Always look on the bright side

Ahead of our departure for Poznan, we caught Poland’s dramatic 1-1 draw with Greece on television in Sopot last night.

The town had been building up for the big one all week, every other car and house flying the red and white colours. By the final whistle, and after a short but torrential thunderstorm had temporarily knocked out transmission in these parts, the fans were looking as bedraggled as the bunting, having been put through the emotional wringer over the course of 90 minutes.

Having done our bit of suffering in solidarity with our hosts, it’s now Ireland’s turn to make their debut at Euro 2012. And we can only hope things go better in the Municipal Stadium for this generation of the Boys in Green than they did for the old boys who made the trip to Poznan 21 years ago.