Popping out for a drive...

Every Norway Cup offers a challenge. Most years its weather. Either Caribbean climate pops over the harbour or the infamous storms wipe out the competition. 2019 gave us a challenge like no other.

Leaving Northampton at 4am for the 720am flight from Heathrow, my phone was already going off. “Slim the flight has been cancelled what do we do?” I decided we go as normal as we will just get another flight later that day. The closer to Heathrow we got, the more other referees arrived at Heathrow, the graver the situation developed. It wasn’t just our flight… A massive thunderstorm across Europe that day had meant that BA had to cancel around 70 flights that morning and had a massive backlog from the previous day.

Frantic queue holding both on the phone to BA and across Terminal 5 ensued. An idea to try Terminal 3 BA desk 4 hours later was suggested as Terminal 5 was packed with disgruntled passengers. The chap to be fair couldn’t have been any more helpful but the suggestion of the next available flight being in 5 days’ time was not something we were prepared to take. I recall Russell Howes looking at me in defeat but also a bit of optimism and I said to him “are you thinking what I’m thinking…?” Russ had the same crazy idea as me to drive to Oslo.

Once Russ and I were set on the idea and happy to share driving responsibilities in my car, the hardest decision was to choose who was coming with. The Taylor family were going to stay at the airport and work out what they were going to do. Unbeknown at the time, Chris Rowland and the “kids” would join us on Sunday with a new flight. I immediately suggested that Luke Nerac and newbie David Sullivan come with as they had made the effort to come from the Channel Islands already. That left one space left. Tom Hood vs Tom Spencer. I felt like that team captain in the playground with that last place in your team for that lunchtime. As Tom Spencer went to Portugal a few weeks before, he sadly was sacrificed.

We said our goodbyes and made a pact of how it was going to work. Next thing I knew I was driving to Dover (via a pitstop at Sainsburys for fuel for the car and us) and Luke Nerac booked us on a ferry that very afternoon to Calais. We got to Dover in good time and as it was the start of the School Holidays it was very busy at the port. Through passport and we literally got the last square on the ferry and we went to Calais.

By 5pm European time, we were in France and ready to go on what became the funniest, most random and extraordinary experience of our lives. The boys in the back were ready for 20 hours of luggage on legs, my musical taste and the risk of the worlds shittest eye spy ever.

Adrenalin pumping, I drove the first leg until I couldn't drive anymore - snapchatting every country border en route. As we spent all morning on our phones trying to sort out what was what, we were not blessed with phone battery. My phone kept alive to google map the way. This meant any Spotify playlists were impossible and the excitement of Ministry of Sound 90s Electronica on repeat loomed. News of our travels had broken across Norway Cup and messages/calls were flooding in with everyone thinking we were mad. Yes, yes, we were. Skimming through France, Belgium and into Netherlands, we took our first pitstop about 9pm and the first McDonalds of the trip on the Dutch/German border. I would like to play tribute to the Dutch Ronald for serving Sweet Potato fries.

Fuelled with adrenalin and Haribo (other sweets with incredible amounts of E numbers are available) I decided to carry on through Germany on the Autobahns. Hamburg looked stunning in the dark as we found out that random red flashes of lights were speed cameras! He hit Denmark about 1am and this was the first evidence of a border control and we sailed in. With Jamiroquai’s Space Cowboy hitting us for the 17th time and 12 hours of driving, I bailed just inside the Danish border with a pitstop and a fill up at a gas station. I was out for the count. I awoke as Dawn was breaking across Denmark after a 2-3 hour nap as we were approaching Copenhagen and what became the iconic part of the journey – crossing the Oresund Bridge. This bridge is connected by the tunnel underneath Copenhagen Airport to an artificial island and continues into 5 miles of engineering excellence. 67 euros toll later, an experience at customs with a complimentary breathalyser test, we were in Malmo. Russ who had been driving on very little sleep bailed and the enforced changeover in Malmo meant we were on the last leg of our journey.

The E3 motorway from Malmo runs directly into Oslo and was the most spectacular part of the journey. Setting off from Malmo about 7am, the E3 ran coastal with a hint of California in appearance. Luckily the phone had charged enough to get Spotify on for a singalong into Gothenburg. North of Gothenburg and the motorway changed tact into viaducts across the stunning fjords. Being a bit greedy, I drove all the way into Norway and soon hit the familiar sights of Oslo around 2pm. Never before had the sign for Ryen on the ring road been so amazing. We came off the motorway by Abildso.

“Announcing our arrival” with Vindaloo by Fat Les, we finally parked up at KFUMHallen after 2 McDonalds, 3 tanks of fuel, copious amounts of sweets, 1 epic 3 CD Compilation, great company and 1200 miles.

Some will say we’re crazy. We say we did what we needed to do and boy did we do it in style.