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April 23 Spring clean time? Again?Goodness me dear readers, has it really been so long since our last update?
Here at Gladys West we're all in a bit of a frenzy, getting ourselves ready for the AGM part 2 this week and then hopefully onto the glorious sun, cloud, rain of Copenhagen and the Outgames!
So we'll be picking up our blog pens again and scribbling updates as we go.
Bye for now!
Gladys Billie-Jean November 22 Glads gear up for 2009Hola dear readers!
As 2008 draws to a close it's time, along with getting the Christmas Tree decorations out and watching some naff celebs "switch on" the lights in Taaahn, for GBJ t odust off her plan for 2008, and change all the dates to 2009.
Yes - time for the Gladys AGM. We're hoping to have a pretty good turnout for this, with some merriment and giggles along the way.
Schedule to be announced when we have it!
GBJ August 21 Located: Austin PowersIt is true dear readers! News has reached Gladys West from Austin Powers. In typical intl woman of mystery fashion she was unable to reveal her location, or what she was up to. However we are working on the assumption that she's on a top secret mission to save the world from super-evil as always.
However she sent us a message. "I will be there", in response to a Gladys gathering. One can only assume this is coded message. Or perhaps she's trying to learn how to speak pure Blair in an effort to inflitrate the Essex scene? Only time will tell! Barca: the Gladys awards 2008I have been remiss in announcing, well, any of these from our tournaments! So here is the run down of the Gladys awards from 2008 :)
Players Player: Gladys Martini
Supporters Player: Gladys Farrah Fawcett
Best Supporter: El Kel (aka Mrs Gladys Pink)
The Austin Powers napping award: Gladys Hollywood Tan
Best goal: Gladys Martini (diving header)
Best cock-up: Gladys Billie-Jean (you cannot play ping pong with your head, hands, goalpost and goal)
Best off-pitch comedy moment: Gladys Love Muscle (for slipping while kicking the ball against a wall, moaning, and then being smacked on the back of the head with returning ball)
Best defensive moment: Gladys Pink. (Masterful chest control, trap of the ball before hoofing it down the pitch).
Gladys most travelled: Gladys Jaffa (approx 5,000 miles for 20 mins of football and 43 beers. We did warn her).
and finally..
The fairest Gladys of them all: Gladys Lionel Blair. For showing outstanding Spiritus de Gladys throughout the entire year, the best sign EVER, and always having a smile on her face. Even on a crowded train telling us stories she really shouldn't when everyone else also speaks English... MIA: FawcettHas anyone seen a slightly used footballer with a headband, long flowing 70s-style locks and a scraped knee?
We have lost our Fawcett somewhere between Barcelona and London. Last seen heading for something architectural to look at...
Hey yeah...art yeah? August 02 Post BarcaAll Glads should now be safely returned to their various homes, resting and kicking off their training programs for the forthcoming tourneys.
Gladyses Lionel Blair, Trophy Woife, Jaffa and Billie-Jean were last seen merrily sipping cocktails and two of them were also pole dancing (yes, really) in a glorious European Gladys farewell to Jaffa. We wish her luck on her 22hour flight back to Chicago (via the rest of the world).
Now firmly ensconsed in Gladys West, GBJ is hard at work at the Gladys video, and organising things for the next Gladys tournaments (details TBC).
Watch this space! We'll be doing our best to ensure that the blog doesn't go dusty this year!
GBJ July 28 Day 2Mucho Scorchio!
Well, today was it. Win our first game, or go back to the bar. With that sobering thought in mind, Glads limbered up wildly, and took to the field against Hobberstrassen from...errr...Germany we think. Well 50/50 Germany or Austria was the general verdict.
They were in blue, we in our lucky white shirts. At this point I should mention at 9am it was tipping 30 degrees, and all the cafes around the venue were shut for siesta.
We let them slip in for an early goal, our backline looking bewildered. HOwever some resourceful marking and battling from the Glads saw us pull it back to 1-1 thanks to a route 1 attempt from GBJ to Fawcett.
After halftime we regrouped again and hit back. They peppered our goals with shots, however GBJ was only called upon twice, once with a over-glam leap to the right to palm away an effort (it looked better in my mind than on video believe me). The rest of the time we swept the ball away.
And then! With two minutes to go, Farrah Fawcett slipped past a defender, the ball at her feet. Past another defender....GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOAL!
2-1 to the Glads, semi finals await, and hurrah!
And so, 3 hours later we await what turns out to be the quarter final match against Amsterdam Hot Kicks. We're fairly confident in thinking they're from Amsterdam.
Again we cede the early lead. The match itself is very end to end, with all Glads digging in bravely. And then...with just 1 minute to go, Fawcett steals around the defender and slots the ball past the goalie. Joy ensues, and we're off to a penalty shootout. At this point the tempature tops 36 degrees and more than one of us feels quite quite faint.
Glads go first: score!
Dams go: score! Glads go second: and sadly...a miss Dams go: score! Glads go: score! Dams go: score! And with that, Glads are sadly out. (odd rules, but at least the ref was watching this time). Tired and frustrated as we were, good luck to the Hot Kicks in the next round (whichever one it actually is!).
So as we sit here in Gladys Base Camp a few hours later, a few beers in, we are truly proud of the spiritus de Gladys shown, and the efforts by every single Gladys. In fact, it's best summed up in the words of El Kel..
"I'm not a football fan. I don't even like football. However this tournament, seeing you all give everything for the team, I was cheering my heart out and experiencing all the emotions around a match that I've never done before."
El Kel, we couldn't have said it better ourselves.
Onwards and upwards Glads! To the rest of 2008 and to 2009!
GBJ PS: Blog update tomorow hopefully (as long as the internet actually works!) Day 1Scorchio, Scorchio, Scorchio!
With a well made plan to leave at 8:15 am (yes, really) we thought we were all set. However, come 8:23, there was a rushed phone call placed to Gladyses Billie-Jean and Woife..."where the hell are ya?"
Our alarm didn't go off. Well, that's not what I said, I actually said "Holy shit!" and slammed the phone down, prodding woife awake and we sprinted downstairs.
So with that, our attempt at finding the train station (set to the Benny Hill theme tune) we were really not the best prepared Glads as we arrived at the pitch for our first game against H.O.T. ry + Plan "C". (no, we don't know either). Unfortunately for them PLan C had failed, and there was no plan D, so we started against 5 players under instruction to "get as many goals as fast as possible before the rest of them arrive!"
We lined up with GBJ in goal, Pink and Lionel at the back, Tan, Martini, Woife in midfield and Fawcett up front.
Martini banged in two goals, both lovely wavy mazy runs from midfield, taking in the supporters on the sideline to get a phone number or two from the cute ones before halftime.
They came back strongly in the second half, but some stout and arm wavy defence with Pink and Lionel Blair soon saw them off, and we won, our first victory and our first game!
As soon as we were off the pitch we ran for shade. Yes dear readers, it was indeed Scorchio! As the sun moved it was like watching a mass migration as teams ran for shade and cover. We ended up camped out by a practice squash/odd sport court where we endulged in some "Tanning it" (more on that later) and chitchat.
So to game two...Freedom Glads vs Stuttgart-Dusseldorf. Glads were suffering in the heat, and didn't play too well in the first half. And we weren't hungover this time a la Copenhagen either. Some silly errors and GBJ's attempt to play ping-pong with herself, the post and the ball all led to an overall 3-0 by halftime.
But this being Glads, we regrouped, reformed, brought on subs and played much much better in the second half. Although the score ended 5-0 the performance was much better and we headed off to the cafeteria with a 4 hour wait for our next match. Yes. 4 hours.
Much can happen in four hours dear reader. We had a nice lunch except Dunny "5 euros for a bit of salad, olives some bread? I Was ripped off! And I forgot my vegemite mate, I am MAD!" Fawcett, Hollywood (know just known as Tan), Woife, Dunny and Lionel Blair (Los Blairos) all parked under distant trees and napped quietly while the rest of us were entertained by the Gladys Playas presenting..."the arrest of Gladys Jaffa". This was a brief 1 act play, recorded by GBJ for posterity, detailing a re-enactment of when Jaffa was arrested. Coupled with this, our prime supporter, Mrs Gladys Pink (aka El Kel) was caught on same camera singing a very very unusual version of the Cagney and Lacey theme tune.
So to our 4.45pm game vs A-mega + Kiev "NRG". While sounding like a wonderful 90s dance anthem, we were well and truly out to set right what once went wrong (errr..copyright some TV program).
We hit upon the missing element..the Lionel Blair song! Last seen successfully in Copenhagen, this little ditty saw us through good and bad games, and helped us warm up nicely. And and this time we introduced it, belting it out while the opposition quivered at the other end.
And lo! Goals fell from the sky like pints of beer from the bar. Fawcett and Martini rattled in a good couple of goals, followed by a third, while the defense was firm, resolute and our midfielders prowled around the pitch like caged tigers. GRRR!
And on that note we ended the day, having to call in three hours later to find out where we had finished in the group and what time our game was tomorrow. We finished top of our group, and our quarter final berth was 10:45 am the next day...
With that in mind we headed off to the womens party (great venue!) and had sensible amounts of beer before retiring for the night. July 24 Eurogames: notice spotted.Couldn't resist sharing this one...if there are any complaints then go to the organising committee. What they say is law, and they do promise us this little gem
"Organization decision will be unappealing"
I hope we don't need them!
GBJ But for 84 euros...what do you expect?Yes dear readers, a brief pause in our trails today to explain this one
Lionel, in her role as official Gladys travel agent has managed to secure us rooms for above mentioned price (e.g. dirt cheap), but the caveat with this is that any single thing that goes wrong...this is what is said in return.
In the words of the Woife
"That's going to be the phrase they put on your gravestone Lionel". Day 2: Details, detailsSCORCHIO!
Hola Gladys and Gladys-fans!
Here at Gladys Base Camp we're awaiting the arrival of the rest of the Glads in staggered (staggering?) fashion. Tonight is the official start of the Eurogames and we are rather excited about this :)
Until then we're about to wander off into Barca for the day. Lionel Blair and Hollywood Tan are going back to the beach again today to work on their Baywatch lifeguard poses, while yours truly and the Trophy Woife are contemplating a visit to the Eurogames Village, the Zoo and a bar with a nice cold beer.
Oh the trials!
GBJ
July 23 Update from the Advance forward partyHola Londres Glads!
We are now safely arrived and in once piece in Barca.
Hotel is a bit odd...wifi is intermittent, plums are larger than apples, staff are nice enough, and Dunny...you were wrong about the Cava (and it tasted like shit).
But still, here we are!
Off to collect accreditation this fine morning, and then a scout around of Barcelona. We have already been treated to "OOOOO!!!! IT'S THE OFFICIAL BARCELONA SHOP!" from Lionel.
On that note...Glads are off to explore!
GBJ
PS: A final note. We are working hard on our Spanish, just like Catherine Tate
July 22 Austin Powers: MIACurrently last seen heading off the train at Waterloo last year, we are currently seeking the whereabouts of Gladys Austin Powers: International Gladys of Mystery.
One can only assume she's on another top secret mission, however with random sightings of her in a new(ish) car, we're wondering if she's got herself a new toy and is busy swishing around Hackerney with it?
Will we ever know...
GBJ Barcelona: SquadAs ever, time to annouce our squad!
Gladys Billie-Jean
Gladys Trophy Woife
Gladys In the Bushes
Gladys Lionel Blair
Gladys Hollywood Tan
Gladys Pink
Gladys Farrah Fawcett
Gladys Martini
Gladys Love Muscle
Gladys Jaffa
We are also well armed with some supporters.
More news soon!
GBJ Belated updates!Well dear readers
Here in Gladys West we like to dust down the old bookshelf and pluck out a book that's not been read for a while, which may involve some dusting
*dust* *dust*
Welcome back to the wonderful world of Freedom Glads on their world wide tour! This is the 2008 edition, abridged and with a new foreword by Dave Save, "fishing buddist". No, we don't know either.
A lot has happened this past year since Antwerp. Yours truly ended up with Gladys knee-knack (yes, we are also wondering if it's hereditary), Gladys Pink emerged from the wilderness, Dave Save popped up from her latest round of Chemistry and saving the wildlife of Cornwall, Farrah Fawcett is still fitter than all of us, Austin Powers is currently "whereabouts unknown", Lionel Blair, last seen saving some poor bloke off the blackpool pier has been seen jogging (yes! jogging!) around London, and Gladys Martini has made a return to the Gladys fold, her first since the glory of Sydney in 2002.
So why now? Why has the blog been dusted down?
In about 10 hours Gladyses Lionel Blair, Trophy Woife, Hollywood Tan and Billie Jean are about to get on a plane as the advance forward section for the Glads migration to Barcelona for the Eurogames 2008!
So watch this blog, it will be updated during the week. We will do our best to update post tournament as well, but no promises! :)
Gladys Billie-Jean
July 15 Additional match reportsHello dear readers
Now that the dust has settled, further match reports will be issued, so watch this space!
GBJ July 14 Antwerp: Day 2Where the Glads learn that goalposts do actually shift...
What to write about this day, and indeed this tournament? We played so well yesterday (more match results pending) and were returning to take our place in one of two leagues from which the semi-finalists and finalists would emerge.
Instead we took to the pitch in a playoff, lost to the only goal of the match (our only goal conceded) and then were led on a proverbial goose chase for the rest of the day about what we were actually playing for. This didn't cause a huge amount of happiness in the Gladys camp ("to be sure.." as Love Muscle would say), but from what we eventually found out...we think...we came fifth. But...we wait to find out.
So not perhaps the result we were looking for, but we did our best in the face of very adverse organisation.
To Argentina!
GBJ
PS: I will update the blog with Day 1 results and moments of humouressness (as Lionel would say). But right now we're going to the pub.
 July 13 Antwerp: Day 1Will the Glads avoid getting it in De Nekker? With a predictable forecast of Sun, Cloud, Rain our intrepid Gladyses set out to conquer all that went against them. We were playing today to make it through to the final 8, from which the gold, silver and bronze medal winners would emerge. In true tournament style the event wase running late from the first ball kicked, and therefore our mad scramble (and almost car accident) to get there for the stipulated 1 hour beforehand led us to a slightly long warm up, coupled with Dunny's ability to sidestep the entire length of the football field. So to our first match, against "De Leuke Maiden" (TW thinks it's tall women, but they weren't all that tall). We started out in a lively fashion, peppering the opposition goal with shots, as our defence stood around at the back admiring (and occasionally punting the ball forwards). Yet somehow the ball never quite found the back of the net. We hit the post, the opposition, forced the keeper to save, and occasionally hit each other! GBJ July 12 Greetings from Antwerp!Hola dear readers! Here we are, fresh back from a Gladys practice session on the most uneven ground ever known to Gladys. We are now primed, ready, and totally hungover in readiness for tomorrow's action. Our journey over was exeptionally pleasant, 7 Glads, 15 beers, 6 Pimms, 3 and a half hours of conversation that can be whittled down to the following few gems: July 10 WeatherMemories of Copenghagen come flooding back to us today as we check the Antwerp weather here from Gladys West.
Sun...Cloud...Rain.
All we need is that dodgy 45% drink at lunchtime, some meatballs and we're back in 2005.
Doesn't that seem like such a long time ago?
GBJ |
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