VASCO

I have encountered this entry and exit fiasco once before - with Partick Pete at the 2006 African Nations Cup final in Cairo. We left the hotel at 13:00 for an 18:00 kick-off. The game went to extra-time and penalties. As if that was not bad enough we had to remain inside the stadium until Hosni Mubarak's helicopter had departed, more than an hour later. It was almost 11 hours after we had left the hotel before we had out first post-match beer!

Sheremetyevo is also a saddle. Disembark and get the airport express shuttle train into Belorusskay. From there you can use the metro.

Davy, Albania bus now paid (6 x £13), although reference is still Israel bus. JB

Davy, Like others just back from Israel, but now on way to Uist. I'd like to book 6 seats. JB

Davy, New e-mail address just registered, in case you've sent something to my work address. Now retired, and electronic mail address is vasco@beerjambo.co.uk Cheers, JB

Is there still room, Davy? If so, I'll take 6 seats.

The broadcasting thing goes further. I switch on Reporting Scotland and a good number of reporters are now English, the weather person is a FIG and invariably half of those interviewed on the particular topic are FIGs.

One of the beauties about having been in Russia for just over a month is that I have missed all this crap with BBC/ITV. I've also been lucky in getting tickets for the other half of the knock-out draw to that which England are still in. Also, I've not heard one English voice in all that time. Wonderful! Nor have I watched any of England's matches. However, with these bastards getting to the last 4, I'm seriously thinking of coming home after the semis. I don't think that I could stomach being in Moscow for the day of the final, as was my original intention, if they were there. On the other hand, if Croatia pump them, they'll be in the third place play-off, for which I've got a ticket. I've always been intensely anti-England, but since the 2014 and 2016 referenda, the seething in me at the mention of the words England or English, has reached ridiculous levels. Despite wearing a Scotland top on the tram on the way back from Friday's game a Brazilian asked me if I was English. My response was not particularly pleasant, with some of the most colourful language that even I have produced being literally spat back at him.

£100 a night? I'm here for 40 nights. No way would I pay that. The unfortunate thing from my point if view is that most of the time I'm paying for an unused bed. In fact, in last night's hotel, the two single beds were about from Johnstone to Paisley apart, and you could have got two double beds in between. On the other hand my single room in Samara was just that. Bed, wardrobe, fridge, lavvy and shower, but it did have 130 channels on the telly.

Well, I fairly picked another shitey game for my first knock out match! Seriously, it was about time I got a decent game, but the Argentinian fans are irritating bastards. Just settling down to watch the action and some cunt stands up and waves his arms hysterically in all directions and every ither bastard joins in. My glutius maximus is in bad shape after all the ups and downs. No wonder I'm fading away to a mountain. I'm no lover of Pogba, far from it, as I think he is a lazy, selfish, won't play for the team kind of guy, but I thought today that he was superb, breaking up attacks, setting up attacks and basically saying to the Argentine players "you ain't gonna bully me".

Accommodation was, like flight prices, weird, but understandable. Having got my initial tickets for the group stages last November, the accommodation I booked st that point was cheap. £18 a night in Pervomayskaya in Moscow and £225 for 14 nights in Samara. My jaunt to Saransk cost me £95 in the Mercure. I've paid £71 for last night's kip in Kazan which would have been £25 six months ago. When I get back to Samara tomorrow, again booked early, it's £40 per night. My later trip to Kazan next week is £45 per night (changed booking last week) and St P is costing me about £30 a night. Having officially retired today after 32 years at the Uni, I decided to change my booking for the last two nights in Moscow. I lost what I had paid, but, by the time, you take away the now not necessary taxi costs and add my upgraded hotel at Belorussky station costs, I'm about a fiver down. Just watched an Italian spiv sell tickets to three Colombians for the game here in Kazan for $500 a whip. After he left they were telling me that they drove from Samara, but are flying to Moscow for their game against the Southern Brits. They told me they paid $400 one way. They got really jealous when I showed them my Kazan to Sheremetyevo to Samara ticket, booked in January. Cost? £95!!

Sitting in Roknroli pub on Kybysheva Strèet. Because there's a game on today It's being served in plastic tumblers - 160 barneys a go (£2). I've paid as little as £1.20 and as much as £4. There's a famous brewery, Zhigulevsky, here which has a couple of bars attached. Heaving with Colombians, as is the town. Beer is good. A Colombian I met in Saransk said there upwards of 50,000 Colombians in Russia for the World Cup.

I'm going to my sixth group game tonight in Samara, where I've been based for the past fortnight after the opening game. Jumped over to Saransk last week for Japan v Colombia. 24 hours on a train there and back. My first two knockout games are France v Argentina in Kazan on Saturday then Brazil v Mexico back here in Samara on Monday. To be honest, most of the football has been shite. I'm also going to the Kazan quarter-final, third place play-off and, assuming the ticket has arrived at my hotel the St Petersburg semi-final.

Shows how old I am! 1966 and 1970 are vivid memories, and having been at 13 games in 1974, one in 1982 and three in 1990, I'm currently in Russia and will be going to my fourth game later today. Denmark v Australia in Samara, which is absolutely beautiful. It used to be called Kybyshev, and, had the Germans captured Moscow, it would have become the capital of USSR. After today, I've still got another three games in Samara, two in Kazan and probably two in Saint Petersburg. Russia is a smashing and fascinating place. Spent 24 of the past 48 hours on trains from Samara to Saransk and back, just to watch Colombia lose to Japan. 9 hours there, yet 15 hours back??

having retired yesterday, I was out for a meal last night, so I've just watched the documentary. I cried my fucking eyes out! We were easily the best team in the world in the previous 15 months. Missed penalty agsinst Peru and a ridiculous draw with Iran. The second group stage would have been a doddle. Perhaps it is a bit of nostalgia (and a good few pints), but I really believed. Anyway off at 06:05 to PutinLand for a 40 day feast of football.

There are probably loads of folk that now know this, but it might as well be documented here. Myself (JB), Big Stevie Farmer, Partick Pete and wee bead rattling, soap dodging Joe McCormack left Edinburgh at 18:30 on Friday bound for CDG. After three aborted attempts to land we were diverted to Brussels. Arrived at midnight, but all buses to CDG were full. We had to bite the bullet and take a taxi. €480 later we're here in Lima. Ross Meikle got us a mention with Dumb And Dumber on Off The Ball. Watched the European Cup Final in Atlanta airport. Just watched the 2018 World Cup winners beat Ireland.

Four of us (myself, Stevie Farmer, Peter Murray and wee Joe McCormack) flying to Paris from Edinburgh on Friday 25th May, then to Lima via Atlanta on the Saturday. Four nights in Lima followed by flight to Mexico City and four nights there. We travel back late on Sunday 3rd June, with flight back to Edinburgh from Paris late on the Monday.

That's arrant nonsense. The round after the first group stage was also a group stage, and I wouldn't have thought that being in a group with Austria, Italy and West Germany would have been played for.

Having been to 13 games at the 1974 World Cup in West Germany, I was desperate to go to Argentina. I was interviewed by Thames Television about doing a documentary whereby a film crew would follow me across the Atlantic, down through Coca Cola Land and into South America. The deal was that they would not help me in any way, but it was more or less implied that, if I didn't make it, they'd pay for my flight home. A guy called Steve Timmins was in contact with me in the early part of 1978, and we'd arranged to meet to discuss the project when, out of the blue, he was informed by his Head of Department that "we would have to cancel the film we were hoping to make with you and others about the trip to Argentina. The reason for this seems to be particularly stupid, but unfortunately it is out of our hands. It appears that STV are making two films about the Scottish team and their preparations for Argentina and as both of these will be transmitted during the period of the World Cup, there is no room for our film to be transmitted as well." The above extract is taken from the letter I received from Thames Television, signed by Steve Timmins and dated 20th February 1978. As it transpired I did not make the journey to Argentina. After searching through all my memorabilia to find this letter, I was amused to find on the next two pages of this particular album a 10 verse poem which I had entered into a Sunday Mail competition "We're On Our Way". This entry is dated 1st February 1978. I might not have been to Argentina, but a six week jaunt to Russia this summer is part consolation. Ah, memories!

Our trips are probably more expensive than most, as we've had to take several factors into consideration - days off work, direct flights, rather than two stopovers of x and y hours, and age! Having looked at a good deal of options for the double header in the summer and the Nations League games, I would think a solo traveller, with time, would be able to manage all four games at a reasonable cost.

In August 2014 I booked a trip to Tel Aviv after spotting that Israel were playing Germany in March 2015. By the time we played in Dortmund the fixture had been cancelled. I decided to go anyway and would advise anyone to go. As pointed out already, you can visit Jerusalem and Petra. Both were hard graft for a guy with two new knees and a new hip. For Petra I took a flight from Tel Aviv's smaller airport to Eilat, then a bus for 3 hours, before walking around Petra in scorching heat and bumpy underfoot conditions for about 4 hours. I'm glad I made the effort, however. Being an atheist I went to Jerusalem because of all its hype. Shook my head watching the high hats and pigtails at the Wailing Wall. Thought to myself that, after 2000 years of fuc£ all happening, they'd have got the message. Anyway, yesterday was, to put it mildly, a rather hectic day. Booked for four of us going via Paris (from Edinburgh) and Atlanta to Lima and Mexico City, four going to Tel Aviv (via Brussels from Glasgow) and five of us going to Tirana (via Frankfurt). Hotels in Lima (1 mile from stadium) and Mexico City sorted, although today I'll need to use somebody else's credit card for the October and November hotels, as yesterday I spent NINE FUc£ING GRAND!!

School week!

For their World Cup qualifiers Israel played two matches at the Teddy in Jerusalem (accessible from train station if you base yourself in Tel Aviv) and three in Haifa.

GW34, What utter shite - "...1 per game anyway"! A lone striker, like Miller or Griffiths, might work his socks off, but, when getting dragged wide, with the finest of intentions, there is all in the middle. The sooner less talented squads realise that we/they are not Spain the better. Gordon will last a wee bit longer, Tierney and Robertson are here to stay, although that partnership is now starting to echo Jardine & McGrain, which might end up being a very good thing. Berra and Mulgrew will have be replaced reasonably soon, by whom I know not, but our boy Souttar keeps getting touted. Personally I think he has a long way to go. Play him in front of two centre halves maybe. And please don't get me started on that BlueNose new boy! Almost all if our midfielders are interchangeable. That's a good thing if you've got a solid back four and lethal strikers, but there is no spark. Only Armstrong really offers hope, inasmuch as he does what very few midfielders do. Most can run up and down the pitch, but he not only does that but goes across the pitch, has two good feet and can score. We missed him far more than that imposter Brown. McMinn, I'm afraid is more of the same. Up front Griffiths, if deployed properly with someone else, instead of being the focus, should thrive. The unfortunate thing is that nobody stands out at present to fulfil that. Pace is the one aspect of the game that other teams cannot handle. Look at Raheem Sterling - utte pish, but pace burn.

I just started down their list of countries alphabetically. When I hit 30, the form allowed me to continue to next section. Fortunately I've kept all my old passports.