Quiet week

A bit of a lull really on the football tour front. I've chased every club and got responses from most already so i'm just waiting now to start confirming all the details for our visits closer to the off date. For now i'm just going over all the arrangements and double checking. The route, hotel bookings, hire car arrangements, contacts, bags and suit cases, maps and directions and interviews with local newspapers and radio stations...... to name a few.

I was blissfully un-aware of the effort and time that goes into making a trip like this possible. Especially in the way we're choosing to do it. I've no doubt that if we weren't doing it for charity and weren't interested in gaining access into any of the stadiums, we'd have everything prepared already. Car, hotels and the route. That'd be it basically. Easy. But that just wouldn't be as fun as doing it like this and so with the extra fun, comes a lot of extra work. I cant say I haven't enjoyed it though, because I have. Everything is made entirely worthwhile when you get a few responses granting every wish we've asked for in our letter. The occasional rejection or rude reply/blanket response is thoroughly frustrating but it comes with the territory and isn't to be un-expected. I've named and shamed a few clubs for their poor responses and lack of customer service, possibly wrongly, but sometimes they need to get some bad press. Hopefully then, it might hit home a little more that they need to treat fans a certain way. And not just palm them off.

The more work we've put in, the more we've got out. The tour is going to be very long and probably very stressful at times but the bonuses that we're going to get along the way are huge. So far 58 teams have allowed us access to the ground, 3 have donated signed balls, 5 have given us free match tickets, 1 has donated a signed shirt, 1 has given a signed photo and 4 have confirmed signed pennants. Also, 3 others are 'possibles' for donating something. Providing those 3 do, that'll be 75 of the 92 teams, either granting access inside the stadium or donating towards the cause.

That's an incredible tally really. I've worked hard to get those responses but still couldn't have expected to have recieved so many positive ones. It makes the poorer replies stand out like sore thumbs.