He Ain't Heavy, He's My Brother

This Monday will mark the 24th anniversary of the Hillsborough disaster, in which 96 Liverpool supporters lost their lives. He Ain't Heavy, He's My Brother, made famous by The Hollies topped that UK Christmas charts last December. With the likes of Sir Paul McCartney, Mel C and Robbie Williams, The Justice Collective Version's proceeds were given to support the families in their long legal battle to claim justice for the 96. Until last autumn the police did not take any responsibility of what had happened, stating that it was the fans' fault they had died. The families and supporters had to wait over 23 years for them to finally acknowledge their mistake.

Naturally, as a Reds supporter myself I wanted to contribute by buying the single. I actually did that at Heathrow Airport, and I don't remember when is the last time I held a physical single. But the best part of it all is that supporters of different teams bought it too.

Football is the best way to unite people.

absolutely love how the 96 are remembered on the newest lfc jersey

Gunners and The Reds

As soon as I arrived in London for a quick vacation, I was immediately rushed from one place to another. Though, this time one of my childhood dreams came true, when I got to see a match of the biggest football league in the world- the Premier League. Also, it wasn't any match, as my favorite and obviously the greatest English team took on an "alright" London team at their packed Emirates stadium. But of course no (big) stadium compares to our Anfield.

The ticket was a complete rip off, but I thought what the heck- you don't graduate too often. I'm glad I went, since Red legend, vice-captain Jamie Carragher announced he'd be retiring after this season. It was a rare treat to see him on pitch, and consider myself lucky to do have done so in all Liverpool matches I've gone to.

The team, on the other hand, wasn't too lucky. We lost our 2 goal lead within 3 minutes, but that's better than losing the whole match. And I finally got to see future legend Suarz play!

in brendan we trust

vamos suarez

arsenal's legendary manager wenger

living legends stevie g & carra

Chelsea-Liverpool Carling Cup

November 29th, 2011

After a decade of supporting Liverpool Football Club, I finally got the chance to see them play live. However my first game wouldn't had been at home, it was at Stamford Bridge against one of the other top teams, Chelsea. I owe this to my friend David, who was able to purchase a ticket for me with the remaining money he had on his account.

Although he kind of almost indirectly sentenced me to death by getting me a sit in the middle of the Chelsea fans.

Despite of his warnings not to clearly show that I'm with the opposite and sending all kinds of videos of football hooligans, I wanted to enjoy the match to the full;

Even my boss was up for it, as he sent me to get coffee wearing red to the canteen owned by massive Chelsea fans. Luckily the coffee wasn't poisoned and all I got was fingers pointing at the door.

You can't imagine how stoked I was when I got to the stadium. You can't also imagine how fast that excitement turned into disappointment and anger; due to stupid rules at Stamford Bridge, no cameras were allowed. That's because they don't want people to sell pictures. Even the guy working there said it's stupid. Firstly you can take high quality pictures with phones nowadays, and second what about those people, who go to matches for the first time and aren't able to capture those memories?

Well, at least I concentrated fully on the game now.

When I was about to enter the stadium, of course the security guy told me that I wouldn't be allowed to enter with red showing, as I was sitting with the Chelsea fans. That was alright, but then the interrogation started;

"How did you get your ticket here?"
"I live in London, so I was only able to get a ticket from the fan stand."
"Why do you live in London?"
"Well, I actually come from Finland, but I'm doing my internship here."...

Is this how it feels to arrive in America?

During the match I started to understand the warnings of my friend, the fans were a bit aggressive. Not badly though, but what surprised me was that they spent more time on cussing the visitors than cheering their owns.

"Have you ever seen Gerrard (Liverpool's captain) win the league?!" I was tempted to reply "No, but I've seen him win the Champions League". It's good I didn't, I would have most likely been beaten.

The best thing was to see all the Liverpool fans go crazy, when Liverpool scored, twice. Though it sucked when I was only able to put a tiny smirk on my face. Also, when Liverpool missed a penalty, a tiny smirk too. This was the time when being Finnish was useful; having a neutral face impression no matter what.

In the beginning of the match, when they had the huge Chelsea flag going around the fan stand, it felt like darkness had come over me. But no worries, we won the match and I survived. It's a pity though that even Liverpool's site doesn't have any pictures of the game anymore, but here's one, which pretty much sums up the experience.

We're back in business!

February 26th, 2012

5 years since the last final.

6 years since the last trophy.

The most thrilling hours, credit to Cardiff. 

Victory to us!

Can you think of another team, which has fans like Liverpool does?

This would have been the only reason of me wanting to be in London.

Walk on, walk on with hope in your heart.

Because you'll never walk alone.

You'll never walk alone.

(pictures from LFC)

päk aken

It's funny that after spending a year in The Netherlands, I left with one luggage. Now after spending half a year in London, I left with two. During my exchange year I didn't visit home at all, I didn't even want to. But London made me want to go home for a while, only after two months. We were talking about this with Maria, and wondering if it was about the person or the place. Probably both.

But one thing I'm sure of... I'm happy to be back! Here are some reasons;

1. No more dealing with noisy kids.

2. I can have pork and beer in the fridge again.

3. Fresh air and nature. It's not even cold, as I'm wearing the same clothes I wore in London, and yet I'm sweating.

4. It's affordable to keep the houses warm.

5. Thick walls, so you don't need to listen to your neighbors' life stories.

6. Being surrounded by people, who understand social awkwardness. Or actually not being surrounded by people at all.

7. Bye stressed, miserable Londoners. Hello depressed Finns.

8.Home food. Though I will miss the foreign beers, which one of them, the best English beer, I took with me to enjoy here.

9. Just in time for some Finnish winter delicacies.

9. Clean water and proper mixers.

and finland

10. No need for an adapter to charge anything.

And most importantly, I get to be with my family. Especially my nephew Nate, who I finally got to meet and spend time with!

first time holding him

already a head banger

watching our first liverpool game

And for my surprise I found this from the cupboard:

It seems that everywhere I go, there's a piece of Breda waiting for me.

RIP Converse

Dear Converse,

I've been trying to find the perfect you. That took many years, and ironically I had to fly back to my birth place, The Philippines. It was January 2008. I was strolling down the streets wondering each day, if soon would be my lucky moment. 

And there you suddenly were, right in front of my eyes. The only one left, feeling all alone, perhaps due to being a bit dirty. But I saw the pain the loneliness had caused you, and realized we'd understand each other. So I took you into my life knowing, what my life was lacking of, it didn't anymore.

It was the beginning of a magical partnership. We were so good to one another, we were inseparable; inside/outside, summer/winter. You made me smile and feel good about myself. 

During Bloc Party's gig in February 2009, you got your first proper stain, which made me love you more. However, that's when the alarms went off from my family side. My mother's loathe towards you began, and it just grew from day to day. She insisted you brought shame to our family and banned you from any of our family trips. Also that you could be easily replaced.

What she didn't see (until only in the very end) was the unique companionship celebrated literally all over the world, in what special events. For four years.

Play the following song and scroll through our memories.

Aug-08 Esslingen, Germany

Dec-08 Stockholm, Sweden

May-09 Jyväskylä, Finland

Aug-10 Lappeenranta, Finland

Sep-10 Breda, The Netherlands

Oct-10 Three Land Point, The Netherlands

Oct-10 Rotterdam, The Netherlands

Nov-10 Amsterdam, The Netherlands

Traditional New Year's dive in The Hague was the trip for us. Unfortunately it was a turning point towards worse. As much as we did have fun, it caused trouble to our relationship too. So we decided to take some time out, but never did we think that the break would have lasted that long. 

You can blame me for you being stuck in a water bucket for a few months.

What doesn't kill you makes you stronger. That's the best way to describe our post-break time.

mother's comment: yahaaa, still alive???

We were better than ever, ready to conquer the world again.

May-11 Dublin, Ireland

May-11 Cliffs of Moher, Ireland

Jun-11 Versailles Palace, France

Jun-11 Disneyland Paris, France

The end of summer meant we were off to London, aka the concrete jungle of Europe. The streets were made for you. Although at some point, we came across with the fact of London life being living and dying at the same time. There was so much to do, but also no time to rest. 

Dec-11 London, UK

Jan-12 Liverpool, UK

Jan-12 Brighton, UK

After a snowy three hour walk home a couple of weeks ago, I sensed your suffering and your quiet request of 'putting you out of misery'. 

We thought it would work, but it got worse. The dream of celebrating our 5th anniversary back in The Philippines became distant. Seperation hurts, it's like the end of a circle. There wasn't an easy way to end it in sight. 

 We knew it was the best for both of us, and you'd want me to move on. It will be hard, but I will always carry a piece of you with me.

You just keep walking towards the light, with the lovely looks of yours.

Forever yours,
Jaleh