got news of the stabbing outside, as police vans screamed up and down Priory Road. Our seats, in the centre of the upper tier of the West Stand were probably the safest place to be in the entire area, but the fact that we would have to go past the end of Priory Road to get home, and that Millwall's fans would have to come down that same street caused some worry for after the match. Not so much for me, but for the two kids I was responsible for.

Soon into extra time West Ham got a penalty, which we scored, and this sadly led to another pitch invasion. More this time spilled onto the playing surface. Again it was an embarrassment, and most fans in their seats were chanting 'off, off, off' to those encroaching.

The game was delayed for a couple of minutes while the pitch was cleared, and when it got underway again West Ham scored a third quickly afterwards. Celebrations this time were much more controlled. The opposition fans were deflated and the game was won.

We left the stadium 5 minutes from the end to ensure we could pass Priory Road before the Millwall fans. Although there were many more police around now than earlier, again we saw no violence.

What went on was indefensible, and the individuals concerned will, I'm sure, be identified and punished. I sincerely hope that the rest of us are not. 'Fans' of both clubs are to blame. Millwall incited and West Ham reacted. I haven't seen or heard any mention of the racist abuse given by Millwall fans to Carlton Cole though. Good for him to give them the w**ker sign, but I bet he gets fined for it.

The kids (aged 7 and 13) that I took to the game will remember it forever. It has not, though, stopped them wanting to attend in the future. In fact the difference to the sanitised atmosphere for many Premier League matches was (unnecessary elements excluded) a welcome change. And I do not believe, as many on BBC radio were saying last night, that I am naive for taking kids to this fixture.

Yes, there is more chance of trouble at a game between these two teams than many. But on the whole you have to want to be involved to actually be involved. If you want to avoid trouble you usually can. Football in general, and West Ham in particular, are safe to go to. Safe to take kids to. And I for one will ignore the media hype and comments from those who have never been to a football match with their sweeping generalisations and continue to take my two boys.

For the record West Ham won the football match 3-1 after extra time. The action can be seen here.

Come on you Irons!

All At Sea

Having not blogged for a while I thought it was about time to write something else, but when I try to come up with something I find my mind goes blank.

So, ..….hmmm……, OK, well, ……

Right, so what do the British talk about most? Ah yes, the weather. What do many British people enjoy? How about a trip to the seaside. How is our nation’s history typically defined? As a nation of seafarers perhaps.

So then the ideal subject matter would seem to be the shipping forecast. The shipping forecast is something that perhaps escapes the attention of many, despite it’s regular broadcast, but is essential to those who use it. As a cricket fan it is something I have been aware of for many years as it always interrupts Test Match Special at six minutes to six on Radio 4 long wave.

The BBC broadcasts the shipping forecast four times every day on Radio 4. For those who are interested you can hear it at 0048, 0535, 1201 and 1754. The seas around Britain (and a little further afield) are divided into 31 regions which all have their own forecast.

The forecast begins with a general synopsis and then the regions are always broadcast in the same order, in a clockwise fashion, although if forecasts are the same in consecutive regions they will be grouped. For each region there are four elements to the forecast: wind, seas state, weather and visibility.

So, for example, today’s forecast (from 1130) would include: Dogger. Southerly or southeasterly, veering southwesterly later, 5 to 7. Slight or moderate, occasionally rough later. Occasional rain. Moderate or poor.

For completeness sake, and for those who think it might come up in a pub quiz, the 31 regions (in order) are: Viking, North Utsire, South Utsire, Forties, Cromarty, Forth, Tyne, Dogger, Fisher, German Bight, Humber, Thames, Dover, Wight, Portland, Plymouth, Biscay, Trafalgar, FitzRoy, Sole, Lundy, Fastnet, Irish Sea, Shannon, Rockall, Malin, Hebrides, Bailey, Fair Isle, Faeroes, South-east Iceland.

There is an excellent book by Charlie Connolly in which he takes a trip around the regions. The first chapter or two explain the traditions and history of the forecast itself before then becoming a travelogue of places within each area. For those interested it can be picked up quite cheaply now, and it is called Attention All Shipping. Oh, and his book Stamping Grounds is a good read too.

There we go, don’t try too hard, just search your national psyche and a post will appear!

Whale Watching

We have just returned from a week spent in Tarifa in Andalucia on the southern tip of Spain watching whales and dolphins. I thought I'd write a summary of the trip which may be useful for anyone else planning on a similar holiday.

Having seen an advert in the WDCS magazine we rang up and got a brochure from Out of the Blue and liked the sound of their trip to Spain as it offered a variety of species as well as being reasonably affordable.

At Out of the Blue we dealt with Leanne Batty who was very helpful in organising things and keeping us up to date. We learned that the trip would be based in Tarifa with accommodation at the Hotel 100% Fun and using the local whale watching company Turmares. Tarifa is about 2 hours drive from Malaga airport.

When flying we were booked onto British Airways flights from Gatwick. I would strongly recommed checking-in online. Our flight went at 8.10am and online check-in opens 24 hours before. I logged on on the night before when I got home from work and there were only about 6 seats left on the plane, but luckily two of these were together. There is an internet cafe in Tarifa where you can do the same for the return journey if you don't have your own laptop or netbook.

After the booking was made we were sent an itinerary and a suggested kit list. The kit list was very comprehensive, but we found that following it left us a bit short of clothing in some areas but with too much of others. We took some smart clothes and shoes, anticipating wearing them for dinner with the group, but didn’t need them. We dressed in typical holiday clothing of T-shirt, shorts and flip flops mostly.

It was recommended that we took long sleeve shirts for the boat along with waterproof jackets and trousers. Whilst some in the group swore by long sleeve shirts we wore only T-shirts or sleeveless shirts whilst at sea. The first day at sea, when the local wind Levanté was picking up, we did both put on a waterproof jacket later in the trip, but this was for it's windproof qualities as it had become a bit chilly when the boat was travelling. Neither of us once wore waterproof trousers, and I don't think anyone else on the trip did either.

Turmares did supply (bright yellow) waterproof jackets, but other than that first day they were not needed. I wore shorts each day (of the swimming variety which would dry quickly and not matter about sea water) as did our guide Pierre and one of the other passengers. Fran wore either shorts or three-quarter length trousers. Others in the group wore walking/outdoor trousers which would protect from the sun whilst being lightweight.

For footwear one person wore sandals, but the majority went for either trainers or walking boots of the low variety which are very akin to trainers. I wore some Karrimor trainer/walking boots that I bought for the trip, along with black trainer socks, which were ideal.

A fleece and trousers were on the suggested list for wearing in the evenings when it gets cool. This trip is timed specifically for when the Orcas are expected in the Straight of Gibraltar so would only be undertaken at this time of year. We never found trousers necessary and Fran only put on a warmer top when I had the air conditioning too cold for her. We didn't need a fleece/top in the evening, but I suppose putting one lightweight one in would be prudent.

As we didn't wear any long sleeve shirts on the trip we had all those we took clean at the end. This meant that we did run a bit short of T-shirts though, as this is what we tended to wear. In fact we were often wearing two in a day - one on the boat and then a clean one after showering when getting back to the hotel. By the end of the week the one worn in the evening was then sometimes worn the next day on the boat, and I even bought some more while there.

A hat is needed to shield your head from the sun. We both wore baseball style caps which were satisfactory if they fitted snugly, but when the boat was travelling at it's top speed of 27 knots felt as if it might come off. A hat with a neckstrap would do an excellent job. Sunglasses are necessary to protect from both direct sunlight and also from reflections off of the water.

Sun screen is vital. We used factor 30 which gave adequate protection, although we also used factor 15 later in the day when the sun was slightly weaker. Personally I hate having it on my hands so applied it once daily before leaving the hotel and then washed my hands. More ideally you can get sprays which apply in a mist and don't need rubbing in which would be good for a top up (except on the face).

Another item specified on the kit list is a water bottle. Again this is not necessary in my opinion. There is a café a couple of doors down from Turmares where you can get a 0.5 litre bottle (or more) of cold water. Bear in mind that there is no toilet on the Rainbow so drinking lots is not the best course of action, even though you do need to keep yourself hydrated. There are toilets on the bigger boats, and also refreshments available to buy.

The Rainbow is a small boat (only 23ft) and so has a low centre of gravity. We didn't get seasick at all on it. The bigger boats (should you have to use them) do roll about more and could lead to sea-sickness. We had some Boots own brand travel sickness pills that could be taken 20 minutes before travel. We did use them some days, but not others. We also took a Boots small personal first aid kit, which fortunately remained unused.

A small rucksack or bag is useful on the boat, although we found that we weren't putting much in it by the end of the week. The Rainbow has a small locker which bags can be put in and kept dry but doesn't make for easy access if everyone does so. At the front of the boat leaving a bag on the floor it will get wet, although spray at the front is minimal. If you happen to be at the back a bag on the floor behind the captain's seat will stay dry.

When on the boat, for balance, 8 passengers are split with six at the front and two at the back. The ride is probably a bit smoother in the back, although seats are not padded here. At the back you can also freely stand up to stretch your legs. When cetaceans are sighted and nearby the boat moves only very slowly and moving about and standing up is fine. With 8 plus Pierre and the captain the boat didn't seem crowded. The week after us only 3 were booked so it would be even less so.

Pierre often used his binoculars when searching for the blow of a Sperm whale or generally looking for cetaceans. I had a pair of cheap lightweight binoculars (8x21) that I tried on the first morning and then didn't use again. If you have a decent pair they can be useful but otherwise don't bother. If birdwatching is your thing then you'll probably have a half decent pair that are worth packing. When our group went birdwatching we communally used Pierre's Swarovski binoculars and scope.

While on the subject of optics I'll cover camera requirements. This is a personal thing and will vary depending on your budget and interest in photography. In our group two people were purely interested in the experience and didn't take any photos, two had compact cameras, one had a video camera and Pentax still camera (not sure what type) and three had DSLRs.

If all you are after is a memory then a compact will be OK, but those with one hardly took any photos on our trip. I had a Canon Powershot G10 in my pocket and used it only briefly 3 times in the week, each time for video. For the vast majority of the time I used a Canon EOS 40D coupled with a 100-400mm zoom lens. Changing lenses on the boat would be difficult and slow (bearing in mind water flying and sloshing about) so a zoom lens is vital.

Speaking as a Canon user, the 100-400mm would be the best pick, although a 70-200mm may get some shots. Bear in mind that the boat is rocking all the time (even on a calm sea) so at the long end of the zoom it can be difficult to keep your subject in view. Anticipation is half the battle with this type of subject so a long zoom gives you less scope for error in guessing where your subject will appear.

For (Canon) settings I used Av mode with the aperture set to f6.3 (and sometimes f7.1) and the ISO varied but probably around 200 mostly (occasionally as high as 400 or as low as 100). Focus point was set to centre point only. Pierre used a 1D MkII N (and 100-400) and had similar settings, which I took some comfort in.

An OpTech rain sleeve can be useful, and cheap, if using an SLR. Towards the end of the week I was carrying only my camera and a sleeve fitted (with spare battery and memory card in a small plastic bag in my pocket). In practice there is little or no spray when the boat is 'watching' rather than travelling so I simply slipped the sleeve on and off when moving rather than fit it properly and shoot with it on.

One last item suggested on the kit list is a diary or journal. I was not really intending to keep one, but found myself doing so. So much is packed into the days that I found the best way to remember was to write up each day at the end of that day. I took a Toshiba NB100 netbook with me, primarily as storage and backup for photos, but used it to type up my daily report. This was our first holiday together without any children (except weekends) so I was hoping to keep the children updated with what we were doing.

I transferred my photos to the netbook every day and typed up a report into MS Word. The hotel had a WIFI connection in the (outside) bar area, so having prepared everything beforehand I went over to the bar each night to copy and paste my report and selected photos with a web connection.

While on the subject of the hotel, we found it perfectly adequate. Our room (number 15) had no windows (other than the bathroom) and the shuttered doors opened to the pool area. The room was air conditioned and had a TV (which never once got turned on). The ensuite bathroom had a wash basin, toilet and bath (with shower). There was a small cloakroom type area and built in stone wardrobe/shelf area. I would happily have the same room again (although I didn't see any other to compare it to).

There is a shop at the hotel (selling mainly clothes, and quite expensive ones too) along with a restaurant and bar. The bar is an open construction with a square bar area covered by a thatched type roof. There are numerous tables, chairs, soft seating and four poster beds around the garden. Drinks are priced at €2 for a beer (0.5 litre) and €6 for a cocktail (the Mojitos are great).

The restaurant opens at 8pm for dinner and is not unreasonably priced and portions are of a decent size. Apparently many restaurants in Spain are closed on Mondays and so too was this one, so make sure you have food to eat or plan to eat out if you are around on Monday evening. Breakfast is served in the restaurant from 8am (until 10am I think) and is a buffet style. Choices include bread (and croissants), fruit, cereal, yoghurt and to drink fruit juice, water and coffee.

Although I have been on a couple of dolphin watching trips in Scotland before, these were single trips and not a week, so this was my first experience. Out of the Blue have an itinerary that includes 5 days at sea (not full days but 4-5 hours). Two days are spent travelling and there is one 'day off' during the week.

This itinerary is extremely flexible, and looking back bore little resemblance to our week. This is not a bad thing, rather the opposite in fact. Having said that though, all items on the itinerary were covered to some degree. When in Tarifa local wind conditions can dictate the best times to be on the water and the local guide tried to ensure we got the best of what nature offered us.

For example, having arrived on Friday we were on the seas early (before breakfast) on Saturday but then not at all on Sunday. Fortunately the weather did then allow us to go out every day after that, but if there was another bad day we could have gone out in both the morning and afternoon of another day to compensate.

Fran and I decided (as we were so near) that on the 'day off' we would like to go on the ferry to Morocco. We did so (leaving early before the others were up for breakfast) while the rest of the group had the 'rest day' activity of visiting Cape Trafalgar and Vejer de la Frontera. If you don't want to do something as a group you will be accommodated as far as possible.

We did spend an interesting afternoon doing some birdwatching (vultures and bee-eaters) up in the cliffs above Bolonia, before visiting the Roman ruins of Baelo Claudia next to the beach there. The location was different to the birdwatching listed in the itinerary but it fitted in well.

The local guide for this trip is Dr Pierre Gallego. Pierre is a doctor of vetinerary medicine and spends six months of the year studying Orcas and other cetaceans in the Straight of Gibraltar. The remainder of the year he spends in Luxembourg (where he was born) and Brussels writing up scientific papers. He is the Scientific Advisor and Alternate Commissioner for Luxembourg at the IWC.

The British are, in my experience, lazy when it comes to languages as many people speak our own tongue. For the vast majority of the trip we didn't need to use any Spanish as Pierre speaks English and Spanish, as well as German, French and Luxembourgish. A phrase book would be useful though and we did come home having learned a little Spanish.

Pierre was very helpful and did his level best to make sure that everyone did what they wanted to do, whilst trying to keep the group as a whole happy. His priority was to keep us at sea as much as possible, which was after all the reason we were all there. I have no experience of other similar trips and guides, but would say he was excellent.

He has an obvious enthusiasm and knowledge for cetaceans which makes for a good guide, but he also knows the town and area very well having spent so much time there. It was a standing joke amongst the group that wherever we were, and at whatever time, Pierre always knew a good restaurant. At one point I told him that he should write the Tarifa Good Food Guide. Joking aside, we all got more out of our holiday from his knowledge of the local area than we would have done on our own.

From the itinerary we had expected to spend a lot of time on our own, rather than as a group. We did get a fair amount of time on our own, but spent a lot of time as a group too. Most evenings we all went to a restaurant together to eat. I think there were only two evenings out of seven that we ate alone. If you wanted to eat alone (or not at all) you could, there was no pressure, but it was nice to eat as a group on the whole. In fact one lunchtime we were free to do our own thing but five of us ate together anyway.

Eating out does cost money though. Fran and I took €400 between us, and then I took out another €100 on my Visa card while we were there. We spent little money on anything other than food and drinks during our stay. Presents and our trip on the ferry were paid for with plastic so cash was almost entirely spent on subsistence.

In summary then, we had a fantastic week with really nothing to complain about. The organisation was all done for us (flights arranged so that all could be picked up together, then dropped off so that the next weeks people could be picked up at the same time) and the local guide was both friendly and first class. The captain knew the sea and boat, and what conditions we could remain at sea in, so that we got the best from our stay.

What cannot be guaranteed is the spotting of wildlife. Despite being narrow the Straight of Gibraltar is still big and cetaceans can hide very well in it. During our five days on the sea we saw Bottlenose dolphins every single day, Striped dolphins on three days, Common dolphins on two and then Orcas and Pilot whales once each (on separate days). Of the seven species around at the time we saw five (missing out on Sperm and Fin whales), although to see more of the Orcas would have been great.

The local knowledge of Pierre and the Captain do ensure that you have the best chance possible of seeing something. Having said that an email from Pierre on Sunday night said that disappointingly they had spent 3 hours on the Rainbow that day and seen nothing.

I always wanted to take a trip to Vancouver, and while there try and see the Killer Whales as part of the experience. This trip was a chance to try and see them at a much reduced cost, as well as always having wanted to take Fran to see them. I still do want to go to Vancouver, but I would no longer see Tarifa as a cheaper alternative. It is simply an alternative. Would I repeat this trip? Yes, definately.

For a more detailed report of each of our days you can read the following:

Andalucian Arrival (Day 1 - 24.7.2009)

Between the Pillars of Hercules (Day 2 - 25.7.2009)

African Experience (Day 3 - 26.7.2009)

Orcas (Day 4 - 27.7.2009)

Coping with the Levanté (Day 5 - 28.7.2009)

Another New Species (Day 6 - 29.7.2009)

The Last Day (Day 7 - 30.7.2009)

Homeward Bound (Day 8 - 31.7.2009)