I feel miserable. The local football team, SM Caen, just got relegated to the second division.
Tonight was the last game of the season and Caen lost 1-0 to Bordeaux, who – as a result of their win – lifted the league title. To make it an even more complex night, the goal was scored by a former Caen hero who joined Bordeaux last summer.
I didn’t manage to get a seat for the match – there were huge queues for tickets on Monday and touts made a lot of money from Bordeaux fans. With the match sold out, the city council put on a big screen in the town centre.
Like a lot of local people, I’m gutted by tonight’s result - I’ve been to see a lot of matches this season and I’ve had a soft spot for the team for a long time, ever since one of my favourite players got a transfer here in the late 80s.
Despite feeling miserable by a disappointing season and tonight’s relegation, I can’t claim to ‘feel’ it quite like real fans. I realised this at a match in November when Caen lost to huge local rivals Le Havre. The manner of the defeat – a late goal, totally against the run of play – added to the bitterness of the result.
Supporters around me were stunned, speechless and unable to move. I didn’t know what to do. I didn’t feel as crushed as these people looked (although I knew how it felt), so I headed for the exit.
This action felt a little like a betrayal. But there was nothing I could have done. Had I stuck around and claimed to feel as bad as the others did, I would have been faking it.
Partly because of that match and partly because my health was poor over the winter (and it was freezing out on a Saturday night), I didn’t go to many more games. When I got back in the spring the confidence of the team and the fans that was so apparent earlier in the season had evaporated.
I will continue to follow Caen – they will always be ‘my team’ in France. I might even get to see their first game in Ligue 2 before I return to Brighton. And we will all be confident about the new season and getting promoted back to the top division.
Life is full of disappointments, but the true football fan is always an optimist – at least at the start of a season.
Saturday, 30 May 2009
Monday, 18 May 2009
La grippe porcine
Watching the swine ‘flu drama unfold is not a pleasant experience for me. Especially living overseas.
I know that this strain of ‘flu is milder than the usual seasonal ‘flu that is passed around every winter, so I get irritated that healthy people in wealthy countries are panicking about dying but fail to follow the simple hygiene procedures that could protect those most at risk.
Everyone who has died from swine ‘flu in Europe has been suffering from a serious long-term health condition.
Although Crohn’s disease could be included in this category, the advice from the UK Crohn’s and Colitis charity, NACC, is that people with Crohn’s who are taking immuno-suppressive medication should not have an increased risk of contracting swine ‘flu.
The NACC statement goes on to say that, if symptoms develop, people with Crohn’s should go through the same process as everyone else and that treatment with the anti-viral drug Tamiflu should not be problematic.
Every autumn, I have ‘flu vaccination as I am considered ‘at risk’ if I catch the normal seasonal ‘flu. That is because I have a long-term health condition and I am taking immuno-suppressive medication. I guess that I am more likely to catch the disease and less able to fight it.
I am working on the same assumption will swine ‘flu. So I am still a little anxious.
And that anxiety is raised by living overseas and still not quite understanding the way the health system works. However, the advice here seems the same and the public information seem clearer than in the UK.
If I get symptoms, I will phone my GP and do what he says. I will also rest, stay well-hydrated and eat normally. However, I am hoping that I will escape the virus until I get back to the UK in mid-August. By then there may be a vaccine ready.
In the meantime, I will carry on with life as usual. I always wash my hands when I get home and before I eat. I carry an alcohol handwash with me when I am out too. And I have developed over the years an instinctive response to avoid people who look like they are about to sneeze or cough in my direction.
Of course, if this does become a full-blown pandemic I may stay indoors for a while – especially if the virus seems to become more virulent and the disease more serious.
I know that this strain of ‘flu is milder than the usual seasonal ‘flu that is passed around every winter, so I get irritated that healthy people in wealthy countries are panicking about dying but fail to follow the simple hygiene procedures that could protect those most at risk.
Everyone who has died from swine ‘flu in Europe has been suffering from a serious long-term health condition.
Although Crohn’s disease could be included in this category, the advice from the UK Crohn’s and Colitis charity, NACC, is that people with Crohn’s who are taking immuno-suppressive medication should not have an increased risk of contracting swine ‘flu.
The NACC statement goes on to say that, if symptoms develop, people with Crohn’s should go through the same process as everyone else and that treatment with the anti-viral drug Tamiflu should not be problematic.
Every autumn, I have ‘flu vaccination as I am considered ‘at risk’ if I catch the normal seasonal ‘flu. That is because I have a long-term health condition and I am taking immuno-suppressive medication. I guess that I am more likely to catch the disease and less able to fight it.
I am working on the same assumption will swine ‘flu. So I am still a little anxious.
And that anxiety is raised by living overseas and still not quite understanding the way the health system works. However, the advice here seems the same and the public information seem clearer than in the UK.
If I get symptoms, I will phone my GP and do what he says. I will also rest, stay well-hydrated and eat normally. However, I am hoping that I will escape the virus until I get back to the UK in mid-August. By then there may be a vaccine ready.
In the meantime, I will carry on with life as usual. I always wash my hands when I get home and before I eat. I carry an alcohol handwash with me when I am out too. And I have developed over the years an instinctive response to avoid people who look like they are about to sneeze or cough in my direction.
Of course, if this does become a full-blown pandemic I may stay indoors for a while – especially if the virus seems to become more virulent and the disease more serious.
Friday, 8 May 2009
The final stretch
My trip back to Brighton was a good one. It helped that the reason for going back was the marriage of two friends – a happy and fun event.
As I travelled across West Sussex from the ferry port to Brighton I did feel a bit of culture shock. I understood everything that people said and everything looked familiar, but not recent. In other words it was familiar as a place I used to live, but not quite home.
Like in November, as I came off the ferry and caught the bus into Caen, it felt like I was coming home.
Brighton is always very attractive in May and I think I am looking forward to returning – but not yet. I want to make the most of my time in France - especially as I feel like we are on the final stretch.
There are trips we want to go on and still places in Caen to visit. I have always wanted to go to the Le Mans 24 hour race and this is my best chance – the circuit is only 100 miles away, an hour by train.
I bought my ticket for the Le Mans just before my trip back to Brighton, so I am definitely going. I just need to work out the logistics of how I am going to enjoy the experience and not let my Crohn’s get in the way.
The whole of this year is testament to how it is possible to follow dreams, despite the impact of a long-term health condition. Before I came I knew, in theory, I should be able to enjoy the year – but I am growing in confidence the more this is proving to be true.
As I travelled across West Sussex from the ferry port to Brighton I did feel a bit of culture shock. I understood everything that people said and everything looked familiar, but not recent. In other words it was familiar as a place I used to live, but not quite home.
Like in November, as I came off the ferry and caught the bus into Caen, it felt like I was coming home.
Brighton is always very attractive in May and I think I am looking forward to returning – but not yet. I want to make the most of my time in France - especially as I feel like we are on the final stretch.
There are trips we want to go on and still places in Caen to visit. I have always wanted to go to the Le Mans 24 hour race and this is my best chance – the circuit is only 100 miles away, an hour by train.
I bought my ticket for the Le Mans just before my trip back to Brighton, so I am definitely going. I just need to work out the logistics of how I am going to enjoy the experience and not let my Crohn’s get in the way.
The whole of this year is testament to how it is possible to follow dreams, despite the impact of a long-term health condition. Before I came I knew, in theory, I should be able to enjoy the year – but I am growing in confidence the more this is proving to be true.
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