Net in the Prog

Swans and the Internet

The article that appeared in the Mansfield Town programme on Tuesday 21/10/97 is reproduced here.

JACK OUTPOST #KGB007

My first date with the Swans' was back in the mid 70's as a little 6 year old kid sitting on my father's (Peter) shoulders watching the boys in Black and White from the safety of the crowded Enclosure. My mother (Jill) would also stand there cheering but mainly admiring the legs of Alan Curtis. Since then I've been a 100% Jack, even though I've been living in Tenerife, then Spain and finally Russia.

I have found myself living in chilly (to say the least) Siberia running an English/Russian Marketing Company for nearly 2 years. All the info I could get on the Swans' was either ringing home at 5.45 for the results (or 03.45 my time) or ringing my mate Dave Healey (groundsman) for the odd up-date on who scored etc. Fortunately, I accidentally came across the unofficial Swans web site run by Gary, which, apart from giving me all the news that I could ever want or need, also links all of us Jacks from all over the world to have a chat and a laugh with true Swans supporters who, although we can be crazy and controversial, ALWAYS have the Swans' at heart. The football here in Russia has to be admired, even only for the fact that it's like watching 22 Bambies on ice trying to locate the elusive round white thing (yes...white balls even in the snow!!!)

I have been repeatedly asked to teach my friends English as now my Russian is not too bad but I decided to restrict the lessons to 01.00 on a Sunday morning in the (only) Nightclub in the area. Around 80-100 of my staff and friends gather there and have regularly been responsible for drowning out the music by singing out of tune renditions of "Jan Molby's Black and White Army" and "Cardiff City went to Rome to see the Pope".

But the funniest song of all though is when we start singing "If you all hate Cardiff clap your hands" as hands and feet mean the same in Russian, so some of the Ruskies are clapping their feet" while the others are wondering what's going wrong. I keep forgetting to explain the difference and then they wonder why I am laughing so much!!!

Also, their English lessons have been assisted (unknown to him) by Gary Martin, as on his web site are some recordings of "Jack Chants" which I have them practising from time to time, but the Ruskies don't quite sound the same as the North Bank does on a Saturday afternoon.

So, although recent results have not been great for us, at least there are a load of drunk Russians in Siberia cheering on Jan's Black and White army every Saturday, even if it is minus 40 or 50 degrees!!!

C'MON THE SWANS

NICK REES :-)
IRKUSTK, SIBERIA

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