FRANCE BLOG - day two (From Warrington Guardian)

FRANCE BLOG - day two

5:59pm Friday 23rd July 2010

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IF you ever bump into Warrington Guardian photographer Mike Boden, tell him not to forget his glasses.

Covering Warrington Wolves’ game against Catalans Dragons in Barcelona last year, he misplaced his specs but found them when he smashed them by sitting on them.

This year, he left them on the plane at Perpignan Airport and has had a few traumas since, forgetting where he has put his second pair before eventually putting his hands on them again.

“Lose them and the game’s over for this trip,” he said.

But I’m glad he’s been able to keep an eye on them today – after all, I wouldn’t want him to miss out on that great view of city life from his hotel room window.

There’s more to see in Perpy than that and it all got brighter, too, because Perpignan has at last been bathed in sunshine during our short time here.

Late afternoon today the sky turned blue and the sun shone through after most of the day was a ceiling of clouds, although still warm.

ThBeing overcast did not stop Wolves fans enjoying themselves as they have poured into the city as the day has worn on. I reckon those who flew in to Girona in Spain today and then reached Perpignan by coach have brought the sun with them.

It is very difficult to gauge how many Warrington fans are here.

The city is absolutely thronged with holidaymakers.

The cafes, restaurants and shopping streets are packed from early morning until late at night.

Last night was a real treat, despite passing 20 or more restaurants before finding a table for our evening meal.

Mike Boden was spot on when he said “Imagine Walking Day at night.”

Everyone was dressed in their best, from toddlers in their prams to local senior citizens sat watching the world go by.

There were face painters, clown acts, balloon sellers and bands on every corner – a real carnival atmosphere, family orientated, and not a spot of bother in sight.

Then came an electric storm, the rain pumped down like bullets and the place cleared in minutes.

Tomorrow, all roads lead to Stade Aime Giral for the big game – the rest of the day will be about finding something to do until the real business starts, with the under 20s game at 3.30pm and the Super League clash at 6.30pm (both French time, an hour ahead of England).

A quaint little café close to the ground might be in for a bit of extra custom after today.

They prepared a nice little breakfast this morning as we discussed the special relationship that exists between supporters of Catalans Dragons and Warrington Wolves – emphasised by Cliff Mills, of Bewsey, this morning as he walked down the street with his wife wearing a Catalans Dragons jersey and Warrington Wolves baseball cap.

It was nice to see at the café that the owners are Catalans Dragons fans, despite being in close proximity to the ground that his home to successful rugby union club USAP.

Despite some language barriers, the gesturing made it clear that rugby union is for softies and rugby league is for real men.

I’m not sure I would go that far, but in the interests of furthering the special bond between Perpignan and Warrington we took their picture outside the café and posted it on the Catalans section of this website (see link at the top of the page). By the time we’d finished our jambon sandwich and glass of orange we had uploaded their picture onto the website and gave them all a view.

They were ever so grateful and now have the Warrington Guardian’s website link to follow the Wolves progress and to be able to learn more about our town.

Some new friends were made and we might just pop in for lunch before getting into the ground for the under 20s game tomorrow.

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