FOOTBALL! YEAH! COME GET SOME!

What beautiful weather we've been having lately in London and with beautiful, sunny skies comes all the activities that we most enjoy. For me, I like football, but there's a lot of things around. If you line them up together, the footy wins hands-down (Up there Cazaly, 1979). Yes, that's right, just as it's heating up back home, footy has been back here in London for a few weeks now and the mighty North London Lions are on the prowl for a grand final this year. Yesterday, we made the trip out to Reading for what is considered, traditionally, as the second biggest game of the year for our Thirsty Thirds. And what a game it was! Both sides came out hitting hard, with some fast ball movement and a few goals apiece, putting the scoreboard at roughly even at half time. But digging deep, the Lions managed to outrun the Roos in the rear half, coming out with a win 77-36. I believe I played a fairly ripper of a game (not to toot my own horn or anything), although I kicked two points instead of two goals (under pressure).

On top of the footy, however, the Lions are a side that stick together both on and off the field and, keeping in line with tradition, we all headed back to the Walkabout pub for our usual evening of drinking and shenanigans. Even though the boat race was cancelled (a drinking race), due to past rowdiness, we still had a good time. The cherry on top was singing to John Farnham, Cold Chisel and Natalie Imbruglia on the train on the way back into London.

What a lot of people don't realise is that, amongst this land full of poms, there is a haven where you can find some of the AFL you've been missing. It is great as well, as everyone has a crack. You can be English, French, American or Libyan, if you get yourself down to training you'll be taken under the team's wing in true Aussie fashion. Overall, it is just great to see that the true Aussie spirit is still alive, no matter where you are in the world. So if you're about London and your keen to have a dob of the ol' pigskin, get down to your local footy club (it better be the North London Lions and not the top-knot flogs down at Wandsworth). We have everything, Thursday night raffles with a meat tray prize, Eskies full of tinnies and comraderie that quite often feels closer than that of teams back home.