A letter from Paolo Abba: "At Meadow Lane I feel at home"

imitalianmagpies

aprile 17, 2013

Paolo’ story of the Italian Magpies day at the Meadow Lane:

The morning starts with a train journey that, due to changes and delays, takes longer than it should, adding tiredness on my sleepy eyes as coming from a night shift. I can barely keep my eyes open. Few minutes before entering Nottingham station my mobile rings. It’s Andy calling me to arrange the meeting place and all the tiredness disappear in an instant! At the pub we met with the other Italian Magpies (and other Notts fans) and the first one I instantly recognise (I never met any of them before but only kept contacts on Facebook) is Giorgio, that standing tall outside the pub reminds me of a kind of a “gate keeper” ..YOU SHALL ENTER ONLY IF YOU’RE TRULY WORTHY OF THE BLACK AND WHITE COLOURS, STRANGER!..
immediately I met all the IM and click with all of them, for different reasons but the main link is the love for Notts that binds us all into one. It seems corny, I know, but that’s so very true. Walking to Meadow Lane was another chance for me and my son to share few words with other fans and I so regret I did not have more time to spend in

Nottingham and indeed with this great bunch of people but unfortunately I had to catch an early train straight after the match..but that’s the end of the story..as going back to what I was writing earlier, after walking to Meadow Lane we met the wonderful Aileen Trew who was so extremely kind, especially with my son, giving gifts for all my three children and saying how much she appreciated the video that was done for her birthday. It was so touching to see such an important person at Notts to be so down to earth and so kind. Then we went through the stadium’s gates and I was expecting just to go to our seats but..they planned for us to go through the tunnel that leads the player onto the field! And inside we were! Our names read out by the speaker..

Notts fans clapping..players just next to us..unbelieavable. That day and that evening I struggled to fall asleep because, even if I was dead tired, I was still buzzing from the wonderful, magical, FANTASTIC experience. I have been in the uk for 13 years but only in Nottingham, only at Meadow Lane, only April 13th 2013, I finally felt at home. Many clubs call themselves “family club” but Notts Couty really is family and feels like family.

COME ON YOU PIES! Now and Forever!