Big Match 2011 aka Bradley James playing football
It's the final May Bank Holiday in England. What does that mean? It's Charity Football Match time!! And sure enough, Mr. Bradley James delivered by appearing at the Big Match 2011 at the Britannia Stadium, home of Stoke City FC in Stoke on Trent. And where is Stoke On Trent? Let's say I left the house at 7 a.m. and didn't get back until 7:30 p.m. It was a bit of a jaunt :).
But, it was indeed a lovely day. Despite heavy clouds, the rain held out and the worst of the weather was a chilly wind. So, with camera in tow, I found my way to the Stadium and settled in for the wait. While waiting for kick-off, we were entertained by various local dance groups and a mini-Glee type ensemble. Let's just say this charity match was quite different from the one Bradley appeared at last year at the Old Trafford. However, as the boy loves his football, he's always a delight to watch on the pitch. An utter delight. And on that note, enough gabbing and onto the pictures with my commentary!
So, the fact that Bradley was one of the first players on the pitch to start warming up surely doesn't indicate that he was eager, does it? And speaking of warming up, stretching is priority number one. My, he's quite bendy isn't he?
More stretching. I'm not complaining. Are you?
And let's add in one more :D
Oh check out the toes, musn't forget those!
And now, all stretched and flexible, time to spend some quality time with the footballs -- and off he goes in search of same, looking very much like the Prince of the Pitch.
And he looks mighty fine from the behind as well. Whether he's wearing chain mail or his football kit, the view is rather admirable indeed. ::nods::
During the warm up session, the host of the event called Bradley over for a bit of a chat. He was asked about Old Trafford last year and his ongoing interest in football. Bradley responded with the politically correct answer about how enthused he was to be in Stoke on Trent supporting a worthy charity --namely the UNHS Paediatric Intensive Care Unit.
There were other celebrities there as well of course -- none of whom I recognized as most of them were from various soap operas.
One of the things that always impresses me about Bradley when he's on the pitch is his attitude towards the other players. He always take time to have a special word with them -- much like I'd envision Arthur with his knights.
So halfway through warm-up, Bradley is striding across the pitch when something catches his attention.
Princely stride this way.
Some fans had been calling out his name and possibly holding something out for him. So, he began the first of many autograph and photograph sessions that day. After tweeting the details of the game and inviting people to attend, he certainly returned their investment in spades this afternoon. He was on utter top form.
Oh! Back to more stretching! But I just love the composition of this shot.
Just ... lovely.
Time to commune with the footballs.
Back to Bradley's relationships on the pitch, here he is having a chat with one of the coaches. He's just so invested in the game and all of the members of the team.
And now, time for Mr. James to walk out of the tunnel with his little friend. Utter love here. And as I understood it, all of the children were either patients or somehow related to the charity itself.
Guh.
Yes Bradley. You are by far the most attractive of the All Stars. Are you happy now?
And now, time, for a group shot before the game begins. Goodness -- that's a lot of interlocking arms!
To give you some perspective on the stadium and seating, here's a shot from my seat in the third row. Most of the activity took place in the far left hand corner of the pitch -- thank the gods for zoom lenses!!!
Speaking of activity, unfortunately, Bradley didn't play in the first half. We didn't see him until the half time break when the players headed inside for a few minutes at which point he appeared in a warmish coat.
And in response to cries from members of the audience for more autographs et al, he reassured them he was returning -- in just a few minutes.
And he was true to his word -- reappearing shortly and signing for yet more people.
During the half time, he was also asked to draw the winners of the raffle. Initially the host promised a kiss from Bradley to the winners, but quickly retracted that.
There was yet more warm up, and this time it looked promising that Bradley would make an appearance on the pitch. The coach for his team (and he was a member of the visiting All Stars) spent quite a bit of time giving him direction. I'm not sure he agreed with it by the look on his face here!
Finally, the second half begins. And Bradley is twitching on the sidelines to get into the game.
And woo hoo -- off he goes.
And wastes no time in getting into the action. As usual, he played in the forward/striker position.
Those warm up stretches did him some good!
:D No comment. And now for some shots of him in action.
Where's that ball? Oh! There it is! (And this is gonna hurt.)
He really is a remarkably good player -- and manages to walk that line of taking it seriously but still having a good time. And are we surprised that his team won? No.
So, time for victory congratulations and hugs are in order.
And more hugs.
And after all that hard work, a sprawl on the pitch is called for while awaiting the awards ceremony.
Speaking of the awards, just as Bradley was first on the pitch, he's first in line to be handed his little trophy. We're proud of you Bradders :D.
After the awards ceremony, Bradley started heading off the pitch but was assailed again by requests for autographs and pictures. He promised to be right back -- he just had to pop inside for a bit. And when he came back, we found a new look for Mr. James.
Hmmmm. Do you expect a coherent comment in respect of this picture. Ummmm, no. I think I'm just going to stare at it for a little while longer ....
And finally, once again, showing that he was there for his fans -- in particular all of the kids who were there for the fun day -- he posed and smiled and signed and really looked like he was enjoying himself, to the extent that when security told him he had to leave, he suggested that if people still wanted his autograph, perhaps they could wait outside the gates and he'd sign there.
Bradley -- you were a trooper today. Cheers to you!!
If anybody wants to make icons from any of these images, please feel free to do so-- all I would ask is for credit for the underlying image. And if you need a non-watermarked image, just drop me a line and I'll send one to you. Thanks!!!
But, it was indeed a lovely day. Despite heavy clouds, the rain held out and the worst of the weather was a chilly wind. So, with camera in tow, I found my way to the Stadium and settled in for the wait. While waiting for kick-off, we were entertained by various local dance groups and a mini-Glee type ensemble. Let's just say this charity match was quite different from the one Bradley appeared at last year at the Old Trafford. However, as the boy loves his football, he's always a delight to watch on the pitch. An utter delight. And on that note, enough gabbing and onto the pictures with my commentary!
So, the fact that Bradley was one of the first players on the pitch to start warming up surely doesn't indicate that he was eager, does it? And speaking of warming up, stretching is priority number one. My, he's quite bendy isn't he?
More stretching. I'm not complaining. Are you?
And let's add in one more :D
Oh check out the toes, musn't forget those!
And now, all stretched and flexible, time to spend some quality time with the footballs -- and off he goes in search of same, looking very much like the Prince of the Pitch.
And he looks mighty fine from the behind as well. Whether he's wearing chain mail or his football kit, the view is rather admirable indeed. ::nods::
During the warm up session, the host of the event called Bradley over for a bit of a chat. He was asked about Old Trafford last year and his ongoing interest in football. Bradley responded with the politically correct answer about how enthused he was to be in Stoke on Trent supporting a worthy charity --namely the UNHS Paediatric Intensive Care Unit.
There were other celebrities there as well of course -- none of whom I recognized as most of them were from various soap operas.
One of the things that always impresses me about Bradley when he's on the pitch is his attitude towards the other players. He always take time to have a special word with them -- much like I'd envision Arthur with his knights.
So halfway through warm-up, Bradley is striding across the pitch when something catches his attention.
Princely stride this way.
Some fans had been calling out his name and possibly holding something out for him. So, he began the first of many autograph and photograph sessions that day. After tweeting the details of the game and inviting people to attend, he certainly returned their investment in spades this afternoon. He was on utter top form.
Oh! Back to more stretching! But I just love the composition of this shot.
Just ... lovely.
Time to commune with the footballs.
Back to Bradley's relationships on the pitch, here he is having a chat with one of the coaches. He's just so invested in the game and all of the members of the team.
And now, time for Mr. James to walk out of the tunnel with his little friend. Utter love here. And as I understood it, all of the children were either patients or somehow related to the charity itself.
Guh.
Yes Bradley. You are by far the most attractive of the All Stars. Are you happy now?
And now, time, for a group shot before the game begins. Goodness -- that's a lot of interlocking arms!
To give you some perspective on the stadium and seating, here's a shot from my seat in the third row. Most of the activity took place in the far left hand corner of the pitch -- thank the gods for zoom lenses!!!
Speaking of activity, unfortunately, Bradley didn't play in the first half. We didn't see him until the half time break when the players headed inside for a few minutes at which point he appeared in a warmish coat.
And in response to cries from members of the audience for more autographs et al, he reassured them he was returning -- in just a few minutes.
And he was true to his word -- reappearing shortly and signing for yet more people.
During the half time, he was also asked to draw the winners of the raffle. Initially the host promised a kiss from Bradley to the winners, but quickly retracted that.
There was yet more warm up, and this time it looked promising that Bradley would make an appearance on the pitch. The coach for his team (and he was a member of the visiting All Stars) spent quite a bit of time giving him direction. I'm not sure he agreed with it by the look on his face here!
Finally, the second half begins. And Bradley is twitching on the sidelines to get into the game.
And woo hoo -- off he goes.
And wastes no time in getting into the action. As usual, he played in the forward/striker position.
Those warm up stretches did him some good!
:D No comment. And now for some shots of him in action.
Where's that ball? Oh! There it is! (And this is gonna hurt.)
He really is a remarkably good player -- and manages to walk that line of taking it seriously but still having a good time. And are we surprised that his team won? No.
So, time for victory congratulations and hugs are in order.
And more hugs.
And after all that hard work, a sprawl on the pitch is called for while awaiting the awards ceremony.
Speaking of the awards, just as Bradley was first on the pitch, he's first in line to be handed his little trophy. We're proud of you Bradders :D.
After the awards ceremony, Bradley started heading off the pitch but was assailed again by requests for autographs and pictures. He promised to be right back -- he just had to pop inside for a bit. And when he came back, we found a new look for Mr. James.
Hmmmm. Do you expect a coherent comment in respect of this picture. Ummmm, no. I think I'm just going to stare at it for a little while longer ....
And finally, once again, showing that he was there for his fans -- in particular all of the kids who were there for the fun day -- he posed and smiled and signed and really looked like he was enjoying himself, to the extent that when security told him he had to leave, he suggested that if people still wanted his autograph, perhaps they could wait outside the gates and he'd sign there.
Bradley -- you were a trooper today. Cheers to you!!
If anybody wants to make icons from any of these images, please feel free to do so-- all I would ask is for credit for the underlying image. And if you need a non-watermarked image, just drop me a line and I'll send one to you. Thanks!!!