Now THAT was a weekend to remember! (Part 2)

So, where were we?

Oh yeah....

Sunday:

Well, Sunday got off to a fairly quiet (and late-ish) start, with yet another meander around Coventry. I swear every time me and Russ went for a walk, we found another fucking shopping mall... anyways, we made our way to the Wetherspoons again, for a gentle start to the day (big assed glass of coke), where we bumped into Matt and Becky once more. After a very pleasent little chat (about the usual hockey-politik), we were joined by Caz, Ang, and Nathan. Whilst everyone else had brekkie, with the intent of going to watch the U18s game, me and Russ nursed our drinks until the lunch menu started.

At this point, everyone else left for the rink, and me and Russ tucked into possibly the worst excuse I have ever had for a chicken dinner. Seriously, it was awful, like some weird creature had vomited up a chicken, and then it was dried off until not an ounce of moisture was left. Even the IceDomes burgers would have been more appetizing.

Anyways, we eventually made our way down to the rink, and saw, ooooh, about 30 seconds of the U18s game, before we heeded the call of the beer, and set up shop in Crosbys for a nice relaxed afternoon....

Oh, who the fuck am I kidding? We went into Crosbys and proceeded to drink. Rather a lot. Some of the Phoenix players were there, enjoying the hospitality of the bar. Chief amongst them were Lacho (who was quite amazingly drunk, and very proud of his hideous new hoodie), Ryan Johnston (pissed and in a cheeky mood, and Fone (who was being quite quiet... most unlike a netminder).

To save a few blushes, I shall now give a precis of some of the afternoons events:

Lacho got more pissed.
Ryan got more pisssed.
I got dragged into the middle of a players photo (by Ryan)
Quite a few of us had a bash at the 'punchbag machine' (The winner was Tony Jones).
Mikey hurt himself on the punchbag (to the hilarity of everyone else).
Ryan did 'The Fish'.
I broke up what was almost a bar fight (I know, I know, I'm usually the cause of the fights).

And no-one watched any hockey. At all. Although poor old Lacho (who was claiming to have been up all night) kept getting sent to chack the score.

I also had a nice little chat with ex-Phoenix play Rhys McWilliams. Nice lad. Seems to be happier than he was at our place, so good for him. Definately lost weight.

After the final finished, the bar seemed to empty pretty fast (which I felt was odd). However, at this point I did actually get to watch some hockey when a group of us went to see the reccy practise/game taking place in the rink. Poor old Wheeler was playing, and we decided to treat him like a star, with cheers and everything. Eventually, Caz and Ang went to Crosbys again, whilst I found myself once more with Matt and Becky.

Once the reccy game was done, we decamped to the Old Windmill (minus Russ, Caz, Ang, and Nathan) for more drinkies. Until the kicked us out at about midnight-ish. Much like the previous night, there were jokes, stories, and a little bit of debate (I fully admit to being questioned over a number of isssues, and trying my hardest not to argue with people, which i think I did quite well for me). As the night wore on, we were joined (for last orders) by Caz and Ang. Which was nice.

Funniest moment of the night came after we left the Old Windmill, when Wheeler managed to walk, boolck first into a wall mounted cigatette bin.And yes, I took a photo.

The 4 remaining nutters (ie me, Becky, Matt, and Wheeler) made it back to Crosbys for one last drink, then folks, after a little chat with the Bracknell fans who were the only other folks left, that Im afraid to say was that....

Monday:

Monday was a nice quiet day. A brief chat in Wetherspoons with Becky and Matt (spot a pattern here?), after the chavviest breakfast ever in McDs. Seriously, there was an entire family in Chav uniform, even down to the blingtastic (or shite as I prefer to call them) sequin adorned baseball caps.

We then meandered our way to the train station where we bumped into more Phoenix Reprobates, then began the long, sad train ride home.

Bring on next season....This was just the warm up. Coventry, you have been warned!

And being serious for a minute, I just want to thank everyone who made the weekend so damn special:

Russ, Caz, Ang, and Nathan (Every home game, you guys make it fun)
Matt, Becky, and Paul (Damn, they were some fun times)
Mags, Brenda, Cath, Linzie, Paul, Carla, Dave, et al.
Pete C, Buzz Bee, Ashley, and far too many others (you guys make it better than the EIHL weekend).
And everyone I've forgot.
And lastly, the players of the 2009-2010 Manchester Phoenix. You exceeded our expectations, and did us proud. We'll hopefully see a lot of you guys in September.