Walking around the stadium footprint the snow is piled several feet deep. How on earth will this match go ahead? This looks like the main stand and the gate is open and well, you know the rest. In I go looking like I belong until a steward appears from nowhere. I point to my phone and advise I’m just taking a few photos. He tells me this is the oldest part of the stadium and I impress him with a few comments around the club’s history. Founded in 1916. Playing at the top level since the early 1970s. This is going well. He tells me that I know more about his club than him then he smilingly adds that I won’t be able to go any further, because UEFA etc. God loves a trier, but apparently, he’s done his bit for the day by landing our plane. Fair enough I suppose.
I head around to the visitors’ section and take a couple of photos. It’s open to the elements and looks absolutely Baltic, well Arctic really, and I’m immediately questioning the rationale for this latest trip. I think this will make a great video whilst my fingers are still functioning. The phone shows 10% charge and as I start the video it cuts out completely. No access, no video and now no phone. And now my gloves are soaked through and it’s not lunchtime yet. Some trip this is.
A miserable walk through the snow and the sleet brings me to the town centre within 15 or 20 minutes. I haven’t a clue where to go but food and heat are high on my agenda. A pizza place solves both of those issues until the sign on the door indicates a 2.30 opening. It’s only just after noon. We go again, following my instinct and any semblance of life through the streets of Bodo. Finally, I’m passing an unremarkable building when a man in Celtic colours comes out a doorway in front of me. It’s @paulthetim. Result. It’s a bar, imaginatively named Public. It’s small and dark but it’s a better option than walking the streets until 2.30, and more importantly, a number of Celtic supporters have already pitched camp there.
I take my place at the bar and look around. It’s a rock-themed pub and it actually feels quite cool, as two of my favourite worlds collide, music and football. One or two regulars are perched in the corner but most of the clientele are wearing green and white. There’s no raucous singing as you tend to find in these situations. It looks like a more mature crowd or more likely they are still trying to heat up and dry out.
