It started off so well: they said we made a perfect blog meet location. Historic Heidelberg, an Irish pub, Super Saturday. Three nations with a chance of vying for the title. Then the nasty wee bugger cancelled some matches, participants dropped off like superannuated flies, and – with 24 hours to go – the one remaining scheduled match was nixed.
Some of us, made of stronger stuff, were undaunted by the prospect of a pandemic along the lines of Stephen King’s The Stand. We, the strong, the proud, the possibly foolish: Boanova, DropTheClaw, Meades, Xan, the mister and me, and of course our noble, gracious and hard-working hosts, Mister and Missus Iks.
We’d all arrived by Friday evening, so got down to business immediately at Vetter’s. Boa and Xan had arrived a couple of days before, and had some important information to impart.
Boa and Xan’s Top Tourist Tip for Heidelberg: What Not to Visit
As every fule kno, Gurgle is your go-to site for local attractions. Imagine our heroes’ excitement when they found something called the Königstuhl. The King’s Stool! It must be an ancient throne (or something): off we go!
The way was long and weary, 13 km straight up a mountain, but our intrepid adventurers persevered, battling off trolls, Nazgûl, plagues of locusts and football fans. At last, weary and wiping the sweat from their brows, they reached the summit, and found … a construction site.
And a bus stop.
The Plans
Given that there was no rugby on the morrow, a discussion ensued on what to do. The decision was taken to meet at the Irish pub as planned, so the poor buggers had some business, footfall in pubs and restaurants being noticeably down.
MissusIks also promised to find a rugby ball. Our bits perked up.
The Big Day
We all congregated at The Dubliner, only two hours late, and obviously much hilarity ensued. Which shall mostly be hush-hush. But I have previously reported that some of the lads disappeared down an alley-way with the rugby ball, which subsequently suffered the sad fate pictured above. But it remained unpunctured, as you will see.
The next port of call was the Bar Centrale, which was sadly neglected by other customers, but which did serve the greatest G&T ever experienced, and also had a square opposite that was perfect for ball-wanging. It was an unfortunate pass that hit me in the face, bloodied my nose, and sent my glasses clattering to the floor. Fortunately the glasses were uninjured except for the imprint of the ball’s pattern on the lens, discovered in the morning.
Such is the stuff from where dreams are woven.
Then off to dinner, with an enormous bottle of wine courtesy of MissusIks.
Vowing to the rugby gods to return in happier – or at least, less contagious – times, we said our goodbyes.
Ovally Balls 
Drinking gin before 7 o’clock in the evening? Either a sophisticated 1950s couple who have gin slings after work or someone’s got a problem.
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TomP – Xan is Killsy’s brother. He came to the meet-up in Galway.
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He used to be known as Waffleman
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Think Chimpie’s going to have to get a bigger extension for all the folk who are going to the 2021 blog meet at his house…
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Six minutes until the permitted gin time everyone.
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Was Xan/Waffleman at the 2016 one in London? I know Killsy was there, but can’t remember if his brother was. Hope Killsy’s doing OK, by the way.
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Did Xan not sometimes post as The Third Man?
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Ah right. Thanks for everyone. Can crack open the gin happily now.
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19:01 is permitted gin time?
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The Third Man was Orson Welles, ticht. Also known as Claw’s cousin, or brother, some relative.
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No time is permitted gin time. Hate the stuff.
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BB – I have never been a gin fan, having accidentally drunk FAR too much of it once. But I tell you, this one in the Bar Centrale was very very good. And huge.
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Now watching the Scotland/Aus game. I’d forgotten we had no Hoggy (injured in the warm-up), plus Horne the elder in the backs.
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@Thaum – or possibly 18:59. We’re floundering.
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Gin is God’s own tipple. Don’t fuck with it.
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Deebee – I bet you put mint in it.
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Might have a brandy at 19:23.
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Perhaps the Chimpies are like the Charleses. That’d make me very happy.
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@BB – I also think he might have been in London, but I’m not sure either. I really can’t understand it.
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Thauma, I have on occasion. But mostly just large quantities with good tonic and a slice.
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Might have a brandy at 20:23. 19:23’s a bit early.
I don’t *think* Xan was in London, but my memory is shite. Definitely had great conversation with him in Galway. Lovely bloke.
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Deebee @19:13. I knew it. Pervert.
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@Tomp – the evidence is a bit thin.
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The London event was definitely attended by a chicken hat and a malignant onion. Beyond that I’m not really sure.
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I met Xan once. Nice guy. We talked about motorcycles iirc.
Fuck, arse, bollocks. Stupid unemployment.
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Class 5 are already on a warning for using Google Classroom as a WhatsApp group. Apparently their teacher and the head get an email whenever any of them makes a comment.
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The Eldest has pinched my avatar as well.
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Xan was at the 2016 meet:
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I’d forgotten you were there Refit! I’ll need to think again about who exactly was there.
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Just seen the origin of Treacle Toes! Maitland’s try against Australia. He was actually just goading them on by running JUST quickly enough to keep out of their clutches.
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Booo! Typical of this bunch of arseholes.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/rugby-union/51909783
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View from the other end
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Ah, hidden behind the DCI. And is that Thaum being shy????
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Bloody hell, Phil Burleigh? Whatever happened to him?
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Moi, shy?
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Paranoid, perhaps….
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“Phil Burleigh? Whatever happened to him?”
Trial didn’t go well.
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Burleigh went back to NZ, lasr time I saw him was playing ITM Cup or whatever it’s called now for Canterbury
That was last season.
He has just come on in my feed, I paused it as daughter No.3 just got back from uni for the big lock in
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That was a big turnout in 2016
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I’ve enjoyed this game, Huw Jones was excellent in that game, see also Watson and Barclay
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Whenever I hear ‘Phil Burleigh’, my brain fills in ‘-stonginthearm’, a la Terry Pratchett.
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This youtube channel’s got loads and loads of olden day games, including the Battle of Nantes with Spanish commentary. Es total brutal:
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We watched Dead Men Don’t Wear Plaid earlier. One of Carl Reiner’s character’s henchmen in the climactic scene was played by Phil Kearns.
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Speaking of classic rugby matches,
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It was a crazy game, Ticht. 12 tries. Nu Toonie would hate it.
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Ahhh, the 2016 meet. Pretty sure that one got away from me too. Kids were ill or something.
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Morning all! Marina Hyde in devastating form in the Graun.
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morning!
i hope everyone is coping especially those with children.
we are lucky, i happily admit – spring planting has started this week and we are well sustained by our full freezers.
i feel so much for those shut in to urban environments.
on the down side, a recent storm ripped apart a 170 year old horse chestnut – one of two planted when our farm was built – and it’s a pile of work to clear the mess, with no reward because the wood is useless as a fuel – but i do get to have chainsaw fun.
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Kenny Rogers RIP
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Nice little article on the perspective from Exeter:
https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2020/mar/20/get-balance-right-in-resuming-rugby-says-exeters-rob-baxter
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