Armed with the advance knowledge that Orient’s game against Exeter had been postponed due to international call-ups, the missus and I wasted no time whatsoever in booking ourselves a long weekend in Barcelona. It was the first place we had been to together on holiday, and a city that we have revisited on several occasions in the past to take in FC Barcelona matches at the iconic Camp Nou.

This time as it was of course international break across world football, we (reluctantly in yours truly’s case it has to be said!) resigned ourselves to the fact that we would have to enjoy the city, its food, and culture without the prospect of being able to watch a match. That was until a cursory scan of the Internet revealed that Barca’s city rivals, and the much less supported of the two clubs, RCD Espanyol, had been relegated to the Secunda División at the end of the 2022/23 season.

Unlike in England where international breaks impact the Premier League, Championship and now most of League 1, in Spain the second tier has a full set of fixtures. Which came with the even better news that the Parakeets, as they are affectionately known, would be at home to Tenerife on Saturday evening. Wasting no time whatsoever, I fired up the laptop and booked us in for two seats in the VIP section with the promise of free food and beer to make the experience even more enjoyable. 

After spending Thursday evening and Friday eating too much and visiting some of our favourite sights and familiar haunts, on Saturday morning we thought we might as well stroll down to the main town from our hotel in Poble Nou along the beachfront as the weather was unseasonably warm and sunny, even for the capital of Catalonia.

After walking for about 20 minutes or so we became aware of an English voice shouting behind us, we obviously assumed it was nothing to do with us and just some exuberant tourists enjoying the sunshine. Then a familiar figure came jogging up to us, it turned out to be O’s fan and awayday associate Leo who we had first met up at Salford back at the beginning of the 2021/22 season.

After a quick round of “what the f**k are you doing here?” from both sides, it turned out that he was on a stag weekend and was also going to the match that evening. It seems that our ongoing run of bizarre Orient-based encounters knows no bounds.

Having previously been based at the Olympic Stadium in Montjuïc, Espanyol moved into the 40,000 all-seater Estadio Cornellà-El Prat in 2009. It is a very modern stadium (unlike many/ most we have visited in Spain), and even though it is based on the way out to the airport it is fairly easily reached by Metro and then a short walk. There is something of a fanzone outside, which helped to pass the time until we were allowed into the VIP lounge precisely an hour before kick-off.

The lounge behind our balcony of seats was spacious and well set up, but it is fair to say that the food and drink offerings comprising peanuts, sausage rolls and the world’s smallest cups of beer, along with a very small plate of stew at half-time, proved somewhat underwhelming, especially for the better half who as we know takes matters of hospitality very seriously.

The match itself was entertaining enough, ending in a 1-1 draw, but the small clutch of enthusiastic away fans tucked high up in the corner won us over and we both found ourselves willing their side to win, albeit in a somewhat clandestine fashion.

The following day we could think of nothing better to do than to head up to the Camp Nou even though we knew full well that it was undergoing major renovations. In truth I was more than curious to see how the work was progressing and what it might look like when it was finished.

Other than scaffolding and cranes the outside of the stadium didn’t look very much different from the last time we had been there. While the £1.25 billion project will only increase the capacity by just over 5,500 seats, the key focus of the works is very much on improving the internal facilities and adding (surprise! surprise!) new mega revenue-generating VIP hospitality facilities. There still seems to be a long way to go before it is finished but the plans look hugely impressive.

Onto matters Orient and it is a tough-looking Easter programme that awaits us with a trip to very much in-form Lincoln tomorrow, and then a match against fourth-placed Peterborough on Easter Monday. Speaking ahead of the trip to Sincil Bank gaffer Richie Wellens suggested that “it’s a game that we want to impact the opposition more than the last two or three opponents that Lincoln have had [who] I think have been easy to play against, so hopefully we’ll put more pressure on them and make the game a bit more difficult for them.”

Thinking back to the performance against Stevenage, if we can replicate the grit, determination and character we showed in that match tomorrow afternoon, that combined with some returning players such as Ollie O’Neill and Ethan Galbraith gives us a definite chance.

For their part Peterborough have been pretty consistent through the season in their performances and results and have largely been on the coattails of the top three throughout the campaign. They are undoubtedly a good side, but we know that they like to play football and as we have seen throughout the season, that might just suit us. Here’s hoping for a positive and successful long weekend!

Before signing off for this week just a gentle reminder that for anyone who hasn’t yet had the opportunity to purchase my book “You Don’t Choose Your Football Club It Finds You” and would like to, there are some copies behind the bar in the Supporters Club. At £10 and with all proceeds going to the Justin Edinburgh JE3 Foundation, if you are able to buy it, it really would be hugely appreciated.

Up the O’s!