Plans and preparations for the Dad Lad Tour (Switzerland Edition) are at a bit of an impasse at present. Not quite a standstill. More a hiatus, perhaps. Let’s say they have taken a sabbatical.

Fret not, dear reader(s)! Our trip is still on. Switzerland is the destination for Son-In-Law-No1 and GrumpPa come July. It’s simply that there is not a lot of planning currently to undertake. 

Yes….we still have the tricky issue of our “FFF Rätsel” (See Blog #09 “Let’s Go Listen To The Night Train”) to work though. Our most recent thought is to simply journey back to Geneva on that final night – FFF issues not withstanding – avoiding a Bern overnight stay, and bed down in the Zürich hotel for a second night. Then, a few hours later, we’ll make the short(er) trip to the airport. That’s our current thinking and, I am sure, given the scarcity of other options available at the moment, will be what we end up doing.

So, what have we been doing in connection with the trip?

Let me enlighten you.

The second game we have tickets for is on the Thursday night, July 10^th, at State de Genève – in Geneva, obviously – between Finland and hosts Switzerland. It is the final group match for these two nations and, hopefully, will be a tense and exhilarating affair if either, or both, have to win to progress further in the tournament. These two, alongside Norway and Iceland, make up Group A.

 We are looking forward to seeing the Swiss team and being part of what we believe promises to be an exciting occasion for their players, fans and the wider country. Because of this, we have decide to go “native” for the night. Liam has ordered two Switzerland football shirts. His in a medium, mine in a XXL – football shirts are generally on the smaller side and it’s best to go up a size to accommodate anything you may wear under it. Hence my XXL order. (That’s what I kid myself anyway.)

What else?

Do you, like me, enjoy watching out for your club’s name displayed on flags at England games? It’s nice to know your club is represented at internationals; that your fellow club fan has schlepped across land and sea following the national side. With that in mind, I am considering taking a flag to display at the matches – stadium officials allowing, that is. Wife-No1, Daughter-No1 and GrandDaughter-No1, will then know where Liam and I are in each of the three stadiums we visit.

After consulting the oracle that is Google, I have discovered you can get a 5 feet by 3 feet flag printed for a little as £19.00 (plus P&P) online. That seems like a bargain to me. Consequently, I used my professional skills to put together a design for my very own flag. I quite liked it – although, there isn’t really much design wiggle room when using a Saint George cross as the background. Then I did another version that I liked better. And then a third one.

Now I cannot decide which one to send to print. I think I am veering towards the final design I created. As it is only the start of February, I have plenty of time so will give it a few more days consideration. Maybe another design will be made in the interim? Further confusing matters.

Whatever design I choose, Liam and I will proudly raise our flag.

Anything more on the planning front?

I ordered a hoody (hoodie?) from the FA (Football Association) website. It was in the sale and was I thought, at £28.00, a more than reasonable price. I’ve never had an official (or unofficial for that matter) FA hoodie (hoody??). I have designed (guess what my background/trade is) a logo for our trip/blog/socials and will be getting this printed onto my new hoody (hoodie???). I have approached a local company to print it and popped down to see them on Monday with my design on a flash drive. They are printing it DTF (direct to film – for anyone interested) onto a substrate (the film bit of that DTF terminology) and they will call me when it is ready. Then I will pop back to check I am happy with its positioning before it gets heat pressed permanently onto my hoodie (hoody????).

Once done, I think I will look rather smart. Either that, or like a total numpty.

Liam is waiting to see how my hoody (hoodie?????) looks once printed before deciding if he will have his done the same. I would like him to have the same design as me. Then we can both look smart together.

Or like a couple of numpties.

Safety in numbers either way.