Hospitality

I was very excited today.

Firstly, it is always nice waking up with LadyV and starting our day with a brew and a chat, but secondly, today I was taking m’boy off to Old Trafford to watch Manchester United v West Ham in the Women’s Super League.

We arrived in Manchester in good time and as recommended, abandoned our car in The Lowry outlet centre and had a look around. I’ve not been to that part of Manchester for a long while, so was staggered to see the growth of Media City and the stunning apartments down on the waterfront. We had a little wander through the market and then went into The Lowry itself to have a nose and take in the Lowry exhibition. M’boy and I picked out our favourite paintings with him opting for a broad cityscape and me that one of the guy in the bowler hat, lying on top of a wall and smoking.

My boss arrived with his girls at 2.30pm and from there we made our way over to Old Trafford, taking time to explore the megastore, buy a massively overpriced half n half scarf memento for m’boy and then took in the Munich Air Disaster memorial which sits underneath the stadium. The small, eternal flame which burns there in the memory of those who lost their lives was very strangely moving.

In the “Executive Suite” (which really impressed m’boy) we took in a bit of hospitality in the form of some MASSIVE hotdogs and some soft drinks whilst we chatted about the team and projected scoreline - we all agreed that West Ham were not going to do well - before it was finally time to take our seats for the game. I wouldn’t normally do it, but I filmed m’boy as he made that first amazing walk from under the stadium and up the stairwells before emerging out on to the terraces with the greenest of green grass laid out below you. His face was an absolute picture as he soaked it all in.

The first half was pretty slow and uneventful, but the second half was an entirely different story as Man U found their stride and demolished West Ham 4-0. Abandoning his beloved Chelsea for the day, M’boy became an honorary Man Utd fan and cheered and shouted with the rest of crowd as the goals went in and bumping fists with my boss in celebration. 

The second half whizzed by and before long we were back on the road, but both being hungry, we stopped for a late night drive-thru of burgers on our way home.

Fantastic day that was worth the wait and I feel that I have now FINALLY made amends for my no show at his birthday treat late last year!