Friday

Yesterday: We started off with a bit of a lay in, which was well needed. After that we went to Trenthan Gardens again, and we found a hotel that had wireless internet. We did some bits and bobs on the internet and did some school work. Ken then came and picked us up and we went and caught the sun in his back garden. I cannot remember if Brett told you about the big fat rabbit they have, but it is such a funny pet. The rabbit lives in the back of garden in a shed, and really does not do much except eat the salad that we don't eat at dinner. Ken's and Jan's house and garden are really nice, which seems to be a trend around where we are. The gardens are all well manicured with an Old English Style, and every house that I have seen has a Sun room.

Later that night we went and trained with Newcastle Town on a field turf pitch. We both played pretty well and had a good time. The training was good, not as serious as Stoke, but all the guys were still pretty good. It was much better than their game play the other night. There were kids from 17 or 18 to men that must have been 33. We played at the beginning and then did some shooting. Brett put on a pretty good display when we were taking shots.

After training we headed back to Ken's house and they had dinner on the table. Ken's family has been amazing taking care of us, hopefully some day they come to America and Brett and I can repay them somehow. After dinner we headed back to the Thomas' home and went to bed.

We woke up this morning and went to Stoke again. Brett and I finally feel pretty relaxed there, but it is are last day so we will have to start all again and Crewe. I think we know how things work though, so fitting in will be easier. We both started off training with the youth team. After about 45 minutes Brett went over with Thomas Sorenson and played keeper in a small sided game, pretty awesome! I guess he played well today, and his finger is looking less and less like a English sausage. About 40 minutes later I got to go over to defend the first team guys. They were working on set pieces and build up for their big game tomorrow. I had the pleasure of marking James Beatty, and for the 15 to 20 minutes I was playing center back against him he did not score. Plus, my new claim to fame is that I won a header over Beatty, he just doesn't have huge hops like me. I felt pretty proud about that, it was one of the few times I touched the ball in those 20 minutes. I bet you didn't know I was a center back Mike....second day in row that I have played it...haha....it's no fun at all.

Brett and I are now back at Trenthan, Brett is reading for his thesis right now. We are going to go out with Ken's family tonight and eat dinner. We are going to go to the Stoke game tomorrow, and have a tour of the stadium before hand. In short, the trip has been amazing and we are having a really good time.