Ever since Norwich City fans were stopped from attending live football at Carrow Road, they’ve been counting the minutes until they could watch their beloved Canaries again.
While the wait continues, one City fan has managed to bring the ground to his living room – by building a replica out of Lego.
Edward Mayne took on the challenge during the first lockdown, but decided he wanted to do it his own way by designing the structure himself rather than following a guide.
“It involved studying lots of photos and videos online,” he said. “That gave me a chance to watch some goals from years gone by and enjoy those as well.
“It took me about a month or so to make, so that helped me to pass a bit of the time.”
Mr Mayne lives in Surrey after moving there for work after attending university in Sheffield, but he grew up in Horning, where his parents still live, and continued to attend home and away matches to support City right up until the coronavirus pandemic hit.
He ordered the materials online “a few bricks at a time”, using a second-hand website to source the exact pieces he needed in order to keep costs down.
The end result is a 650-piece replica of Carrow Road, which he estimates cost him around £80 plus postage to complete and took more than a month.
He said: “A lot of the time was taken up by waiting for the post – I’ve never been more excited for the postman to arrive, which is a bit sad really. But it kept the interest going.”
After completing this challenge, Mr Mayne said he is considering turning his attention to other famous grounds from the UK and possibly beyond, but will have to wait before beginning his next project.
“Once I finished it, while the achievement was great I was left thinking ‘well I’ve done that now’. It was a shame for it all to finish.
“I’d like to do another one – maybe Wembley, or tap into my cricket interest and do The Oval or something, but for the moment I think I’ll have to save a few more pennies before starting another.”
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