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.

The great Brazilian writer Paulo Coelho penned this in his blog this week.

“Life is like a big bike race where the goal is to fulfill you personal legend.

At the start, we are riding together, sharing the camaraderie and enthusiasm. But as the race progresses, the initial joy gives way to the real challenges: tiredness, monotony and doubts about our own abilities.

We notice that some have withdrawn. They are still running, but only because they cannot stop in the middle of a road. They are numerous, pedaling alongside the support car, talking to each other and performing only their obligations.

Eventually we distance ourselves from them and we are forced to face the loneliness and the surprises of the unknown curves with the bikes. And after a while, we begin to wonder if it’s worth the effort.

Yes, it is worth it. Just don’t quit.”

I would say, “You have NEVER lost, until you have stopped trying” or “Winners never quit and quitters never win”. His is probably better (…and why he is one of the top selling writers in the world!)

Doing The 92

My friends at www.doingthe92.co.uk were kind enough to highlight me this week and I would like to thank them and also bring their site to your attention. As you can see, many people have driven or taken public transport to all the 92 league grounds. I know at least one mad fool who cycled to them all (lol) but they also told me of this incredible man below who has walked to no less than 800 grounds. I’d like to meet him and if anybody has contact details please do let me know. I take my hat off to this man!

Jan Heidenstrøm

Great start to the day: I heard from my friend Jan Heidenstrøm this morning that his new CD is out and doing well. For those who want to know more please visit his site and ….enjoy! Who knows: this year Sivert Høyem and next year perhaps Jan himself! It would be good to get Jan over to Spain and get him some gigs in the Scandinavian clubs and bars on the costas! Let’s see!

The situation in the Western Sahara is becoming more and more tense – I have had reports of journalists with full accreditation being refused flights in and of another death of an innocent. This time a young boy. As always with the refugees, they are the world’s forgotten. If you can publicise their plight in any way, please do so. Details as always courtesy of Martin Dewhurst on Ecademy.

BIG DAY
Finally, it’s the BIG DAY for “The Shirt” project. Each year the Norwegian State TV Corporation has a mass auction with all the money raised going to charity. (Think Red Nose Day in the cold!) This year the Norwegian Refugee Council is the nominated charity which is a huge boost for the NRC and also for the project as Bjørn is heavily involved in the event. The number and quality of the lots is truly amazing and you can bid on anything from deluxe beds to luxury holidays, from the hat the Chancellor wore for his budget speech to memorabilia from celebrities and football clubs. As Norway is such a football crazy country, the bids for football items are expected to do well. As for music, the official song for the 2010 TV Auction is “Prisoner of the Road” which was written and sung by Sivert Høyem.

Prisoner of the Road (3:46 min)

Enjoy!

The official song for the 2010 TV Auction is “Prisoner of the Road” which was written and sung by Sivert Høyem.

Prisoner of the Road (3:46 min)

Enjoy!

All is set for a huge day for Bjørn Heidenstrøm and the project. Where is he? He is with 300kilos weight of shirts donated to the project at Lerkendal Stadium, Trondheim for the auction. The shirt will again be on display at the pitch and if you have donated a shirt, you are making a piece of history because should RBK take just one point they will take the Norwegian title with two games to spare. Bjørn has always been a talisman for the home side and never on his tour of Norway has an away side even got one point!

So, good luck to Bjørn today and all of us involved in the Shirt project trust that a huge amount of money will be raised. Enjoy!

Updates from Martin Dewhurst

Please note: there are comprehensive and regular updates to this tragic story here

Thanks to Martin for updating us:

Exodus
Breaking News

1. URGENT! URGENT! Hundreds of Moroccan military vehicles head to Camp Liberty. Have also cut off all communication-

2. Without doubt, Morocco is losing roles, reason, and its dubious credibility with the international public opinion, maintaining this siege senseless and avoiding the entrance of the camp of food, water and medicines. Camp, consisting remember children, elderly, unarmed women and children.

3. The Intergroup on Western Sahara Solidarity with the European Parliament denounced the situation of the 12,000 Saharawi men, women and children peacefully protesting outside the major cities of the occupied territories of Western Sahara.

These 12,000 Saharawi literally emptying Laayoune, Smara and Bojadour to protest against the untenable political situation and socio-economic genuine inhabitants of these territories.

4. On the other hand, members of the Intergroup on Western Sahara denounced newly established camps are being monitored by the Moroccan army. The MEP’s expressed deep concern about current events and asked the Moroccan government to withdraw its security forces in the area.

The Intergroup stresses once again that the EU should demand that the Kingdom of Morocco to respect international law and all UN resolutions relevant to enable the people of Western Sahara to decide for themselves their own future through the holding of a referendum on their right to self determination.

Apologies for the translations here;

5. About half past eleven, dozens of trucks of the Moroccan army attacked the protest camp, held in Laayoune. The military has thrown stones against the Saharawi at that time trying to access the site, causing injuries and even an accident that has left eight people in a LandRover in the hospital. The occupation forces are using bulldozers to surround the camp by building a barricade of five feet, made of stones, trying to avoid the LandRover access to the camp in the desert.

6. (Comment) Sahara In The Heart outrage at the lack of reaction by the international community.
Powerless to do anything for my brothers Saharawi occupied territories.
Revulsion at the thought that there are beings so ruthless as the Moroccan repressive forces.
And above all, proud of my people who are resisting with patience and heads held high and his dignity intact.
From a variety of sources close to the people involved in the exodus.