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Arrival and the Swindon match
Hi everyone, I realised I haven’t put up any posts since I arrived in Birmingham on my trip to Walsall. Even if the result of the day didn’t go our way, I still had a great time. Everyone I met was very welcoming and made sure I had a great time.
I was moved by the reception I received. I know I missed a few of you who’s been in contact with me the longest. I aim to return next season, and we’ll have another chance to meet up.
Watching a live match and visiting Bescot was my main goal with the trip. Secondly was to meet all the fans and get the matchday experience.
The trip also had a personal goal, to find the courage to travel alone and win over the anxiety and fear that have held me back for so many years.
Great guidance during my visit
I would like to say thank you to Tom Heslop and Walsall FC, who made me feel at home and took care of me when I arrived at the stadium and also for giving me a free ticket and a home shirt.
I also would like to thank Oli and Katey who guided me from Birmingham to Bescot and, together with their friends made sure I had a great time before and after the match.
After the match, I met up with Simon at WalsallFanTV. He is a great man and a devoted fan. I would have talked more if I had been more communicative. When watching the videos on his Youtube channel, you don’t see all the hard work he’s doing behind the scenes to get the material to create them. Keep up the good work Simon! Go on, click on the link above and subscribe to his channel.
Photo ops with some of the players
Thanks to Simon and Oli, who are far more social and outgoing than me, I had the chance to get photo ops with some of the players. I would never have had the courage to ask them myself.
For my next trip
The next trip might be an away match, and I will look out for which away ties would be most suitable when the EFL releases the fixtures on June 23.
I’m not sure if I can afford to go to more than one match a season. The total cost of a flight ticket and staying at the hotel in Birmingham exceeds what you have to pay for a season ticket. The downside of flying from Stockholm to Birmingham is the flights are only on Fridays and Mondays.
Next time I might fly to London and train up to Birmingham/Walsall to be able to get back home on a Sunday and save myself from one extra sleep at a hotel.
An away match in the London area would be one to think about too, and that is something I will look for when the fixtures are released in a few weeks. One more possibility is the away match at Stockport, or any of the other teams close to Manchester, by taking a flight to Manchester.
This trip took me way out of my comfort zone. I felt very proud of my achievement when I arrived at my home in Gävle, and I was able to check all the boxes of what I wanted from this trip. I can’t wait to go back again.
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