Like many others I had applied for a variety of Olympic tickets to a selection of different events, and I was disappointed not to get anything that I had applied for. In the second round of the ballot the options were more limited either because of the availability or price of what was left. I wanted the whole family to see an event and although we could not get tickets for the athletics or cycling, rather than miss out we ended up with quarter finals tickets for the football.
Living in a house of avid Manchester United fans it seemed obvious that we watch the match at Old Trafford and it was going to be special because this was my youngest's first game and it would be at the Theatre of Dreams. As the first round matches were played out I kept my fingers crossed that we would have a decent game to see that all the boys would look forward to.
With kick off at midday and two hours needed for security it was agreed that we would drive up to Manchester the day before and make it a mini break. I was the most excited about this as we were staying right next to the Trafford Centre where I was hoping to find time for a decent amount of retail therapy. These dreams were soon quashed when my other half told me he couldn't take the whole day off work, but he would be able to leave the office by midday. Calculating timings this meant by the time he was home and we left was 2pm, so getting to my shopping started to look unlikely.
When he did arrive back we all piled into the car, making sure there were sufficient changes of clothing for everyone, enough food for the journey to allow us to drive to Europe and back, an Ipod touch, selection of mobile phones (in case anyone should miss a text, BBM or email) and my youngest's teddy bear. We once forgot his Winnie the Pooh and lets just say that it will never happen again!
The journey up the M1 was as expected on a Friday afternoon but passed off pretty well. Even when my other half was giving me directions for the Premier Inn that he says were simple and I say were too last minute so I missed the turnings we still managed to arrive relatively unscathed. We dumped our belongings in our rooms and went in search of food.
There is a food court in the Trafford Centre with a good selection of places to eat, but naturally with 6 different people it is not easy to keep everyone happy, and when we did agree on somewhere there was an hour's wait. Finally we found an Italian where we could sit down immediately but my youngest didn't want this. Overtired and over hungry he was distraught. You would have thought the world was coming to an end because he didn't want to eat pasta. Thankfully it was very child friendly and the waiter looked as though he was used to unreasonable children having tantrums over their garlic bread. Half an hour later when we had persuaded him to eat he was a different child and equilibrium was restored. We left and I tried to slip in the option of a quick browse round the shops for half an hour but this was met with derision so we all went back to the Premier Inn.
The 3 older boys went to their room and we settled youngest and Winnie the Pooh down in ours. About half an hour later as I was sitting quietly reading there was a knock at the door. Being a cynical parent I assumed arguments and fighting but Duvet Boy wasn't well and they were being sensible and calling me in. He is very good if he is ill and doesn't make a fuss. As I went into his bathroom where he was still throwing up he decided that this was a good time to tell me he hadn't been feeling well all day! Doing what I could I tried to make sure he was ok and left with instructions to tell me if there were any more problems. Thankfully all was fine.
The next morning we had breakfast. Duvet Boy felt well enough to eat a little and the boys were very excited with the wide selection. I warned youngest to be careful what he chose as certain foods would make him thirsty and we weren't allowed to take drinks in with us, but naturally this went unheeded and as we arrived at the Stadium and queued for me to have my bag checked and sealed at security he started with "Mum I really need a drink" and "Mum, I am so thirsty". It took us nearly two hours to get through the checks and into our seats, and by the time we were able to by some water the little one was definitely up for an Oscar for his portrayal of the dehydrated child not allowed anything to quench his debilitating thirst.
With everyone in their seats we could at last watch the game. Japan were playing Egypt and Japan were definitely the better side. With a 3-0 win and a sending off it was quite a good match but not quite the same as when you go to see a team you support (although watching GB lose on penalties later wouldn't have been too much fun).
We left at the end happy to have been to an Olympic event and with our tickets as souvenirs. It wasn't the event I would have chosen but the Games won't be back on home soil in my life time or perhaps even theirs (especially as they kept saying we are the only country to have held them 3 times), so at least we can say we were there.
