Israel and Nottingham

The last blog I wrote was when I was en route to Israel.

I flew Virgin Atlantic, of course. I really enjoy Virgin Atlantic’s brand and the friendliness of staff. We have some good conversations and I get a chance to sleep because of their comfortable seats and thus I arrived rested in Tel Aviv.

This was a good thing because as soon as I arrived, I dropped my cases with a friend and went to a meeting in the Knesset for Keep Olim with a sympathetic Member of Knesset. I then went to say hello to my friend, the Spokesman of the Knesset, Shmuel Dahan, who gave me a present, the official calendar of the Knesset, which now sits in a prime location on my desk next to the framed photo of me with President Herzog.

I stayed at the Knesset, introduced myself to new Members of Knesset who don’t know me yet, and said hello to Members of Knesset who already know me.

It felt good when MK Pnina Tamano-Shata said it was a treat to get to see me and the Leader of Opposition, former PM, MK Yair Lapid shook my hand and said that it was good to see me again.

Minister Galit Distel Atbaryan said my life story inspires her and this is what life is all about.

I then went back to my friend, picked up my bags and went to check in at Caesars hotel. Very nice room and sweet service.

I rested a bit and went to my rabbi to say hello and to have a nice bowl of chicken soup. My father then came to pick up stuff I brought for him. It was good seeing him too.

I went to sleep and the following morning, after a great breakfast at the hotel, my brother came to pick up his stuff, so was great seeing him as well. As it was chilly in Jerusalem, I went shopping for a jumper in the shuk and did errands at same time.

I went to GPO (Government Press Office) to pick up my 2023 press card and from there to King David Hotel for lunch with my friends Debbie Goodrich and her husband David Raffell which was a nice plus. I then crossed the road to the ‘Stand with Us’ headquarters for a quick tour of the facilities and to discuss cooperation on Israel’s PR efforts. I dropped by for a quick hello to my friend Esti at YMCA gym and went to University for a practical course.

The teacher was so surprised that I had flown in especially for the course. After the course, I went to eat something and to sleep a bit before my flight back. I took the bus to airport and sailed through security.

Onboard, I got upgraded to Upper class but opted, instead of sleeping, to watch videos while enjoying the usual great service from Virgin staff. I landed and took a train to Nottingham for the semi-final game.

I stayed at the Leonardo Hotel, which is part of the Israeli Fattal chain so it felt good coming from Israel, giving straight back to Israel’s economy by supporting an Israeli company. The staff were super helpful, and because my room not being ready, I stored my bags and after a coffee and walk, got my room. It was very spacious room with a view of the canal and it gave me super awesome vibes.

After a short rest, I went to the pub for pre-game drinks and walked to stadium where I sung until I was hoarse and cheered as United who won the first leg of the semifinal 3-0!

I stood next to communications team for the Manchester United Foundation, so I took their details and we will meet up to see how I can help the Foundation.

Went back to Hotel and went straight back to sleep.

The following morning, went down to breakfast. There was a great choice of food, hot and cold options and extremely tasty. The staff who were milling around were extremely helpful and went over and beyond to help customers.

I packed up and came back to Manchester. Tiredness hit me and I went to sleep.

On Saturday, we ate out at a friend’s and even played a close game of chess which I lost! On Saturday night, I went to Old Trafford to watch United play in the FA cup which we won 3-0. The following day I had stomach issues and I'm now in Newcastle for a meeting.

All in all a good week.

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