The McCluskey Blog

See you in Athens?

Now this is not, strictly speaking, a post about the travel industry. But I felt I just had to mention that my team, Liverpool, have made it to the final of the European Cup - AGAIN! (I'm talking soccer here, US readers). We beat Chelsea last night on penalties after overturning their first-leg lead. Now we play either Manchester United or AC Milan in the final in Athens on 23rd May.

My friend John, who is another Liverpool fan, called me up immediately after the game to suggest we both flew out to Athens to watch the final - we drunkenly speculated that even if we couldn't get tickets to the game itself, we could watch it in a Greek pub and soak up the atmosphere. I had a look on the internet this morning - using my favourite flightsearch website Skyscanner - and it turns out that there are no direct flights from London to Athens. So that sort of scuppered that plan.

I watched the last Liverpool final, where we beat AC Milan in Istanbul, from a hotel room in Sri Lanka at 1:00am. I was taking a press trip at the time, and I managed to convert all my journalist guests into Liverpool fans for the evening. It was an amazing match - we won on penalties after drawing 3-3 - and needless to say the minibar was pretty much empty by the end of the night. Would very much recommend the hotel by the way - The Beach in Negombo.

Please Sponsor Us!

To quote a certain scruffy man with an Irish accent, ‘Give us yer money – now’.

Myself and my esteemed friend, colleague and veteran cyclist Patrick North Coombes will be participating in the London - Paris Bike Ride from 12th - 15th July 2007. We are riding in aid of a medical charity - Médecins du Monde.

The ride comes hot on the heels of the London start of the Tour de France, so we will be following their burning tarmac trails across the channel! We will cover just under 300km in just three days. We start from Tower Bridge at 7am, then spend the day cycling to Newhaven, where we wheel onto the ferry to Dieppe. The next day we cycle through la Belle France, before finishing at the Eiffel Tower on the final day.

Please dig deep and sponsor us online at http://www.justgiving.com/jamesandpatrickridetoparis.

Donating through this site is simple, fast and totally secure. It is also the most efficient way to sponsor us: Médecins du Monde UK will receive your money faster and, if you are a UK taxpayer, an extra 28% in tax will be added to your gift at no cost to you.

Medecins du Monde UK is an international humanitarian aid organisation which provides medical care to vulnerable populations who are in crisis situations or who are excluded from healthcare. This is thanks to medical and non-medical volunteers who give their time and expertise to help to make health a human right. Charity Registration No 1067406.

So please sponsor us now! You don't have to wait for us to complete the ride!

Many thanks for your support.