FROM the moment that Middlesbrough were drawn in the Swiss city of Basle earlier this month, it became clear that something strange was going on.

Fans attempting to book hotel rooms for the first leg of the UEFA Cup quarter-final tie were met with a succession of sold-out signs on their computer terminals.

A sign of Middlesbrough's new-found popularity following their European successes this season? Sadly, not quite.

Basle is full to bursting this week, but it has nothing to do with football. Instead, Switzerland's second biggest city is playing host to Basle World, the world's biggest international watch and jewellery fair.

More than 85,000 retailers and wholesalers will descend on the west of Switzerland for the seven-day extravaganza that officially gets under way this morning.

The fair, which was first held in 1917, boasts some 2,200 exhibitors and more than 160,000 square feet of exhibition space, and will dictate what goes on the shelves of the likes of Harrods, Selfridges and Harvey Nichols this winter.

It has already played havoc with Middlesbrough's scheduling as, with every hotel room within a 30-mile radius of Basle having been block-booked weeks ago, the squad are having to stay more than 50 miles away in Zurich.

The travelling press pack has joined them, evoking memories of October's trip to the city for Boro's 1-0 win over Grasshoppers.

Hopefully, that will prove an omen as the Teessiders look to make the last four of the UEFA Cup for the first time in their history. Calling time on Basle's European dream would also be the perfect way to celebrate the watch fair.

A relocation to Zurich has not been the only headache for the press boys this week - how to spell the opposition's team name has also proved problematic.

Five letters should not pose too many problems, but the order of the final two has had journalists desperately scouring their French, German and Italian dictionaries.

Switzerland has four official languages - French, German, Italian and Romansh - and as Basle lies on the border of both France and Germany, the first two vie for supremacy in the city.

The problem is that they do not agree on how to spell it. To the French it is Basle - to the Germans it is Basel.

Historically, the former spelling has held sway although, recently, society has tended to favour the latter. To complicate matters even further, the English knew the city as Basil until the end of the 19th Century.

Not wanting to be faulty, I've gone for Basle, simply because UEFA use that spelling on their official documentation.

Bernie Slaven's fame spreads far and wide on Teesside but, for a brief moment on yesterday's flight to Basle, it looked like the former Boro striker had admirers from right across the globe.

Our multi-national cabin crew were clearly impressed as a succession of Boro fans approached Bernie for some autographs and small talk.

Nudging each other, they seemed to know they were in the presence of a star. Bernie was lapping it up, until a case of mistake identity became apparent.

"Is that really Bernie Els?" asked an air stewardess. "