Latest news with #EvanJohnston
The Irish Sun
24-07-2025
- The Irish Sun
Brits beg American tourists to stop ‘annoying' travel trend that creates ‘unnecessary layer of friction'
BRITS are begging American tourists to stop an annoying travel trend that creates an "unnecessary layer of friction". Londoners have taken to social media in an attempt to Americans visiting the capital to stop this one act. 1 Brits are begging American tourists to stop an annoying travel trend Credit: Getty One Reddit user posted to the r/London group titled: "PSA to Americans visiting this summer: we do not shorten place names here." They added that American tourists were shortening location names when asking for help with directions. The post explained: "Was hanging out around Victoria/Pimlico yesterday having coffee and food with friends and we had three separate occasions of holidaying Americans asking for directions or help. "First was how to get to 'Green' (Green Park), and that they'd come via 'Edgware' (Edgware Road - obviously a totally different part of the city to Edgware itself). Read more News "The next wanted to find their hotel in 'Holland' (Holland Park, obviously not the country region)." They added: "An unnecessary layer of friction and could quite easily end up catastrophic if you're googling the wrong thing, asking for directions, researching somewhere (Gloucester instead of Gloucester Road, Liverpool instead of Liverpool Street, Leicester instead of Leicester Square, etc, etc)." It's not the first time frustrated Londoners have encountered American tourists confusing locations either. Another Reddit user shared their own experiences: "Can confirm from working on the railway that this is a genuine problem. Most read in The Sun "Once sold about £200 worth of tickets to Gloucester when a group wanted Gloucester Road. "Before selling them, I'd asked in every conceivable way I could think of if it was really Gloucester they wanted (It's not a top US tourist destination!)." Popular Italian holiday hotspot bans walking barefoot, booze & picnics with rules-breaking tourists facing hefty fines A third user said: "Growing up in a touristy town outside of London, we'd get a lot of American visitors asking for train tickets to Charing rather than "Charing of course being a town in Kent some 50 odd miles away." It's not just trains that Americans visiting the capital have a problem with either. The Sun reported in April how a tourist planning a gentle sight-seeing trip on the River Thames instead boarded a party boat full of boozy football fans by mistake. American Evan Johnston got on the vessel with 150 The student, 21, thought they were all going to see London's landmarks. The fans had hired a party boat from Tower Millennium Pier to Blackfriars Pier to catch a train to the ground. But the Shrimpers fans welcomed Evan — taking him to his first ever match, buying all his drinks and chanting: 'Evan is a Shrimper, la la la la.'
Scottish Sun
24-07-2025
- Scottish Sun
Brits beg American tourists to stop ‘annoying' travel trend that creates ‘unnecessary layer of friction'
Have you noticed the trend? 'GENUINE PROBLEM' Brits beg American tourists to stop 'annoying' travel trend that creates 'unnecessary layer of friction' Click to share on X/Twitter (Opens in new window) Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window) BRITS are begging American tourists to stop an annoying travel trend that creates an "unnecessary layer of friction". Londoners have taken to social media in an attempt to Americans visiting the capital to stop this one act. Sign up for Scottish Sun newsletter Sign up 1 Brits are begging American tourists to stop an annoying travel trend Credit: Getty One Reddit user posted to the r/London group titled: "PSA to Americans visiting this summer: we do not shorten place names here." They added that American tourists were shortening location names when asking for help with directions. The post explained: "Was hanging out around Victoria/Pimlico yesterday having coffee and food with friends and we had three separate occasions of holidaying Americans asking for directions or help. "First was how to get to 'Green' (Green Park), and that they'd come via 'Edgware' (Edgware Road - obviously a totally different part of the city to Edgware itself). Read more News HOLS HORROR Brit teen left fighting for her life after ear infection on Greek holiday "The next wanted to find their hotel in 'Holland' (Holland Park, obviously not the country region)." They added: "An unnecessary layer of friction and could quite easily end up catastrophic if you're googling the wrong thing, asking for directions, researching somewhere (Gloucester instead of Gloucester Road, Liverpool instead of Liverpool Street, Leicester instead of Leicester Square, etc, etc)." It's not the first time frustrated Londoners have encountered American tourists confusing locations either. Another Reddit user shared their own experiences: "Can confirm from working on the railway that this is a genuine problem. "Once sold about £200 worth of tickets to Gloucester when a group wanted Gloucester Road. "Before selling them, I'd asked in every conceivable way I could think of if it was really Gloucester they wanted (It's not a top US tourist destination!)." Popular Italian holiday hotspot bans walking barefoot, booze & picnics with rules-breaking tourists facing hefty fines A third user said: "Growing up in a touristy town outside of London, we'd get a lot of American visitors asking for train tickets to Charing rather than Charing Cross. "Charing of course being a town in Kent some 50 odd miles away." It's not just trains that Americans visiting the capital have a problem with either. The Sun reported in April how a tourist planning a gentle sight-seeing trip on the River Thames instead boarded a party boat full of boozy football fans by mistake. American Evan Johnston got on the vessel with 150 Southend United supporters heading to a match. The student, 21, thought they were all going to see London's landmarks. The fans had hired a party boat from Tower Millennium Pier to Blackfriars Pier to catch a train to the ground. But the Shrimpers fans welcomed Evan — taking him to his first ever match, buying all his drinks and chanting: 'Evan is a Shrimper, la la la la.'
Telegraph
07-04-2025
- Sport
- Telegraph
US student becomes accidental Southend fan after boarding wrong boat
A young American tourist was taken under the collective wing of 150 beer-swilling football fans after he boarded the wrong boat. Evan Johnston, 21, from Arizona, expected an hour-long sightseeing tour on the River Thames, when he embarked on a vessel at Tower Millennium Pier in London on Saturday. But the student had unwittingly joined a boat trip chartered by a group of Southend United supporters before their National League game at Sutton United. 'I slipped on the boat undetected' 'I had originally planned to board the river cruise boat for the hop-on-hop-off tour, which I assume was located on the same dock,' he told the Southend Echo. 'The cruise would last an hour or so and then I planned to spend the rest of the day touring central London. 'I had some suspicions when I was in line to board behind all of the Southend fans, because they seemed to know each other and were making chants I didn't understand. 'But I decided to board anyway because I figured if they checked tickets they would just turn me around… But they didn't check tickets, so I slipped on the boat undetected.' While some people might view a boat filled with football fans as a nightmare scenario, Mr Johnston, who is in London for six weeks as part of his studies, said he 'had a blast'. Andy Ward, one of the Southend supporters on board, told the The Echo: 'Someone on the boat told me a young lad was on the wrong boat and I just wanted to make sure he was OK. 'When I found him he was drinking and dancing with other Southend fans and even though you could see he was nervous everyone was just trying to make him feel welcome. 'He said someone gave him a match ticket but was unsure whether to go. I said to him, 'come with us'.' After the boat docked at Blackfriars Pier, Mr Johnston joined the supporters on a train to Sutton for the match at VBS Community Stadium, which ended in a one-all draw. 'I'm a Southend fan till I die now' 'I had a blast on the boat and at the Southend game,' said Mr Johnston, who is from Tempe, near Phoenix. 'I had so much fun I plan to go to another Southend game next weekend and hopefully they can pull out the win. I'm a Southend fan till I die now. I never followed much football so this is the first team I actually cared about and I'm rooting for them now.' Southend United have invited Mr Johnston to their next game, against Solihull Moors on Saturday, and will give him a tour of the stadium and the chance to meet some of the players.
The Guardian
07-04-2025
- Entertainment
- The Guardian
The accidental Shrimper: American student becomes Southend fan after boarding wrong boat
Accidentally boarding a boat packed with beer-swilling football fans would be some people's idea of hell. But Evan Johnston, a 21-year-old student from Arizona, said he 'had a blast' after inadvertently joining a boat trip chartered by 150 Southend United supporters before their National League game at Sutton United on Saturday. According to the Southend Echo, Johnston boarded at Tower Millennium Pier in London believing he was getting on a tourist boat, but he was soon taken under the collective wing of a group of Southend fans. 'I had originally planned to board the river cruise boat for the Hop-On-Hop-Off tour, which I assume was located on the same dock,' Johnson told the Echo. 'The cruise would last an hour or so and then I planned to spend the rest of the day touring central London. 'I had some suspicions when I was in line to board behind all of the Southend fans, because they seemed to know each other and were making chants I didn't understand. But I decided to board anyways because I figured if they checked tickets they would just turn me around … But they didn't check tickets, so I slipped on the boat undetected.' Andy Ward, one of the Southend supporters on board, told the Echo: 'Someone on the boat told me a young lad was on the wrong boat and I just wanted to make sure he was OK. When I found him he was drinking and dancing with other Southend fans and even though you could see he was nervous everyone was just trying to make him feel welcome … He said someone gave him a match ticket but was unsure whether to go. I said to him come with us.' The boat docked at Blackfriars Pier and the fans, their number swelled by one, caught a train to Sutton, where Johnston had an authentic taste of a football supporter's life. Ben Goodliffe put Southend ahead on 24 minutes at VBS Community Stadium only for Ashley Nadesan to strike in the fourth minute of stoppage time to rescue a point for the hosts. 'I had a blast on the boat and at the Southend game,' said Johnston, who hails from Tempe, near Phoenix, and is in London for six weeks as part of his studies. 'I had so much fun I plan to go to another Southend game next weekend and hopefully they can pull out the win. I'm a Southend fan till I die now. I never followed much football so this is the first team I actually cared about and I'm rooting for them now.' Sign up to Football Daily Kick off your evenings with the Guardian's take on the world of football after newsletter promotion A Southend spokesperson told the Guardian: 'We're really looking forward to welcoming Evan to Roots Hall this weekend for our game against Solihull Moors on Saturday. We'll be giving him a behind-the-scenes tour of the stadium and the chance to meet some of the players. 'After hearing he was one of the 1,459 fans who ended up in the away end at Sutton – by complete accident – we're excited to show him what a home game with the Shrimpers is all about.'
