Time flies here in Hong Kong, we train twice a day and we’re starting to get back in shape. In the morning we have a strength session and in the afternoon we train football. We played a good match against Aston Villa even though the result could have been better, but this is pre season, and even if we don’t like to lose it is more important to play togheter and that we have the opportunity to test a number of players. The results will come when the season starts, and then Blackburn Rovers will be in perfect shape.

When we train we have on an orange vest that measures heart rate, speed and movement. It allows the trainers to see how far and how fast we run and to measure the heart rate when we play. This is a useful tool for the coaching staff when they analyze the match and training.

Bano and Ismail

Today, Bano Abobakar Rashid (18) from Nesodden and Ismail Haji Ahmed (19) from Hamar was buried as the first after the horror that occured on Utøya. The horror and terror they must have experienced before the cold and brutal killing and pure evil must have been unbearable. But the mother of the sunshine Bano, Beyan Rashid said it best: “The answer is not hate, but more love.”

We can cry for those who died, or we can smile because they lived. May they rest in peace!

Morten Gamst Pedersen