The DadLadTour (Now Actually In Switzerland) Day 2 (Part 4) - Genève. Stadium shenanigans. The Match - The hosts Switzerland take on the Finns 10th July 2025 Like I did last night at the England match, I make my way down to the front. Two women, bedecked in a Finland shirts, are securing a banner to the wall. This banner is…

The DadLadTour (Now Actually In Switzerland) Day 2 (Part 3) - Genève. Nea and the lake. The Match - The hosts Switzerland take on the Finns 10th July 2025 We leave the Astoria and aim, in a “mooching around” kind of way, in the general direction of Lake Geneva. I can’t quite put my finger on why, but Genève has a distinctly different look, feel and vibe to Zürich.

The DadLadTour (Now Actually In Switzerland) Day 2 (Part 2) - Zürich to Gèneve. 3 Trains And Teeny-Tiny Shower. The Match - The hosts Switzerland take on the Finns 10th July 2025 OK. Still with us? Good…. We’ve left behind FIFA’s self-congratulatory shrine to itself. As much as I am impressed by the delights Zürich has so far shown to me, she can keep the museum.

The DadLadTour (Now Actually In Switzerland) Day 2 (Part 1) - Zürich - Munches, Museums And Moore The Match - The hosts Switzerland take on the Finns July 10th 2025 It is Day 2 of the DadLadTour and there is a lot to tell you about. We are leaving Zùrich after just one night. Gèneve is our destination for the crunch match between Switzerland and Finland.

The DadLadTour (Now Actually In Switzerland) Day 1 (Part 5) - Zürich (post-match, late night) *** I almost forgot to mention a few other things about yesterday (our Day 1). So, before I move onto Day 2, here goes…*** Day 2 will follow...I promise. Forgotten Thing #01: While watching the Lionesses thrash the Dutch, one of the young women we had been chatting with draws our attention to two men a few rows below us and closer to the aisle.

The DadLadTour (Now Actually In Switzerland) Day 1 (Part 4) - Zürich The Match - The Lionesses take on The Netherlands Oh! What a magnificent performance from our girls! Just when one was badly needed too. I’d been worried about the inclusion of Lauren James when I saw England’s starting eleven for tonight. James is such a bright talent and, at her best, displays deft footwork, delicious flair and deadly finishing that can destroy the opposition.

The DadLadTour (Now Actually In Switzerland) Day 1 (Part 3) - Zürich The Match - The Lionesses take on The Netherlands The queues to get into Stadion Letzigrund are rammed. Thankfully our designated gate is not as busy as those we’ve just passed. We are quickly inside. A wide boulevard (?) sweeps around our end of the stadium - probably its entirety, I don’t check…

The DadLadTour (Now Actually In Switzerland) Day 1 (Part 2) Yes, it is still Day One. It's now around 1430 hours on Wednesday. So strap in because we are nowhere near kick off for the Lionesses match... there’s still a whole lot more to fill you in on. We’re still on the tram into Zürich. A family get on; I think it’s a family along with friends.

Day 1: Part 1 9th July 2025 The alarm I set on my phone goes off. At 0430…Even though half asleep, I slap the screen silencing whatever ghastly tune I set for it to play. Well, the track is on from…

Day 1: Part 1 9th July 2025 The alarm I set on my phone goes off. At 0430…Even though half asleep, I slap the screen silencing whatever ghastly tune I set for it to play. Well, the track is on from my iPhone and is one I like so it’s actually a great one but, at 0430, it’s ghastly. “Why on earth did I set such an early alarm?” I groan.

8th July 2025 0930 hours. As the title of our latest blog piece gently suggests, The DadLadTour will soon be in Switzerland. In little more than 24 hours GrumpPa and #SonInLawNo1 will be breathing fresh Alpine air and marvelling at the beauty of the Swiss landscape. Woohoo!! Months of planning and expectation and all the excitement that has been building for Liam and I will soon materialise.

Hey! It wasn’t supposed to start like this. But, somewhere between July 31st 2022 at a euphoric Wembley and today in Zürich, that particular memo wasn’t passed on to the French women’s team. Or, more likely, it was passed on to them and, by virtue of simply being French, they chose to completely ignore the memo. Either way, France refused to play their part in sticking to the script.

0918 hours, Saturday. July 5th. It’s Day 4 of Euro 2025. The Lionesses enter the tournament at 2000 (BST) today. I am excited and nervous in roughly equal measure; my excitement just about outweighing my apprehension. Our girls face France in their first game in what many have dubbed “The Group of Death” (GoD). There is a “GoD” in most every major competition.

OK, hands up. Who else winced and, shocked, put their hands to their mouths in minute 90+1 of England versus Jamaica yesterday? And, like me, were you mumbling words akin to, “Oh, no! No! Please no…

OK, hands up. Who else winced and, shocked, put their hands to their mouths in minute 90+1 of England versus Jamaica yesterday? And, like me, were you mumbling words akin to, “Oh, no! No! Please not. That was horrible!” I suspect a great many Lionesses fans were worried for England’s Beth Mead as she was clattered heavily - and somewhat needlessly, given this was a friendly fixture entering time-added-on with The Reggae Girlz trailing already 6-0…

1401 hours: And here they are. All twenty-three players now have their numbers. There are no surprises among them; Russo retains her preferred 23 shirt, Bronze stays at 2, Williamson is 6 again and Walsh once more wears the number 4 shirt. Ella Toone, Manchester United’s favourite lass - and the name I wear on the rear of my MUWFC shirt…

21st June 2025 Last night in bed, while waiting for sleep to claim me and with two fans moving warm air around our bedroom - only slightly cooling it from the heat of an unbearably hot day (27 degrees! In Yorkshire!! At 10pm!!!) - I composed the opening lines to this latest blog entry. As these gems of writing were penned only in my head, when I awoke this morning - …

This will be The Final Post of the DadLadTour blog. Fret not, dear reader. It won’t be the final post. As in the last one, no more to follow. But this is The Final Post. Confused? Then read on and all might - probably not, as I’m a tad emotional as I write this - become clear. ***************************************************************************** It is currently just after 6 A.M.

I had two tickets for yesterday’s Women’s FA Cup Final between Chelsea and Manchester United; both seats in the lower tier of the United end, just behind the goal. They were as close as we could get the ones we had last year when United won the trophy for the very first time. I was excited, though thoroughly daunted by the quality of our opposition, at the chance to see my girls triumph again.

“Football isn’t a game, nor a sport, it’s a religion.” Diego Maradonna (c.1986) REM released four singles in 1991. The first of these, “Losing My Religion”, went on to become a huge worldwide hit and is now considered a rock classic. Heck, it was already a classic the moment it got its first play on radio. The evocative video, laden with religious imagery, that accompanied it only helped cement its place in rock history.

As you can no doubt see from the date of this latest blog, we are approaching the tail-end of April. Easter has been and gone, chocolate eggs have been scoffed, the kids are back at school. Bulbs are sprouting from the ground and looking wonderful in all their varied colours. And the month of May is just days away. And, as May readies itself to make an entrance, we enter the final weeks of the 2024-2025 football season.

Did you think I had forgotten about you? Not a chance. As if you could ever slip from my mind! Writing these blogs? Well, I love it. I have not posted anything new to the “sensational, evocative and fun” * DadLadAndThe Lionesses blog simply because I have been so very busy. Just like a bee. Buzz, buzz, buzz. *The New York Times…

Earlier this month, while the weather was lovely and warm and very springlike, I took my time-machine out for a test drive. A pleasant occasion it was too,….. *Startled readers gasp* “MADNESS TAKES ITS TOLL. HAS GRUMPPA HAD A MIND FLIP? ” Okay. Two caveats should be added to that opening line. Caveat Number One: It was not my personal time-machine.

*I have risen from my sick bed - Lazarus-like - to pen these frivolous words. It has been a wee while since my last blog - poorlyness doesn’t help. But, as the advertising blurb says, you’re worth it. Anyway, here's a bit of nonsense until I'm feeling better.* **Actually, this blog post was written before I succumbed to unwellness and my sick bed.

*** There now follows an important announcement from GrumpPa ahead of this blog post.*** In these months before Euro25 kicks-off on July 2nd, some of the DadLadTour blog posts may have had a tenuous connection to either Switzerland or The Lionesses. “Tenuous” may even be stretching the bounds of credulity a tad too far. Earlier mentions of maps, flags and hoodies may have already tested your patience to the limit,