Are you ready for the greatest footballing show on earth? You can’t miss seeing the fluttering of the Union Jack everywhere and the red and white livery cropping up all over the place. They flutter on cars and vans, draped from the windows of homes and pubs, and flag bunting bedecks the streets and the supermarkets. Even the new PM, ever the opportunist, announced that the St George's cross is to fly above Downing Street for the duration of the World Cup. I just hoped England gets through….
And should it all go wrong on the day, there is even a prayer for England fans!!!
"Lord, as all around are gripped with World Cup fever, bless us with understanding, strengthen us with patience and grant us the gift of sympathy if needed. Amen."
Bishop of Croydon, the Right Reverend Nick Baines.
We have a spluttering of flags throughout the casa, freebies from the local papers. Babe refused to have it on Azures :-). I need to find a St. George’s tee quick cos I told Babe that I’m going to wear it every time England is on the pitch. Patriotic or what !!!
The beautiful game is not only a sporting contest, it is also a marketing opportunity of the highest order. The clever brands are those which manage to associate themselves with the World Cup, by successfully linking their products to the feel-good factor of the public. Check this out. Mars, the official sponsor of the England team, literally wrap their bars in the cross of St George. I’ll only eat it when our boys don’t get through. 
I also have a wall chart somewhere, just need to blue tack it up on the door. E-mails invitations to join the office sweepstake have already circulated but I didn’t join any. And I have yet to taste-test the 15 World Cup flavours crisps. Would be fun :-)
Even Warwick Castle has joined in the fever. They came up with the perfect way to predict the World Cup winner. Ernie the milky eagle owl was charged with picking his favourite soccer team from the 32 World Cup flags laid out in the Birds of Prey arena in the castle grounds. He swooped down from The Mound and flew over the flags and guess which he picked ….tada ole Enger-land as the country set to hoist the trophy on July 11. Yaay.. Guess you know by now where my money is but I won’t hold it against Ernie if it turned out he’s picked a turkey, honest.
Last night, I started the season by watching the extraordinary musical celebration in Soweto ahead of the kick-off. Waka waka was the official 2010 World Cup song sung by Shakira. It was quite extraordinary seeing Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Tutu in the green and yellow colours of the nation, and clutching his 'Bafana Bafana' South African team scarf. He welcomed all the football fans from around the world. "Africa is the cradle of humanity so we welcome you all, every single one of you. We are all Africans," vowed the 50k strong audience.
Today , we watched the opening ceremony of the 19th staging of the showpiece event in Johannesburg's from the widescreen in the Roots restaurant. My colleagues and I took our American intern for a taste of British best known cuisine, fish and chips with mushy peas. Yummy. We’d a wonderful time catching up, eating good food, fantabulous company and discussing football. CC wants a ABE (Anyone But England) tee. Grr… We informed JT not to go to any pubs tomorrow especially at 7pm cos England will be playing against the Yankees. She might be lynched if she supports the wrong team, just joking JT (not).
Then a long, slow dawdle back to the office to earn our keeps. I’m putting my earphone to ‘listen’ to the opening match between the host country and Mexico. Hopefully, I’ll know the results before I leave the office. As usual, I like to start the weekend early by winding down with the natives in Brandon Marsh.
Tonight, I’m planning to have grilled sausages in bbq sauce with peppers and mushroom for dinner. Then settle down for the next match between Uruguay and France. Tomorrow, I’m hoping to have everything done before the most important opening game of all, England vs the USA. C’mmon boys, don’t let me down. Good luck !!!
I’m also chuffed to bits when I found out that the Olympics footballers will be sent to Coventry. Ricoh Arena was chosen as the Midlands' venue to host football matches at the 2012 Olympic Games. It pipped Birmingham's St Andrews, Leicester City's Walkers Stadium and Derby County's Pride Park to host Olympic football matches. Yess… The stadium will staged between five and 10 qualifying matches in the men’s and women’s competitions.
The Sky Blues' ground will be renamed City of Coventry Stadium for the duration of the Games due to an IOC ruling which states all Olympic venues must be free of advertising and branding during the showpiece event. It’s a dream come true for me. I’m seriously thinking of volunteering for something…wish me luck. Still a loong waay away.
On Monday, I attended a half-day Performance Management Workshop at Henley College. We’d a wonderful time updating our ‘people skills’. The facilitator was very enthusiastic and knowledgeable and kept us in stitches throughout the course. There was a lot of role plays and performance appraisals scenarios which was quite an eye-opener. I made new professional contacts and promised to stay in touch.
We’d lunch at the famous Henley restaurant. The food were prepared, cooked, presented, served and staffed by students working towards qualifications in Hospitality and Catering. The food was truly delish and the prices shockingly cheap. I had the baked salmon with a herb and mustard crust served with buttered green cabbage, Dauphinoise potatoes and roast vegetables. All for £2.80, huh… What a treat. Do give it a try when you’re in town.
The next day, my hay-fever took over, again. My head felt like there’s a wood-pecker drilling in it. I called office to say that I’m not coming in and spent the whole day sleeping on Babe’s recliner. I was soo pleased when it rained and rained. At least, the rain will wash away whatever’s in the air. I read in the local paper that the torrential rain had brought chaos to parts of Coventry and Warwickshire. More than 8mm fell on the region in an hour, flooding roads and damaging properties. I’m glad I’m at home.
Just found out there’s a Malaysian representative at the World Cup. He’s Subkhiddin Mohd Salleh as the 4th official for the opening match between Mexico and South Africa.
Also condolences to Nelson Mandela, on the death of his great-granddaughter. Before officially opening the competition, South African President Jacob Zuma said: "The nation shares your loss and mourns with you, especially on the day on which our dreams and hopes come alive." Mandela's lobbying was seen as the crucial factor when the world football federation awarded South Africa the right to host the tournament. It was his dream to unite a nation through sport that has been brought to life again today. And what a day it was.
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