Distance from Coventry Building Society Arena to The Stadium of Light - 199 miles (320km). Travel time 3hr 55 mins 

It’s getting close to Christmas and it’s cold. And to make matters worse, we are heading up to Sunderland. Sunderland is in the North East of the UK, and is one of the coldest places in England. And it’s a long drive. But it’s OK. It’s Christmas and Cov are on a roll. 

Talking of rolls, Greggs Christmas Sausage and Cranberry rolls are the order of the day. So with a bag full of goodies and a belly full of Greggs, we head up North. Motorway, crisps, motorway, chocolate, motorway coca cola…I gotta stop eating junk. Oh,a service station stop. A break from eating. We get out, stretch the legs and grab a baguette from Marks and Spencer. Damn. Marks and Spencer (M&S) is a British institution and they do the most amazing food. I can’t help myself. 

Check out the M&S blog. More motorway. Scarpa snoozes. Blogit reflects…. City are unbeaten in 3 games. Can we make it 4? There is history between Sunderland and Coventry. Back in the 70’s, Sunderland were relegated instead of Coventry, and the Sunderland fans haven’t forgotten. There’s not much else to do in Sunderland except live in regret. 

Sunderland is a proper northern industrial town. It is located on the River Wear, and the main employer is the shipping industry. It’s cold. A different cold to anywhere else in the country. The wind bites. The sea air is unrelenting. You gotta be tough to survive in Sunderland. They build ships with their bare hands. Topless. 

As we approach the stadium, a police officer boards the coach. He reminds us that we will be fully searched on our way into the ground. We are not allowed to take coins in. They can be used as projectiles. Thing is, coins don’t kill people. People with coins do. They prized the coins out of my warm, alive hands. It was a reasonable request. As you can see from the picture, the away section at Sunderland is one stop away from heaven. Oxygen and binoculars are required. It’s a steep climb, not helped by a 4 hour consumption of carbs, sugars and fat. We get to the top. Eventually. Blogit rests for a while. He’s dizzy. Until he spots the pies.The blood flows back into the eyes and stomach. A piping hot, northern pie is like a zap from a defibrillator. Clear!! 

Despite the distance from the pitch, the City fans are in fine voice and it seems the players can hear us. The team respond, and with one of our finest displays of the season, City win 3-0. Christmas has come early. We head back down the mountain and re-unite with our coins. They are used for more junk. But this time, it’s happy eating. A great result, a great away day, and City march on. The 4 hour drive home is sweet. The wind blows warmer, and hope fills the coach. Along with a bit of a beef cloud caused by the irresponsible pie-eating. The diet moves closer.