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I am will keep this very simple. Today I heard from Bjorn. He and his family are all well and were not involved in the Oslo atrocities. I had not heard from him for 48 hours since Friday. The relief was immense.

“TODAY WE ARE ALL NORWEGIANS!

As I said, the other day, it’s always good to be in touch with any Friends of The Shirt project. Today I got an email from the guys at Bloodrun. By complete coincidence this very week I was in Middlesbrough and was regally hosted at their impressive stadium and of course met Mark and John.

So, they have something very interesting:

“Now this is going to be one of those posts where you’ll keep reading, or you’ll switch off, but please bear with me, it’s all for a good cause!

I know not everyone who reads the blog is a football fan, and even those who are may not have the acquired taste that allows them to support Middlesbrough, however Simon Smith has managed to get his hands on a signed Middlesbrough Football Club football, complete with certificate of authentication (so you can be sure Jon hasn’t been set loose with a football and a Sharpie!) and has very generously agreed to sell it on eBay with all the proceeds being donated to keeping the Bloodbikes on the road.

So place a bid and stand a chance of bagging yourself your very own piece of local footballing history, would look great on the mantelpiece, or if you’re a Newcastle fan, give it to the kids to kick about in the garden with the dog!

In all seriousness though, thank you very much to Simon and MFC for being so generous and helpful to the cause.

Now all that’s left to say is Get Bidding!!”

Click here to view eBay page

BTW, if you win the auction you are “allowed” to donate it to “The Shirt”!

It’s always great to hear from supporters of the Shirt Project and even more exciting when it’s somebody who has actively supported Björn and I. So, I was especially pleased to hear from Glossop North End today. They have been upgrading the ground this summer and I was delighted to see the photos! By absolute coincidence I saw them play this Saturday last summer at Whitley Bay

Congratulations to all the Hillmen for the terrific new facilities at the ground.

If you want to follow the club please check here Look what trophy they currently hold so proudly!

What a difference a day makes, 24 little hours …as the song goes
What a difference a year makes, little hours

So, exactly one year ago today

1) I was allowed out of hospital after my cycle crash …..I can’t say I remember much about that

and

2) Spain won the World Cup against Holland with a great goal by Iniesta

….and to be honest, I can’t remember a single thing! I don’t even remember whether I watched the match live. I do know that my great friend over many years, David Blight and his family were kind enough to host me as I recuperated but did I watch the match? I guess I should ask David. If we did watch it where were we? At your home, in a bar? I have zero memory.

BUT

365 later. All is well, I safely finished my ride after 137 days Manchester United have won the Premiership again, Real Madrid won the Copa Del Rey and Man City and Arsenal flattered to deceive ….once more. Oh and Gillingham threw away promotion when it was easier to go up than stay down! Some things never change.

Also Björn has done another MEGA-ride.

Here’s what the Shirt looks like today. Unbelievable. It takes TWO cranes to lift it.

Please follow Björn as always at www.theshirt2010.net

No wonder he is smiling!

It’s 1 in the morning on Sunday 10th July 2012 and I have just heard that Bjørn has made it. He has reached Mysen at the end of his epic cycle journey from the most northern point in Norway to the most southern point. He started off with snow, freezing temperatures and horrific winds and ended up in Østfold in the sun.

More soon from both of us but I wanted to get this news to you.

Congratulations to the “Bold, Bald, Brave Man Of The North”

Tweet

Yes, I know. I am sorry. I have been quiet. There was really not too much happening and not too much to report on BUT I did not want to add just for the sake of it.

Anyway, here are some updates

1) Björn has nearly finished his epic journey from the northern most point to the southern most point of Norway More details here

2) My great friend Mike CJ from Lanzarote has just been appointed group sales director of Booost Oxygen in the UK and he immediately offered to send a shirt to support Björn and me. Top man and he has a great product. If you want a personal introduction to Mike just ask. I wish him well in his new role as Group Marketing Director. I’m sure he will be a HUGE success.

3) Last and not least, I shall be announcing the next step of the DoingThe92 project to support The Shirt in the next few days. It’s still a bit under wraps but you will be the first to hear of it on this site. So, please pop back regularly.

Keep enjoying the summer and to my friends in Argentina I hope the winter is not too bad.

It’s been some time since I updated and really there has not been too much to say about my part of the project. I have been discussing with Bjorn some ideas and, although I can’t say too much at this moment, I know he has a very exciting possibility for next summer. What I would encourage people to do is to pop on to his English-language site regularly. Here you will find details of his journey, thoughts twelve months on, photos he was not able to share as he travelled and much more. Enjoy!

I am getting regular updates from Andy about his massive challenge – Rome to Ronda on foot. I am happy to help him. He has been a great supporter of The Shirt project and some reciprocal support is the least Bjorn and I can do.

It is interesting to look back at where we were this time last year. On this very day we were in Torrevieja where we rested up for almost two weeks. That was partly intentional but sadly it was also in Torrevieja that the clutch on the back-up van failed for the first time and threw all our plans into chaos. Still the good news is that we visited the Scandinavian Church, The No Smoking Club, The Norwegian School in Rojales as well as the European Search Dog Centre. We had lunch with The Norwegian Consul and watched Torrevieja versus Puyol. It is also the week that the project jumped up a gear with almost 40 shirts being donated by Sacko’s Bar and The Office. Thanks to all who made us so welcome. Our base was with Dave at Rocajuna where Kev Tyler sang his heart out on a charity night and where Dave and his staff fed and watered us! Mike at Coys Cars organised shirts and we saw his son’s team play. Bjorn did some coaching and it must have done the job because they ran out easy winners in Los Montesinos.

It was great to meet up with Andy from Ronda today. He came down to Marbella and we had a very productive three hours catching up with each other’s news. Andy is a friend from Spain who has fallen in love with the Andalucian town of Ronda. He runs a superb website about the town and its surrounding area. I encourage all who are interested in Spain to visit this. Andy was kind enough to host Bjørn and I for the day when we came through Spain last November and in his own words has been “inspired”by Bjørn. Well, many have been inspired by the bold, bald Norwegian but Andy has taken it one stage further. He is going to WALK from Rome to Ronda in 45 days next year. This is an incredible challenge as the journey is no less than 2,600 kms (more than 1500 miles) and Andy will have to cover more than 50 kms per day! I have committed to offer him any support I can and I know that every single visitor to this site will wish him well. Many I know will want to do more so I will be updating on his preparations on a regular basis. His new website will be launched very soon and I will be forwarding the details here. In the meantime he has an excellent Facebook page. Good luck, my friend.

Hugs, kram och klem

Today was a red-letter day. I met Bjørn for the first time since I waved goodbye to him in Barcelona at the end of his successful journey around Spain in what seems a lifetime away but was only eleven months ago. By definition, this was the first time we were together since he finished his amazing trip from Oslo to South Africa. He looks fit and is well-rested after this amazing journey. He gave me a fantastic overview of the challenges in Africa and the media work he has undertaken since he returned. I was delighted that both Bjørn and the United Nations High Commission for Refugees consider the whole project to be a real success.

It was a real pleasure to catch up with him and to hear of his plans for the next stages of the project. Now, some are still under wraps so I will not steal his thunder but suggest that you visit www.theshirt2010.net on a regular basis. I will, of course, be adding details here but the most up-to-date and comprehensive information will be on his site.

It was also the day that www.spain-football.culturespain.com highlighted the journeys Bjørn and I had just finished. Surprisingly there is little quality writing about Spanish football in the English language. Clive Jagger’s site has overnight gone a long way to put that right. He is a professional and FIFA-licenced football agent. He is also the only British born, fully registered football agent within the Spanish Football Federation – having taken the very challenging examinations in Spanish. His site is hosted within my friend Nick Snelling’s excellent www.culturespain.com site. So, if your interests are football or Spain you will be in for a treat. If, like me, you are a Spain aficionado AND and a football fan, you will be in your element. This site is very much a labour of love for Nick and Clive so please do send the link to anybody who you know who is interested in the “Beautiful Game” or indeed “The Beautiful Country.” We would all be grateful for that support. Thanks.