Playing Away in Bradford

Wigan Warriors are playing away in Bradford on Sunday 14th April at 3pm, unless Sky have changed the date and time after this zine went to press, against Bradford Bulls at the Provident Stadium.  I can remember the good old days when stadiums never had sponsorship deals and didn’t change their names every 5 minutes but I suppose times change and here is where we are.  I can also remember times when the RFL didn’t have to bail out rugby league teams and rent back their own ground to them.  Scrap the franchises, they aren’t working, and bring back promotion and relegation I say.  I’ll save that argument for another issue, we are playing away in Brat-ford here!

Bradford is famous for the birthplace of the composer Delius (no, I have never heard of him also), the author and playwright J.B. Priestley (I’ve had heard of him, I did An Inspector Calls in English at High School), the novelist John Braine (not hear of him either).  He wrote Room at the Top, he obviously wasn’t at Odsal on the 5th May 1954 when a record 102,569 spectators packed in to watch Halifax v Warrington in a Challenge Cup Final replay.

The Bronte Sisters were born in the village of Thornton, a suburb to the west of Bradford.  They moved on to live at Haworth (north west of Bradford) where they wrote Jane Eyre and Wuthering Heights, which sounds like our maud when she goes upstairs for some bedroom olympics with yours truly. ;-)

Odsal, as the Bulls home ground was previously called, isn’t a million miles away from the National Media Museum which is FREE!!!  Here you can explore the exciting world of television and learn how it's made in Experience TV. Get behind the camera - or in front of it, and have a go at being a newsreader or a camera operator in our studio.  Even have a go at being a commentator and see if you can do a better job than Eddie and Stevo.

While you are in Bradford you could eat some of the best curry in the UK, they claim.  Bradford has a well-earned reputation for some of the best Asian restaurants in the country. There are many award winning restaurants to choose from including the Aagrah, Omar Khans. Mumtaz and Aakbars.  I doubt any of these restaurants curry would taste as good as the curry I had once in a pie in Wigan.  I kid you not, a curry pie!

Why not visit City Park?  It’ s Bradford's brilliant new high-tech water feature, the largest of its kind in the UK.  City Park has many moods. It can be a cool, tranquil and misty space, a huge, reflective watery mirror, a bubbling, squirting, and splashing fountain display, a brilliantly lit aqueous interactive laser artwork or a thunderous water spout, shooting over 30 metres into the air.  City Park is a great place to relax, meet friends or family and enjoy a breath of fresh air. Enjoy some alfresco dining in the surrounding cafes and restaurants.  City Park is a lot like our own Mesnes Park, but with water and without a statues shoe to rub, sad times.

Bradford district has many real ale houses serving a wide range of guest ales. Try the Symposium Ale & Wine Bar in Idle or Sir Titus Salt in Bradford city centre, a former swimming pool. Also not to be missed is Fanny's (easy now, I’ll do the jokes) Real Ale & Cider House, a popular pub in the UNESCO World Heritage Site Saltaire or try Bar t'at in Ilkley, a comfortable bar serving an excellent selection of real ale and good food.

Another good pub in Bradford is The Top House, just t’other side of the ground.  It can get pretty packed on match days but it’s very local and quite cheap.

The stadium holds a now unused speedway track and the corners of the pitch curve up in the in goal area.  It holds 27,491 fans and has only one roof, no roof for the away supporters, oh I do love playing away!  Da da da daaaaa da da da daaaaa da da da daaaaa da da da daaaaa ....... cherry and white ....... it’s in our blood .......