ola amigos y amigas! ŋque tal?

I have been here two weeks and still havenīt found a place to live, but being homeless is somewhat nicer here than it is in England! The weather is gorgeous. It seems at any point in time there is footy on the box and being here in Barcelona the boys in red and blue feature a lot. Espanyol, who? Their version of who wants to be a millionaire is fronted by a guy who has studied Chris Tarrant to the nth degree but seems to be heading for a fail! The contestants also seem bit cleverer... Work is very relaxed, the vending machine sells Estrella and San Mig for the`princely sum of 75 pesetas, which in real terms is giving it away. Iīve resisted the tempatation to get hammered every day. The office is predominately female, which in Barcelona is one very good thing, but iīm a good boy and being careful not to add to my phileas points (getting old eh gav?) Some of the streets here remind you of shanty towns and to be honest not even some of the shabbier parts of Benwell come even close in general decay. Iīve seen some mighty fine players here too, we all know who they are, but Gaizka Mendieta would be a great addition to our team, heīs tough, commited and has a pass as good as anything in the prem. Djahlmina also is a class above and he has skill like no other. The nights are long, the beer is cheap and the weather is good. What are you waiting for?

-- Anonymous, April 09, 2001

Answers

oh, and Robson has asked about DeLa Peņa apparently, heīs leaving Barca in the summer.

-- Anonymous, April 09, 2001

ermmm. September actually.

Anywhere else in Spain you can highly recommend Swift ? Or has Barca been your only destination so far ?

-- Anonymous, April 09, 2001

Swift! Como estas? (:o)

Have I missed something? Is this a change of job, or a temorary assignment? Have you moved there for good?

I`ve always wanted to see Barcelona. Nearest I got was six hours sat in totally gridlocked traffic on what I assume was the ringroad. We were driving down to a villa on the Costa Blanca.....bad timing as we travelled the weekend the Olympics started!

BTW - why don`t you ask NUFC to put you on a retainer, you could do a bit of scouting for them! (:o)

-- Anonymous, April 09, 2001

Iīve moved here for good (thats the idea!) to Ogilvy Interactive as Art Director, which is a bit scary as I canīt speak Spanish, let alone Catalan. But hey, what the hell! Nothing is forever and iīm sure itīll get difficult, but i like a challenge. As for players, Kluivert continues to be a star, Macca is highly thought of and Esnaider can still play - or so the goals they showed yesterday hinted at. I saw a flat in the collblanc area on saturday, literally right next to the camp nou and the area is horrible. i thought it might be a touch romantic but not even jackie collins could dredge something up i donīt think!

-- Anonymous, April 09, 2001

It would be even worse then if you weren`t interested in footie!(:o)

-- Anonymous, April 09, 2001

Just been looking at the Ogilvy International web site...huge organisation!! Offices all over the place. Did you move within the Group, or is this your first appointment with them? Looks like a fascinating place to work.(:o)

-- Anonymous, April 09, 2001

i joined 2 weeks ago, its bloody huge any company that has offices in Cali is going to be a fun place!

-- Anonymous, April 09, 2001

Not collecting Phileas points anymore Swift!! bloody hell you are getting old :))

-- Anonymous, April 09, 2001

it would be too easy, i donīt want to make it hard for you to catch up, :-o

-- Anonymous, April 09, 2001

Haha...does that mean that I retire as the winner? ;)

-- Anonymous, April 09, 2001

i heard you īretiredīmost nights a bit early...

-- Anonymous, April 09, 2001

I do indeed retire early most nights.... ;)

-- Anonymous, April 09, 2001

How many points does Wales get you ? ;-)

-- Anonymous, April 09, 2001

Wales is a bit close to home so not many points I'm afraid...

We were kinda tying with Columbia and Russia I believe... ;))

-- Anonymous, April 09, 2001