Thursday & Friday - Our time in Sofia is ending

A nice leisurely stroll to the Lions Bridge with my friend Janne from Finland where we stopped for a coffee at the nearby Papaya coffee house. Janne told be a lot about his country, and it sounds like an ideal destination for future Championships. I know his compatriot Jyri is a big fan of the idea, and is bending a few ears to the idea at this event. 

Later that evening we had a very enjoyable hour or two on Vituska Boulevard with the legend that is John McIntyre. He is one of the best 'travel companions' you could wish for and I for one hope this isnt his last trip away. Having said that if we are successful in hosting he 2012 European Championship in Northern Ireland, he will probably have one of the shortest trips imaginable. We spent the evening having a quiet drink and watch the pedestrians stroll up and down the Boulevard. The strangest thing we saw was an elderly man bedecked in flashing strobe lights from head to foot...John thought he had just witnessed a UFO landing!

Back to the hotel and I was summoned by Janie to her 'office' where she presented me with her t-shirt I had been admiring earlier and another as a gift. I won't be looking at it until I get home, I like surprises. A very nice touch from a lovely lady (even if she did give us a hard time for not attending the exhibition!)

A Special Request for Peter O'Brien

The evening wouldn't have been complete without a bit of 'ribbing' towards the experienced Irish referee Peter O'Brien. During the Mens Semi Final in which he was officiating he had a momentary lack of concentration, respoting the blue when McDonnell was clearing up the colours...his reaction once he realised was classic.....'oh fxxx' he says putting his hand up to his head before removing the blue again. He took it in good grace, an unusual lapse from a great guy. Don't think he appreciated my rendition of Phil Collins number which goes like this... 'When Im felling blue, all I have to do, is stop and think of you'....classic end to the night.

Friday Afternoon
I am writing this from the city centre, having had a quiet stroll this morning. Each day I decide to walk to Lavov Most (Lions Bridge) and get a bottle of water and maybe a slice of pizza. Once there I will decide if I can walk a little further, I continued on to the picturesqe Banski Square, sat down with my Ipod listening to Edel - 21 and watched the city go about its day to day business. As some stage in my excursion I finished up at the imposing NDK or National Palace of Culture (below).

National Palace of Culture, Sofia

Then I went up to Vituska boulevard again (I do love this pedestrianised Area of Sofia with its shops and outside eateries) before taking a detour and sitting down to write this update. Where I am I don't know and I'm not overly concerned. I have just enjoyed a nice chicken meal, washed down with a Latte, sitting in the shade of the Catcus Restuarant and Bar, there are affordable taxis applenty, so long as I remember the name of the hotel we are staying. Speaking of which, our closing ceremony is tonight, our last night in beautiful Sofia.

Sinatra and all that Jazz

Have just watched a good semi-final in the mens event, Vincent Muldoon (Ireland) against Martin McDonnell (England) and saw Vinney get over the winning line 6-4, I am delighted for him. He is here with his mum and I think she is playing every ball for him she looked so nervous. One thing for sure, his opponent Daniel Wells (Wales) will give him another tough game.

Telling JH about my blog and he will be in it ;)

Our World Snooker Champion John Higgins arrived last night. There was a reception for him in the hotel which was well attended by all of the players and referees, together with the assembled press. I spoke with John briefly in the lobby, just to let him know we are pleased he is back and that perhaps another few world championships will come his way. He's a good guy.

Although I had a trip planned to Sinatra's Piano Bar in the city centre, the reception was a good opportunity to mingle and chat with some friends, and get a few photographs.  After a couple of drinks a taxi was ordered and I headed off, with Ger and Nico for company.

 It didn't take long to arrive at our destination, The Sinatra Piano Bar is on the top floor of what can be described as an office block, there is no way you would ever stumble upon this place. It's a nice relaxing spot, a little smaller than I had anticipated but nice all the same. From here we headed into Studentski Grad or 'Student City' for a beer or two. I like quiet evenings ;)

The Masters - Its a knockout

For me my tournament ended with a 3-0 defeat to Allan Norvack from Denmark in the final 32. He played a very strong game and I was 2-0 down before I knew what was happening and despite trying hard in the third just couldn't get over the line. 
It would have been nice to have made a match of it, however when its not your day no amount of sweat and tears is going to get points on the board.

Other matches to note today:
Darren Morgan beat Stephen Merrigan 4-0 for a place in the quarter final. Stephen from Ireland was a semi-finalist in 2008 and I had him tipped to go one step further this year. Alas coming up against a player who made a 142 clearance earlier in the week was always going to be tough. I am continually surprised that the Welsh player continues to compete at this level when his game is undoubtably strong enough to compete in the main event. That is a question only he can answer. Jyri Virtenan from Finland was another one of my tips to progress but he lost out to Kurt Desplenter 4 frames to 3.

Given there was no snooker for me today, I spent the day doing some unplanned sightseeing (as suggested by Janie earlier in the week).
My intention was to walk to Lavov Most (Lions Bridge) for a slice of pizza and a bottle of water, then maybe chill at the pool. This didn't really go to plan and before I knew it I was having a meal and a glass of wine at Victoria Restaurant (Tsar Osvoboditel Blvd) having spent an hour or two viewing the sights nearby like the impressive Alexander Nevsky Memorial Church (right) and the nearby Russian Church of St Nicolas (below).

The Business End - Week One is complete

I love the business end of championship snooker. The atmosphere changes once the group stages have been decided. Some unsuccessful competitors leave, The selected number of referrees get allocated their semi-finals and finals, and the knock-out draws are here. Good work team.

I have been seeded number 13 and drawn against number 20 seed Alan Novack from Denmark for a place in the last sixteen of this years tournament, should be a good match.

We had our AGM yesterday and I was honoured to be the Northern Ireland delegate at a well supported, enthusiastic meeting. It was decided this year to hold the AGM at a time when no group games were being played, a very wise decision. It meant the maximum number of delegates could attend and the meeting was all the better for it. Well done the EBSA board.

Outside dining, well sheltered and excellent food.

A Secluded Restaurant
Following my match John and I headed to our favourite restaurant in the city centre. I highly recommended it. Get a taxi from hotel to the National Theatre. Once there, head down the right hand side of the theatre about 50 yards and you will come across this great little outdoor spot (pictured right). The Pork Fillet with 2 types of onion and saute potatoes is great, some Bulgarian Merlot and garlic bread, cannot be beaten. And it costs next to nothing.


Titanic Centenary Year 2012
While talking with my Finnish friends Janne and Antti later in the evening I found out that this particular tournament represents Finnish Referee Victor's 19th consecutive European Event. Anybody that knows Victor will testfy that snooker is in his heart, and the giant of a man can potentially make it 20 next year. If Northern Ireland are succesful in our bid for the 2012 event, it would be an event to celebrate as it coincides with the centenary year of the Titantic sinking. However something tells me this big Fin wouldn't go down so easily. Well done Victor.

A good day for Northern Ireland

Go Team NI. Before getting to the snooker it's worth point out the power of online blogging. The German snooker player Miro Popovic pulled me to one side today to let me know he has been following 'this' blog and he is enjoying it...WOW! What for me is a way to let my kids know what is happening has reached so many people and I am humbled, even though a lot of the ramblings are pretty random and not really related to snooker. Thanks Miro, your words mean a lot to me. Plus you have invited me to your town which I know very well having spent some time in Bottrop, I want to say be prepared for lots of beer and fun!

Back to snooker and Team NI. We had the first win registered for the snooker  master John McIntyre, well done buddy, long overdue. The EBSA table fitter Jacek Rudowicz from Poland is a fantastic potter, but John used his boundless experience to cause enough problems winning easily 3-1.

The Bulgarian Ivailo Markov was my 5th group opponent and he didn't find his game at all, giving me a few too many chances, thankfully I took these with a couple of small breaks in the first, a 60 in the second, and a comfortable 3rd to secure a 3-0 victory. Snooker over for another day.

A nifty dancer - nice

Following the successful 'Party Bus' night on Saturday enjoyed by the team, rumours were abound that a 'Lady GaGa' look-a-like would be making an appearance at the venue, alas this didn't happen but by no means did it dampen what was an otherwise a fantastic night, Sofia will come again. I hope.

Day 6 - Snooker is for crazy people

That is for sure. It's a mad game, frustrating, difficult one minute, easy the next, and lady luck plays a hand as well. My match with Finland's Jyri Virtanen didn't get off to the best of starts, the match venue was changed and I didn't get the message so had a wasted trip and back to the club venue. Not to worry, I don't think my game was all there and it was always going to be a hard match against a very strong opponent. I lost the match 3-0 despite two close opening frames. I was disappointed not to give Jryi a better match, and I told him in the bar later on I would appreciate the opportunity to play him again, who knows we may meet in the knock out stages at some point. This was my first time meeting Jyri and I like him, a good guy.

When I am not playing this week, we have been talking snooker either in the lobby or at the practice tables. We had a very lively discussion on Wednesday night together with a cool beer.  Peter, Nico, Bernard, Janie and others, about ways to make the game more accessible for players and more. It was an enjoyable way to pass the evening, and I have to say some really good suggestions were put forward by Janie, her knowledge of the game immense.

Jager Mojito - very nice, yes

While it is ALL snooker  for the majority of the time, we are allowed to leave the confines of the Dedeman Princess Hotel on occasion and yesterday we did just that. It was a balmy Saturday in Sofia, why not. John and I found another fantastic little restaurant in the city centre, called the Funky Kitchen which was very enjoyable, although there was no music. From there we had a cocktail or two in the Bar Flight which makes one of the nicest Jager Mojito's I have ever experienced (it was my first one) lol.

Back to the hotel and Oleg has arranged a party bus to take all the players to Student City in Sofia. As it is only 10.30pm we have 1 hour travel around  the city, with some sights and some drinks servered on board. Once we arrived it was clear that this is a place that never, ever sleeps. There are a wide variety of clubs for all music tastes, from traditional Bulgarian music, hip-hop, dance and jazz. We decided on the hip-hop as it was closest to the bus and we were only going to stay for one...like that was going to happen. Our evening finished (I think) at around 05.00am this morning, thankfully my match is not until later tonight. 

What a way to spend a Saturday evening in Sofia, a very memorable experience and one I would do again. Oleg, you are a legend. Thank you my friend.

Day 5 - The heat is on

By the time I arrived for my match at 1pm my friend John McIntyre had already lost to the strong potter from Israel Ygal Pagliari. It leaves things difficult now for John, and he needs to secure a victory quickly. I had a good match against Gilles Grzeskowiak of France. My cue action felt light and effortless and for the first time this week I started to see the balls better. It was just as well because my opponent is a very strong player, as he demonstrated in the first frame which he won easily.

The second frame was a tight affair and could have went either way. In the end it came down to the pink ball and Gilles played a good safety with cue ball in baulk around the green spot and the pink just below the right hand middle, tight on the cushion. I instinctively saw the opportunity for a 'double' into the left corner and deliberatly punched the cue ball with some top and right hand side to make sure the cue ball ended up in a safe position. The pink thundered in not even touching the sides of the pocket, 1-1. This allowed me to get into the match and I won the next two frames comfortably enough. That's now played three with one defeat and two victories.

It was then into the city for dinner and we stumbled upon the famouse Ale House in Sofia, where you litterally do away with the bartender and pour your own beer, at the table. The beer was good, the food disappointing.