The British Invasion

I must say, it's an odd feeling to wake up the morning of the Fourth of July to see an army of red coats coming ashore, allbeit very friendly, slightly inebriated red coats. Monday morning the front lines of the "Barmy Army" arrived in the form of thousands of British and Irish Lions rugby fans all clad in their team colors (red and white). About 1,100 arrived by sea, travelling aboard a cruise ship chartered by the team, and thousands more arrived by land in a flotilla of white "camper vans" (RV's).

By nightfall they had invaded the pubs and could be seen climbing the village lamp posts. All should be calm in a few days though, as they make their way north to Auckland for the last of the test matches against the AllBlacks (who are leading the series 2-0). Thanks to the Hawkes Bay Today for the photo at left.