Now, don't worry, I haven't gone all 'Gok Wan' and purchased some golden footwear - although I do have a fine selection of colourful trainers. No, for those that don't remember, Diggi Loo, Diggi Ley was the winning song from the 1984 Eurovision Song Contest, sang by Swedish brothers 'Herrey's'. Look here they are...
...and to think, some people actually want the 80s back?!
When we last spoke (I know, it's been too long again), I was seeking 'a chitty' for three of my challenges, the first of which I detailed in the last post. I'm pleased to say that nobody cried 'foul' so I'm taking that as acceptance of my sidestep. The point of this particular ramble (amazingly, they do all have a point) is to seek your approval for a similar avoidance of Challenge 4 - Attend the Biathlon World Cup in Antholz (Ellen).
For the uninitated, biathlon is simply the greatest sport ever invented! It has few links to triathlon and absolutely nothing to do with Michael Barrymore. It is, instead, a combination of cross-country skiing and shooting. Essentially, you ski your nuts off (cross-country skiing is regarded as the most complete physical work out of any sport) and then, when you're body is shaking with fatigue, you have to shoot five targets, the size of a golf ball, from 50 metres. For each shot missed, you ski a penalty loop before heading out to do it all over again. It's a combination of athleticism, skill, mental strength and sheer excitement.
Now I know what you're thinking; 'Biathlon isn't that big in Putney' and you'd be right (although you can rollerski in Richmond Park), 'so how did you get into this, Craig - do tell' The answer is simple - drink. I discovered the sport, by chance, whilst nursing bad hangovers on Saturday mornings for it is a staple event on Eurosport. Within weeks I was hooked and within months Jam & I found ourselves up an Italian Alp in Antholz, Italy, enjoying the World Championships. Whilst we'd expected the spectacle of the sport to be good, there were a number of unexpected joys we discovered during this first trip:
1. Biathlon fans love the British - not something you can say in most sports, but then we tend to be competitive in most. In biathlon we are the perennial plucky losers. Our team, made up of hardy army types, lack the training, experience and equipment of the world's best biathlon nations (Norway, Germany, Russia, France and Sweden). As a result we can normally be found at the back of the field, battling the Serbians and the Lithuanians (miles behind the Estonians, Koreans and Bulgarians) - but, such is the physicality of the sport that our boys and girls still do us proud.
2. The cameraderie - biathlon fans are totally bonkers, but soooo friendly. Of course, everyone is rooting for their national team, but banners bearing phrases such as 'Biathlon Fans love all Biathletes' are common. Standing on a concrete step for three hours at minus six isn't particularly pleasant, so shot glasses are passed round, food shared and huddling is encouraged. Combine this with point one and we are generally treated like celebrities - people actually want to have their photo taken with us simply for being British?!
3.The drink - outside of the actual races, attending a biathlon is like being at the Oktoberfest. The moment the last biathlete has crossed the finish line (normally one of ours), everyone decamps to giant beer tents, where dodgy German bands attempt ambitious covers of classics whilst everyone dances on tables and benches. Meanwhile every waves their national flag like loons. This goes on for several hours before en masse, everyone heads to the nearest town / village for more beer.
It was during our second visit to Antholz where Piggy, Jam and I were fortunate enough to meet biathlon afficianados Ellen, Cathrine, Ingrid and Annika, four wonderful Norwegian friends, who volunteer in Antholz every year and who, we've since found out, are the organising committee of the Norwegian leg of the biathlon tour. Ellen, who's a nurse, expressed concern as to the well-being of Piggy, who was so drunk he could barely stand. At one point he wandered off suddenly. When I finally caught up with him, I asked him why he'd disappeared. 'It was too stuffy in there, I needed to get outside for some air' he replied. It was at that point we realised how much trouble he was in, as we had actually been outside - at minus four - the entire time! The train and bus journey to the stadium the following day, is one we'll never forget :-)
Our Norwegian friends bowled us over with their generosity. As well as being generally lovely, they got us into the 'plush' beer cabin, gave us a lift from the stadium, invited us to dinner, gave us Norwegian biathlon hats, gave me a biathlon annual (and you know how much I love a stat) and even secured us a meeting with the British Eurosport commentators. Here's a shot of us with Mike 'the legend' Dixon, commentator and Britain's best ever biathlete:
However, I don't want you to think that I take these challenges lightly and throw them away at a whim - everyone is considered carefully. Therefore, I decided to kill two birds with one stone and divert my annual biathlon trip to the Swedish round of the World Cup tour. Thus last weekend by big bro and I travelled up to the town of Ostersund (I'm reliably informed it's halfway up Sweden, but as far as I'm concerned it's practically the North Pole). And what a wonderful time we had -we saw some great racing, met some new members of the British Biathlon team (all members of the army -one ski'd for the first time three weeks previously?!) and drank our own bodyweight in beer - oh and the British girl came last! Andrew learnt a valuable lesson that Swedish people at the bar don't queue - when he suggested to a young girl that she had pushed in ahead of him, she responded by giving him a swift elbow to the eye socket resulting in a beautiful black eye. The good news is that my bro is now a biathlon convert and is looking forward to a trip to Antholz in 2013.
Ladies - I missed you, but I haven't yet written off Challenge 3 - Attend the Biathlon World Cup in Oslo (Ingrid), which is scheduled for February, although it, like everything else in my life at the moment, is 'flat dependent'.
Right, off to watch some more biathlon.
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