Lifelong memories were achieved for me on Sunday 24th May and Monday 25th May 2015.
During this 24 hour period Chelsea FC got their hands on the 2015 Barclays Premier League Trophy at Stamford Bridge and then held the Victory Parade along the streets of SW6 the following lunchtime, and I was there.
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This blog is the first of 2 that will attempt to convey some of the emotions that were on display on those days, from the tears of sadness at Didier’s chairlift off the pitch, to the tears and smiles of joy at John Terry lifting high that trophy, to the cacophony of airhorns and sheer ecstasy of witnessing the players go past on the victory buses.
Oh, and the celery …………
Just a couple of quick words before my photos take over!
I’m not going to do a match report on the game itself, that has already been done here, this is purely a pictorial timeline of how the events of the day unfolded.
I was fortunate enough to win my tickets for the game thanks to Gazprom, one of Chelsea FC’s partners through a Twitter competition they ran, so a huge thank you to them, go and follow them, they run lots of Chelsea FC competitions there!
I had planned to go down to London for the parade only so you can imagine my excitement when I got a notification saying I’d actually won the tickets! A quick change of travel plans, a last minute booking for a hotel for the Sunday night and after giving the 2nd ticket to a lovely fellow blues fan, Alli all was sorted.
On the day of the match after a 4am alarm call it was time to get to London. The travel plans went smoothly and by 11am I had the tickets in my hands from the box office. After a quick dash to the hotel and a freshen up it was time to meet up with some more of the #CFCFamily from Twitter at the local refreshment house, Brogans.
Then it was time to head through the throngs of royal blue clad Chelsea FC fans, past the assorted stalls selling Champions 2015 merchandise, and on past the Chelsea FC brass band and head up into the dizzy heights of the East Upper Stand to take our seats and get the party started!
Nearly an hour before kick off and the ground was already half full, a rarity these days and you could sense that everyone knew they were in for a good time!
Next: Inside the Stadium