Home and Away

It's not all football and surfing you know. I have been doing other stuff.

On Saturday (24th) a load of us piled into two cars and drove the twenty or so K's north to a fantastic beach, called Palm Beach.

Palm Beach is Summer Bay, the home of the Australian TV Series Home and Away which used to fill the after-school 5.10 - 5.35 pm slot on ITV, before Neighbours on BBC 1. I was a fan of both.

I have some fond memories of Summer Bay, but perhaps the best was turning on the TV one evening and seeing that this had turned dramatically turned into this, with huge proportions. Her name is Kate Ritchie and she played Sally Fletcher. Whilst looking up those pictures I found out that she was on a sex tape that did the rounds in 2000. She has never commented on the allegations. She is still in Home and Away though. And I haven't seen the tape.

There's been some cracking things happen in Summer Bay over the years. Bobby coming out of husband-murderer Ailsa’s fridge was a bit wierd. She's been hit by a speedboat if memory serves me correctly. Tom and Pippa Fletcher seemed to foster everything that move (including Sophie, who had bad skin but was quite tasty) and Sally, Alf never let us down with his "Flamin' Gala's", Donald 'Flathead' Fisher had a bizarre relationship with Marilyn (who once dated Matt Le Tissier), Lance Smart and Martin Dibble were just thick, Damian had a ridiculous haircut (remember the dreadlocks?) and maths dweeb turned karate kid Steven 'Stevo' Matheson beat loads of bullies up on the way home school. Selina was seeing Stevo when she got kidnapped by Saul. She also saw a guy called Jesse who cheated on her with Chloe. And then there was Angel! Her boyfriend Shane died on a rock.

Life was complicated in Summer Bay.

Anyway, we had a great time there. It was a gorgeous winters day, a very pleasant 18 degrees with very few clouds in the sky, so there was only one thing for it.....our first Aussie BBQ. Whilst Will cooked we threw rugby balls, tennis balls, frisbies and played a spot of football. It was great fun.

Julia and Will.














Will the Chef.














Palm Beach.

Once the food had gone down it was time for a surf. H and I had foolishly decided not to take our wetsuits but it didn't stop us going in the water. It wasn't too bad but after twenty minutes or so it was time to get out. I managed to have a cheeky little bodyboard though.

As the sun began to go down we decided to call it a day and head back to the City as there was parties to go to. It was a great day out with a great bunch of people - they've all been really nice to me and H and have helped us settle in a lot. Nice work Mr Skinner.

So I did manage to kick a football around and have a surf. Ok, ok, the last month has been pretty much about football and surfing.

Book Four

I have now finished Book Four. Andy, your thoughts please.

I finished reading it on the wall over the road, just by the beach. I often like to read there (when I am not hassled by Aussie Randoms), in the sunshine, listening to the waves. I often take a break after a few paragraphs to watch the surfers. Today, I saw a pod of six or seven dolphins surfing in the waves. It was amazing.

The book was excellent. I've seen the film a few times as well so I knew what to expect but it didn't detract from my enjoyment of it.

Before finishing Book Four I noticed the strangest thing. When I was at a houseparty last Saturday I found myself looking at the hosts' bookshelves to see what they have read, or are reading. I even recommended Book Three to someone with unknown enthusiasm.

I have now bought Book Five. I found it in the 'Classics' section. I really am taking this reading thing to a whole new level.

Spain 1 France 3

I had set my alarm for 6am so I could get up and watch the second half.

I woke up at 7.30am.

I forced myself out of bed to see if there were any penalties on the TV, but instead I was treated to some Chinese news.

I went back to bed.

So Spain have underachieved once again. I really thought they would do better in this tournament as they looked lethal in the Group stage and France looked kack.

Brazil 3 Ghana 0

Unlucky Ghana. I thought 3-0 was a flattering result. I like watching the Africans team play and now there aren't any left in the tournament which is a shame. They are much better that the Italians and the Ukranians who play with a supremely boring defensive attitude. Just like Alan Shearer, I love goals, and at least the Africans seem to like trying to get them.

I have also had to sit through Martin Tyler and the rest of the SBS team (who are Aussies) banging on about how it was another classic example of a referring supporting the bigger nation (referring of course to the second Brazilian goal which was offside). I think it's time to move on.....

Anyway, all hail the highest goalscorer in World Cup history.









Haha.

Not him, but him.....

Switzerland 0 Ukraine 0 (0-3 on Penalties)

I chose to miss this game and catch up on some sleep. It's a shame I missed the penalty shoot-out though. Hopefully they'll be more during the tournament as they are exciting to watch.

So the Swiss must be gutted to be knocked out without actually conceding a goal during the tournament.

And it's Italy vs Ukraine in the next round. Boring.

Italy 1 Australia 0

This was the second game of the tournament I watched in the pub (the first being the first Aussie game), and as it went on I often thought about what I would write in this blog.

There isn't much to say except to say I am pretty gutted. Given the way this World Cup is going that was always going to be given as a penalty. If you put yourself on the ground in front of an Italian he will find a sure-fire way to fall over you. For me, Italy don't deserve to get any further in this tournament. They bore me. After going down to 10 men they take off a striker and seem happy to defend a 0-0 scoreline. This time it worked for them. I hope it doesn't again. Anyway, I don't think anyone can deny that Australia were very hard done by. Maybe I'm being bias but I honestly thought they were worthy of the victory.

The atmosphere in the pub was comical. I've seen a lot of football games in a lot of pubs over the years but this was something different. The Aussies were loud. Bloody loud. I have never been in a boozer before where the punters sing the National Anthem. They were out their seats and jumping around like Kangaroos when Schwarzer made his first save. In fact, all the way through the game they made this random "waaaaaaar'ar waaaaaar'ar" chant which I later deciphered as being "Schwaaaaaarzer Schwaaaaaarzer". I don't know why they sung his name so often. Maybe it was because they were so happy that Kalac wasn't in goal. They cheered every free-kick and shot. If only they had scored a goal. It would have been mayhem. They even sung their way through the Qantas advert shown at half-time. Now that was wierd.

On a positive note, the profile of the game has been raised over here, and for a football fan like me that can only be a good thing. It's a real shame that Guus is now leaving the Socceroos to manage Russia. I'd rather he went to England instead of McClaren (and El Tel and Shearer!). Balls to us having to have an English manager. We need to start winning things.

Isn't it wierd that Luke Wilkshire can't get in the Bristol City starting 11, yet Guus plays him against Italy (and Holland pre-World Cup)? He has just rinsed the Player Ratings on the BBC website, registering a whopping 8.29 out of 10.

It's a funny (and bloody annoying) old game.

Portugal 1 Holland 0

I was so tired after the England game that I had to go to bed but I did set my alarm for 6am so I could get up for the second half of this game. It was a new tactic to help me avoid what happened in yesterdays Argentina / Mexico game when I kept falling asleep on the sofa.

So after the alarm went off and a cheeky snooze I made my way to the lounge, put the TV on, sat back and watched the carnage unfold. 16 yellow cards (which equals the World Cup record) and 4 red cards (which is a new World Cup record). Fantastic. Graham Poll would be proud.

For what it's worth I thought Deco should've got a straight red for his first challenge, and there was nothing better then seeing that smug look get wiped off his face when he was sent off for his second offence and he realised he would miss the next game if they went through.....and that can only be a good thing for England.

It's sure to bring back memories of that eventful night in BRB and Brannigan's during Euro 2004. Pile-on anyone?

England 1 Ecuador 0

Ok, it wasn't pretty but we got through and that's the main thing.

Is it me, or do Rio "Jar Jar" Ferdinand and John "Caught In The Headlights" Terry seem to be getting worse and worse with every game? Terry in particular looks a bit overwhelmed with it all. He is brilliant for Chelsea but quite kack for England.

I thought Hargreaves had another good game, and Carrick did well. At least he looks to pass the ball on the deck which makes a nice change from those Hollywood balls we have got used to. And Lennon looked well up for it, even though he was given a few mintues.

Becks vomiting on the pitch was interesting. A great goal though with lots of choice replays of Posh "I Still Pout Whilst Celebrating" Spice and Cheryl "I'm Not A Racist" Tweedy bouncing around.

Kidmania

I live in Manly.

Nicole Kidman got married in Manly this evening. It's Australia's "Wedding of the Year" apparently.

I can see the venue from my flat.

The closest I have ever been a to a celebrity wedding in the past was when Derek Jameson got married in Arundel Cathedral, but he isn't really a celebrity and I wasn't in Arundel at the time.

There's been helicopters outside and everything.

I had thought about going up there and taking some snaps for this blog but opted for a sunset surf instead. It was one of my best yet.

Argentina 2 Mexico 1 (AET)

I kind of watched this game but I kind of didn't. It kicked off at 5am and I'd managed to stay awake until then. I saw the first couple of goals but then spent the rest of the game watching a random few minutes here and there as I drifted off to sleep and woke up again. I was hoping for the first penalty shoot-out of the tournament. The better team won though and what a fantastic goal the winner was. I went to bed at about 7.30am.

Germany 2 Sweden 0

I had every intention of watching this game but H and I had been invited to a house party in Manly. I thought we may make it home before the kick-off but we didn't.

It doesn't matter though because we found out that one of our new friends used to be in Home and Away (and there's a blog on that to follow).

If only Larsson had scored that penalty!

Togo 0 France 2

And this one. Of all the games shown through the night this was the one I had any interest in watching but I still didn't fancy getting up at 7am to watch it.

So with Switzerland winning their match France come second in the group and therefore play Spain in the next round. That means that if Australia beat Italy then they would face either the Ukraine or Switzerland in the Quarter-finals, both of whom are very beatable. So an Australian / Argentinian Semi-final then?

Now we move into the best part of the tournament - the knock-out stages, and the agony of the penalty shoot-out. Does England have a new David Batty or Gareth Southgate in it's ranks (you're thinking about Hargreaves aren't you)? Surely not. It can't happen to us again.

Switzerland 2 South Korea 0

And this one.

Saudi Arabia 0 Spain 1

Missed it.

Ukraine 1 Tunisia 0

I decided to have a night off the football last night so I missed this game. The BBC review said it was a "dismal encounter" so I'm glad I took the chance to catch up on some sleep.

He's Going Home, He's Going Home.....

It looks like.....Poll is going home.

I couldn't agree more.

Japan 1 Brazil 4

Having kept an eye on this scoreline during the Aussie game I knew the result before SBS replayed the game, but I decided to watch the full re-run anyway.

I fell asleep on the sofa and missed the third goal, but saw the others.

Yeah, Brazil look good, and from a football fans point of view it's good to see Ronaldo getting back to form. I just hope he tucks into those doughnuts again before we play them in the semis.

Croatia 2 Australia 2

Graham Poll - Mr Merk now has a contender for his crown!

What a howler he had. Does anyone know what happened at the end of the game? I thought he awarded a penalty, then everyone ran on the pitch and the game was over. Simunic should have already left the pitch after this two yellow cards, then he gets a third and then gets sent off. Madness. What would have happened if he had scored the winner for the Croats? And Poll missed two clear penalties for the Soceroos. Fourth official anyone?

Oh, and Zeljko Kalac is one of the worst goalkeepers I have ever seen. What a shocker for the second goal. I can't believe Schwarzer was dropped in favour of this lanky clown with Croatian heritage. I'm sure he was put between the sticks just because he is about 7 foot tall. I have seen him play in a couple of World Cup warm-up games and he looked crap then.

I thought this was the most entertaining game of the tournament so far. Thanks Mr Poll. I hope we get to see more of you in the tournament but I think FIFA will be sending you straight home, to stand in a corner with a Dunce's hat on.

What a result though for the Socceroos. I thought they fully deserved the win, even if I am a bit bias :-). So now they play Italy in the last 16 and there's no reason why they can't beat them.

During the Aussie games a guy called Simon Hill does the commentary. He is pretty crap. He said this when Josh Kennedy came on with a few minutes to go whilst chasing the game;

"Josh Kennedy, who's looks have been likened to that of Jesus, gets the chance to be Australia's saviour."

Oh please!

Ghana 2 USA 1

Markus Merk – quite possibly the worst referee in the tournament.

I wish someone would throw a lighter at him.

And check out one of the linesmen who works with him, you know, the one with "the eyes". That’s not a good picture of him but if you get to see the replay of Kewell having a go at them, check him out when he arrives to calm the situation. There's something not quite right about him.

So that was a decent game to watch and it looks like Ghana will play Brazil in the last 16, which isn't a bad thing at all.

I think FIFA need to have another look at how they work out their rankings. What a joke!

Czech Republic 0 Italy 2

In a radical change of "World Cup viewing" tactics, I decided to go to bed at 9pm last night, and get up at 11.30pm, in time for half an hours build-up before this game kicked off. Depending on the outcome of this game I could well be staying up all night to watch the Ghana / USA game (which is shown at 2am) before the big crunch game of the night when Australia play Croatia at 5am.

So off I went to bed looking forward to a couple of hours kip before starting my Friday before Thursday had even finished. The alarm set, I read a chapter or so of Book Four (which has suddenly gone very dark!) before going to sleep.

The next thing I know it's 1.15am. I'd slept through my alarm. I don't even remember it going off. For a split second I thought about bailing and going back to sleep for another three hours or so. But no, it's the Czechs vs Italy. With so much at stake I'd be foolish to risk missing the last half an hour. Especially as it also meant I would miss the Ghana game. So I forced myself up in one of those potential heart-attack moments, where your body has been nice and relaxed and then all of a sudden you are on your feet and putting the kettle on.

I made my way to "World Cup Corner", put the TV on and saw the score was currently 1-0. Excellent news, that means the Czechs would have to go all out for the last half an hour. Alas not. What a load of crap. Italy doing what they do best, and defend a 1-0 lead by sticking everyone behind the ball (hardly surprising really but dull to watch). I found out after a while that the Czechs were down to 10 men. And of course they scored on the break.

I hope the Socceroos put the Italians out in the next round.

Isn't it wierd how your body wakes up sometimes because it knows you should be doing something? If I hadn't woken up randomly at 1.15am maybe I would have slept right through until H's alarm goes off at 7am. Then I would've missed the Socceroos game, which would have been gutting.

Come on Ghana!

Ivory Coast 3 Serbia & Montenegro 2

I already knew the result of this game before it was shown on SBS. If I didn't I would have probably gone back to bed. I need more than four hours of sleep a day which is what I seem to be getting at the moment.

I can't remember the name of the commentator but I recognised his voice. I think he used to commentate on crappy League football in the UK. He sounded like Peter Brackley. He pissed me right off.

Mikey questioned the use of the name "Côte d'Ivoire" here. Well this guy used it so much I nearly turned the bloody coverage off. It's not the name that I mind, but rather the way this guy said it. There was just something about it that got under my skin. He could have at least tried to do it in a French accent. But I think he came from the Midlands so it was shite. I have no idea why he couldn't use the name "Ivory Coast". He called them "Ivories" when suggesting that they had been "tinkered with", so why not call them "Ivoires"? He also called them "Ivorians".

It was a cracking game though - five goals, lots of yellow cards, a couple of reds, a couple of penalties and some fantastic sliding tackles not seen since Hope FC drew with Nailsea in the pouring rain in the Bristol Churches League equivalent of "El Classico". How we deserved to beat them on that evening.

Holland 0 Argentina 0

It's a shame that there wasn't much pressure on these two teams before kick-off, with both teams having already qualified from the group. It was never going to have the edge that the pre-World Cup hype was suggesting, especially as both teams also rested key players. "On paper" it was clearly the tie of the Group Stages. The reality was somewhat different. I got up after four hours sleep to watch this. I shouldn't have, but hindsight is a wonderful thing! But there was no way I was going to miss this one.

Both teams looked content to play out the draw and at least England will avoid Argentina until the Final.

Iran 1 Angola 1

There was absolutely zero chance of me getting up for the 2am showing of this one.

Portugal 2 Mexico 1

This game kicked off here at midnight but I decided to give the game a miss. I haven't been getting much sleep during this tournament and yesterday was no different. I'd only grabbed a few hours kip after going to bed at 7am, and I wanted to get up for the 5am game this morning between Holland and Argentina.

I did catch the start of the game though, maybe the first ten minutes or so, but missed the first goal.

Paraguay 2 Trinidad & Tobago 0

SBS are showing this game in a few minutes and I won't be watching it.

Sweden 2 England 2

"Good Morning Oceania. The alarm clocks are doing their jobs for you and now it's time for the players to do their jobs for their country". Thanks Martin.

For the first time this tournament I have stayed up through the night to watch the games. Both of tonights have been rubbish. And this wasn't much fun either. The first half was good fun though (compared to our other games anyway), except for Owen's nasty injury and the painful super slo-mo replays. Joe Cole was the nuts. His goal was amazing.

Than came Sven's half-time chat.

"Joe Cole is our best player. Don' give him the ball anymore."

Bloody hell, the second half was crap. We didn't have any creativity and Sven seemed happy to defend a 1-1 draw after the Swedes equalised. With five in the middle we struggled and all of a sudden we are quite possibly the worst team in the tournament at defending set-pieces.

At least we have topped the group and avoid playing Germany in the next round.

And I'm sure it will all come good in the end.

The sun is coming up now and I am going to bed.

Costa Rica 1 Poland 2

Well that was pretty kack.

No wonder there were so many bookings (10). The referee was from Singapore.

I should have taken the opportunity to get some sleep when I'm could. The England games kicks off in less than an hour and I'm knackered.

The Amazing World Of Peter Crouch

If you haven't already seen the email that's doing the rounds.....

Germany 3 Ecuador 0

Ecuador were rubbish.

Surely England will be going all out for a victory later so as to avoid playing Germany in the last 16.

I missed the first fifteen minutes as I was caught out by the change in kick-off time. I thought it was a 1am kick-off here, not midnight.

The SBS host, Andrew Orsatti, just said that "it's amazing Ecuador had 57% possession. It was 100% useless possession". Absolutely.

I have managed to avoid knowing the final score of the dead rubber between Costa Rica and Poland and now have to decide whether to watch it now, or get a couple of hours kip before the England game. I knew it was 1-1 appraoching half-time with five yellow cards, so I may just assume my postion in "World Cup Corner".

3.14159265358979323846.....

Book Three. Tick!

This reading odyssey of mine is already beginning to show me that I read books like I watch films. By that I mean I watch them and don't really know, or follow, what's going on and then I get confused and ask lots of questions at the end, like "Who is he?", "Why did that happen?", "Why is she doing that?" and "How long have I been asleep for?". Well I have just finished my third book and I am left with some questions, the main one being;

"Was he the Tiger?"

I had been told before reading this book, by others who have commented on it's greatness, that it's very thought-provoking, and as I type this I am still thinking about it. At first I thought he was the Tiger, then he wasn't, and now maybe I think he was. I just don't know. I think I need Mikey's help. Being an English teacher I am sure he appreciates a good read (with the exception of Shakespeare. Bloody hell, he made my life a misery at school. And the author who thought to write "White Fang". Utter garbage. Mrs Palmer - that was the name of the teacher at the time who made us, a bunch of 11 year olds with obviously nothing better to do, read chapters of that for homework. Mr Owen, on the other hand, was class. He taught me at GCSE and let me do my Open Study on Roald Dahl because I wanted an easy read. Things went downfill when I was encouraged to study English Literature at A Level. What a load of Michael Ballacks that was. I'm ranting now, I must get back on track.....).

When people had told me to read this book I never gave it a look. I would just look at them in bewildement and wonder why they had read a book about Maths in the first place. There was no way I was going to. The closest I had come was buying one in the past was when I bought my Mum a Suduko book.

H recently read the book and suggested I give it a go. Will also said the same thing and I remember Kim talking about it. What the hell? I'm on a roll, I thought, so I picked it up and began reading.

For what it's worth I really enjoyed this book. Ok, the first third of the book was hard going and full of lots of divine mumbo-jumbo that I'm just not into. But then it got really good, and was a joy to read. In fact I am really pleased with myself for sticking with it and getting through the first hundred or so pages. Well done me!

I didn't know what Pi (the maths thing) meant before I read the book and still didn't know what it meant after. I got a C grade at GCSE Maths having been relegated in style from the top set because I just didn't get it. Not Pi, just Maths in general.

I have just looked it up;

Pi is "the ratio of the circumference to the diameter of a circle ". I can now see the relevance of this definition given the plight of the book's main character. It is also the 16th letter of the Greek alphabet but so far as I can see, this has no relevance (unless I have missed something completely obvious).

I thought I would have problems finding a suitable Book Four. I mean, I LOVE going into book shops (not libraries - they smell of old people) and looking through the shelves. I often think about how much I would know, or how clever I could become, if I could read all the books in there. I almost always leave without making a purchase. I was really looking forward to the new "Dymocks" or "Borders" challenge when H suggested I read a book she had shipped over, so I need not go any further than our wardrobe-come-bookshelf for my next read.

If Book Three was for Mikey, then Book Four is for Andy.

Spain 3 Tunisia 1

And I missed this one as well. But having had ten hours kip for the first time this tournament I am ready to do battle this evening, when there are four games on the box (although two are played at the same time as each other, so one is shown immediately after the other).

I wonder what surprises Sven will have in store for us tonight.

Saudi Arabia 0 Ukraine 4

I missed the whole game. I was far too tired to stay awake, even though the sofa was very comfortable at the end of the Togo game, and I could've probably stayed there.

Togo 0 Switzerland 2

Guy Mowbray!!

I had the pleasure of listening to him throughout this game as I valiantly fought sleep off whilst lying on the sofa (I'd only had 4 hours last night). He really is painful on the ears.

Actually I managed to watch all of the first half and then decided to have a cheeky fifteen minute powernap during the idle half-time chit-chat. I woke up with twenty mintues to go.

I was hoping Togo would get a result but the Swiss were just too boring and organised. It was an enjoyable game though. Things may have been different if Adebayor had been awarded that penalty in the first half. Mowbray said he was rolling around "like a 4 year old" in the box, which probably didn't help his penalty claim.

Anyway, I did hear one or two Mowbray classics, which although not in the same league as Lineker, Hansen, Wrighty, Lawro, Motty and all the others I don't get to listen to, they are worth noting.

At the start of the game; "There's a real Cup-time atmosphere". You'd think so wouldn't you, it being the World Cup and all.....

After the Togo goalkeeper first touched the ball; "The impressive thing there is that the goalkeeper actually caught the ball".

At the end of the first half, in injury time; "I was once told off by a ref for calling it injury time because not all stoppages are injuries".

And finally, given the multi-cultural nature of the tournament, in the last few moments of the game; "the currency we are dealing with here is seconds, rather than minutes".

France 1 South Korea 1 (and Ashes Tickets)

I decided to miss this game as it was far more important that I got up for 9am so I could sit at the laptop and try and buy some Ashes tickets as Cricket Australia were releasing another 14k today for the Sydney test to the general public, including outlets in England.

I managed to get up in time and log on but of course the website was jammed, and that was fifteen minutes before the release. After a few refreshes I entered the site. The thing is, you are only given 11 minutes or so before are thrown out again, to make way for someone else. My session threw me out a few seconds before 9am. After two or three minutes of constantly refreshing I suddenly found myself back in the site. I knew I had to be quick.....

To start with I tried for Day 2. It said there were tickets. I said I wanted 4. It told me there weren't any available. The site said there were more expensive seats available. I said I wanted 4. It told me there weren't any available.

I went for Day 1. It said there were tickets. I said I wanted 4. It told me there weren't any available. There weren't any more expensive seats available as well.

I went for Day 3. It said there were tickets. I said I wanted 4. It told me there weren't any available. You can see a pattern here. It wasn't looking good.

Anyway, I went for Day 4 and SUCCESS. I managed to get 4 tickets. Result. Ok, the test could already be over by then, or we may only see an hours play as the final wickets fall, but it's a risk worth taking. After all, if the test goes down to the wire it could be one of the most exciting sessions. And even if the series has already been decided it should be a nice way to spend a Friday, drinking beer in the sun.

Mikey - bring your hat! The seats are North facing.

Brazil 2 Australia 0

In the lead up to this game I was confident Australia would get a result, and took a lot of pleasure in telling people that they would.

I was nearly right.

If Brazil hadn't scored two goals they would've.

I thought Australia deserved something out of the game and a 2-0 result was flattering for the Brazilians. Australia certainly held their own for the first 45 and looked very comfortable. Ronaldo looked poor, Ronaldinho couldn't seem to get into the game and Australia did look good on the break. It's just a shame they couldn't put away the chances they had.

So all they need to do now is draw with Croatia to go through. It should be a cracking game, with Croatia needing to win to take Australia's place in the last 16.

I'm glad I'm not stood in the cold though, trying to make my way home from Circular Quay.

By the way, who the hell is Fred?

Japan 0 Croatia 0

I missed the first half of this game because I was out in Bondi with H, Will and Vans at a new chum's 31st birthday meal in Bondi.

His name is Satyan.















H and I got the last ferry back to Manly. There was already a crowd growing at Circular Quay in preparation from the Brazil / Australia game. We could have stayed to watch it but getting back home afterwards would be a bit of a hassle at 4am, especially as H has to leave for work just before 8.















I watched some of the second half of the Japan / Croatia game whilst chatting to my Dad online, as apparently it's Father's Day back in the UK. It isn't here. A draw was the best result for the Soceroos. If they lose tonight, and I don't think they will, then all they have to do is avoid defeat in their last game against Coatia (assuming Japan doesn't beat Brazil at least 4-0). Bring it on.....

Italy 1 USA 1

So I log on this morning to find out last nights results, and watch the highlights, and it looks like I missed another great game. Three sendings off? That in itself is entertainment, let alone a couple of goals - and wasn't the own goal genius? I should've stayed up.....again.

Given the Czech Republic vs Ghana result, this group has suddenly got very interesting going into the last round of matches. All of the teams can still qualify.

Czech Republic 0 Ghana 2

I went to bed and missed this game, which turned out to the the first shock of the tournament, and also Ghana's first ever World Cup win. The second goal celebration could be a contender for the funniest of the tournament so far.

Portugal 2 Iran 0

I watched all of this game and quite enjoyed it, even though the main Iranian tactic was to kick the Portugal players as often as possible. With the score at 0-0 after 60 minutes I thought they may just hang on for a draw and cause the first minor upset of the tournament. Then Deco did his thing. Apparently it's the first time in 40 years that Portugal has progressed to the second round!

Sydney FC

I have just bought my first ever season-ticket. Apart from the odd time when I used to borrow one from H's step-dad or brother, the closest I have come to having one before was when I looked after Andy's Bristol City ticket when he went travelling for three months. I saw them go on their longest ever undefeated run, which was nice.

From August I will be watching Sydney FC, the home of Dwight Yorke, and, erm, Terry Butcher!

There aren't many teams in the A-League over here so I only get to see 10 league games, plus all the Cup matches (at an extra cost!) but for $153 it could be a bargain. That's about £6 a game. And I can drink beer whilst watching the games as well.

Mexico 0 Angola 0

I got in at 4am this morning but in no fit state to stay awake for an hour, and then watch this game, so I went to bed.

I barely saw any of the World Cup last night. I must try harder this evening.

Holland 2 Ivory Coast 1

I was still out, and nowhere near a TV, when this game was on. I was in a club called The Chinese Laundry where Koma & Bones were playing, as part of the weekly "Break Inn" night.

So I have pretty much missed all of the games in the "Group of Death", which clearly isn't a "Group of Death" at all.

Argentina 6 Serbia & Montenegro 0

I missed almost all of this game because I was out and about in town with H, Will and Vans. For those of you who know it, I saw a couple of the goals in Kinsella's, on Oxford Street, an old haunt of mine.

I have now missed both Argentina games which isn't good. Although my night out definitely was.

Learning The Hard Way

I have spent a lot of my time this week surfing, and have been making real progress with it. I decided to go right back to basics and spend a few sessions in nothing more than the white water, so I could get used to the feel of my board. This method worked a treat and before I knew it I was standing up in the mush, more times than not. Then on Wednesday (14th), when the waves were really small and clean, and the beach was quiet, I caught my first proper waves. I was surfing!! It was a great feeling.

When I got up today I had thought about taking a day off from it. I was really sore from all the exercise and thought that maybe I should spend some time shopping for some clothes to wear to my future job, whenever, and whatever, that may be, But when I looked outside I saw the surf was looking pretty tasty. Nice big clean waves. It was too big for my surfboard but I fancied a go bodyboarding, so off I went.

My first mistake was going shortly after I'd eaten breakfast. My second mistake was going in the water when I'd already seen two surfers standing on the beach holding broken boards.

So off I went into the surf. After no more than five minutes I was back in. I'd been battered by some massive white water. I hadn't even got out to the clean waves. Feeling pretty sick, and tired, I sat on the beach, half-tempted to call it day already. But undeterred I carried on. I walked to the southern end of the beach, where the waves are typically smaller, and made my way out again. This time I got out the back (or so I thought). A couple of big swells passed underneath me but then I saw this monster coming in (well, it was a monster to me, as I lay there with only my head above water). It was bigger than the ones that had passed by so it was going to break in front of me. To be honest, it was the first time I have felt pretty uncomfortable in the water, and dare I say it, slighty frightened. I knew there was no-way out. This thing broke on me and without doubt it was my biggest hit so far. The thing you shouldn't do in those situations is panic, so as I was tumbling around I made a conscious effort to relax and let the wave disperse. After what seemed like ages under the water, and a couple of kicks of my fins, I came to the surface, pretty much gasping for air. Thankfully another didn't crash on my head.

I knew that I made a bad choice coming into the ocean, and that I needed to get in to the beach, and out of the water. The fastest way to do this is catch a wave back in. I just about managed to do this, on a wave that was smaller than the one that got me, although I made no effort at all to ride it. I wsas exhausted.

Anyway, when I got home I noticed by board had taken a bit of a pasting and a scar tells the story. Now these things are pretty tough, and given the small surface area of them, you can imagine the amount of force needed to bend the plastic deck.




















I went back to the beach afterwards to watch the surfers. It was then that I saw this guy get his board snapped as he went over the falls.















It's all part of the learning curve and a valuable lesson learnt. I should've gone shopping.

Sweden 1 Paraguay 0

I nearly stayed up to watch this one, and probably would've done so if England hadn't won, but I went to bed.

So it comes down to the Sweden game to see who tops the group. Normally England vs Seweden is a pretty dull affair but I'm hoping for a much better game this time around. Although a draw will see both sides through, by the time kick-off comes around the positions in Group A will have been decided, and I'm sure neither teams will fancy facing Germany in the last 16 (although Ecuador look very good). Besides, England need to kick-start their tournament and put on a good performance so this would be the ideal game to do it.

If they beat Sweden and Trinidad & Tobago get the right result against Paraguay, then the Soca Warriors could go through.

England 2 Trinidad & Tobago 0

Well that was a bit of an effort. I thought we were heading into the final game needing a result against the Swedes to go through.

It was a flattering result after a poor performance and I'm sure the English press are going to have a field day with this. But there were some positives;

1) We got 3 points and qualified.
2) Rooney is back.
3) Lennon is class (and I hope he gets the credit he deserves for changing the game).
4) Beckham can play at right-back.
5) Hargreaves stayed on the bench.

I thought the first 45 minutes was the worst of the World Cup so far and the Hollywood passes were infuriating. Some of the players looked uninterested (Ferdinand especially), or as if the result was a given, even when it was still 0-0.

I'm not sure where this leaves Owen. Rooney will need the game time but will Sven risk him for the full 90 minutes when we only need a draw to top the group?

Ecuador 3 Costa Rica 0

I can't really say that I watched this game although it was on the TV in front of me. I spent the entire game chatting to Mikey Roberts on Messenger, which was quality as we haven't caught up in ages (except via blog comments). From what I did see Ecuador looked pretty good and could prove tricky opposition if we have to play them in the next round.

I am planning on staying up all night so I can watch Sweden play Paraguay after the England game.

The England game is being shown on ITV in England so the coverage will be just as poor as it is here. If I am lucky we will go to the stadium just as the players come out of the tunnel. No crowd atmosphere. No England player interviews. Nothing. Just a crappy stadium guide! Luckily the BBC website is coming up trumps again. I like to read through the live build-up updates as it helps me get an idea of the atmosphere even though I'm 12k miles away. You often find some real gems, like this one. Thanks Tony, from Milton Keynes.

0922 BST: Tony from Milton Keynes on the Five Live phone-in wonders what all the fuss about Rooney is. He said: "I got my foot caught in a lawnmower and broke three metatarsals. I was running up and down ladders three weeks later. He should just get on with it."

I can only assume the lawnmower was turned off at the time.

Germany 1 Poland 0

I had thought about getting up for this game but decided against it when I went to bed. I was in need of a decent kip and didn't want to run the risk of being too tired for tonight's matches which of course include England.

Tunisia 2 Saudi Arabia 2

This was on at 2am local time. If I couldnt stay awake through the Spain game then I had no hope of watching this.

Spain 4 Ukraine 0

I watched almost all of the first half of this match but as it came to an end I found myself falling asleep on the sofa (so I went to bed). I'd only had three and a halfs hours sleep last night because I got up to watch the Brazil game. I went surfing for three hours during the day (I was pretty tired after that but it was easily my best time in the water so far) and I managed to grab an hour's siesta in the afternoon.

H and I spent the evening in one of the local pubs watching the second State of Origina Rugby League match (not that anyone would be interested but Queensland beat NSW to level the series at one game each). The beer no doubt contributed to my drowsiness.

I also had one eye on getting up to watch the Germany game at 5am.

Before the kick-off I thought the Ukraine would have got something out of the game, but it looks like Spain could mean business this year (and dropping the overrated, and national underachiever, Raul probably helped).

Brazil 1 Croatia 0

Well I got up in time to drink a couple of strong coffees before kick-off. It was the first 5am game I have seen all the way through and thought it was worth the effort.

Again the Brazilians showed that they don't have the best defence in the World and I thought Croatia deserved something out of the game, especially given their second half performance. But as a Soceroo fan I am glad they didn't. And Australia are now top of their group, not that it really means anything at the moment. All they have to do is beat Brazil and they go through.....or failing that, beat Croatia.

The sun is just coming up now which is rather nice.

France 0 Switzerland 0

I slept through this game, and from the sounds of it, I did the right thing.

South Korea 2 Togo 1

I watched most of this game, only going to bed with fifteen mintues to go. I could've missed something important happen but it was a risk worth taking as I wanted to wake up for the Brazil game.

Oh yeah, I think the Toga goal celebration has been the best in the tournament so far.

How To Get An ASBO

Considering the World Cup is on at the moment, and a few English football fans have already done themselves and their sovereign rings proud, I found it rather apt that I got sent this interesting email yesterday from Chavscum:

"Hi,

I’m writing to you about the picture you uploaded to chavscum.co.uk, which can be found at the URL;

Parkdean Chav

My partner and myself are currently writing a humorous book called ‘How to get an ASBO’ to be published by Virgin Books in October 2006. We have selected this photo that you uploaded to our server to be included in this book. The identity of the subject(s) will be concealed if you agree to let us use this image.

However, just to make things legally binding, we have to ask you to read the following statements and if you agree to all of them, to reply to this email with the words ‘I AGREE’;

1). That you are the person who uploaded the image that can be found at
Parkdean Chav
2). That you are the legal copyright holder of this image.
3). That you agree to let the owners of chavscum.co.uk publish this image in the forthcoming book ‘How to get an ASBO’ by Virgin Books on the condition that the identity of the subject(s) are concealed.

Many thanks,
- Chavscum"

Should I agree? I think I probably should as I have never been in a book before. I've been on Match of the Day before (in the crowd, not on the pitch.....obviously!), but never in a book.

Andy - don't think you have escaped lightly either as I got another email requesting yours get published as well;

Toothless Chav

Can I get your permission? Haha, of course I can.

Italy 2 Ghana 0

Ok, I know I am not doing very well at watching the 5am games.

I missed this one as well.

USA 0 Czech Republic 3

I watched most of the first half (although I missed the first goal and saw Rosicky's screamer through sleepy eyes - I hear that the Gooner's have just signed him) and some of the second half before calling it a night. I missed the third goal.

It's nice to see the USA lose. I think the Czech's are a pretty useful team and I always like watching Pavel Nedved play. If Australia finish behind Brazil in their Group then it is likely that the Soceroos will play them.

Australia 3 Japan 1

I've just heard beeping car horns and shouting in the street outside. That can only mean one thing (apart from road rage). Australia must've have won something.....

Yes. They have. And what a victory it was.

H and I watched the game in a local pub. It was the second pub we tried as the first one had no atmosphere in it at all. The second one though was rammers, and probably explained why the first one was so quiet. There was a big screens and a beer garden and everything. It was great, and just what we were after.

So the game began and the Aussies were typically enthusiastic (it's a shame the same couldn't be said for last nights Rugby). They applauded, whistled and cheered the kick off. Bear in mind that they haven't been in the World Cup since 1974 so it's to be expected. They cheered when it was an Aussie throw in. They cheered when it was an Aussie free-kick. It soon became apparent that a lot of them didn't actually know what was happening. (I'd asked the bouncer of the first pub if they were going to show the football. "You mean soccer?" he replied. Enough said!). There was also quite a strong Japanese contingent in the crowd so that added to the atmosphere.

Anyway, as you know, Japan scored first after 26 minutes. Que lots of Japanese cheering. I thought Schwarzer was obstructed. So did Gus (wasn't his impression fantastic?). The referee didn't. The goal stood. Talking of the ref, he really pissed me off. There'd been a lot made in the press in the lead up to the game that Zico was trying to influence the ref by saying the Aussies were to physical (he was referring to the Holland warm-up game in which three of the Dutch team were injured). I was beginning to believe that this tactic had worked. Everytime there was an innocuous challenge a blue shirt was seen writhing around in agony. If there's one thing in football that pisses me off, then that is it.

As the game went on I began to think that if Australia lost, then they could still go through IF they got a result against Brazil (and I believe that they can - ok, maybe not a win, but most definitely a draw - it should be an entertaining game to watch, two attacking sides slogging it out - a bit like watching Kevin "I'd love it if we beat them, I'd love it" Keegan's Newcastle).

With a few minutes of the game remaining I was really hoping for a positive outcome. And then the Soceroos got their reward. I don't know if it had anything to do with Bristol City's Luke Wilkshire being substituted, but Australia scored three goals in the last six minutes. As you can imagine, the pub went mental. I actually surprised myself at how enthusiastic I was. Ok, it wasn't in the same mould as "Frank Lampard scoring in extra-time of the Euro 2004 semi final, massive pub pile on (me at the bottom of it - thanks Chewie, or was that you Andy, who tripped me up?), pint of beer vaporising (to this day I still don't know where it went), Mike R being bear-hugged and thrown around the room" (and it never will be) but it was pretty exciting stuff.

There's bound to be some very hungover Aussies at work tomorrow.

Shark, Dolphins and The Cabbage Tree Bay Aquatic Reserve

H and I spent this afternoon walking around Manly and the surrounding area. We stopped for a bite to eat on the seafront and while we were there, enjoying the tucker and looking out to sea, something really exciting happened. The surf school sirens went off and then this announcement came over the tannoy saying that a shark had been spotted in the water and that it was in everyones best interest if they left the water immediately. Brilliant. Real-life Jaws in front of our very eyes. I pictured an Aussie Roy Scheider sitting on the beach with binoculars and seeing a dorsal fin moving through the surf, then going into a slight panic, and racing to the lifeclub as fast as he could. At the time the water was very busy.

Anyway, this announcement caused a bit of a frenzy as swimmers swam in as fast as they could and surfers, ignoring surfing etiquette, all tried to catch the first wave they could back into shore. Of course there were the hardened surfers who didn't mind the threat of potential limb-loss (or worse) and who stayed out in the swell so they could stake their claim to the empty waves.

This then prompted a second announcement from Roy. This time he sounded a bit pissed off, warning those left out there that they "really should" come in from the beach. They didn't.

Alas we didn't see anyone get munched. Nor did we see a shark. But it was pretty exciting nonetheless.

From Manly Beach we headed round to Shelly Beach and the Cabbage Tree Bay Aquatic Reserve, which forms part of the headland to the south of Manly.

This is the view looking back to Manly Beach.















Whilst I was taking this photo I heard H exclaim, rather loudly, "Oh My God!". Had she seen the shark? No. That wasn't playing the game. Instead she had seen a school of dolphins just off of Shelly Beach (which is to the right of the photo above, and behind us - it's the only Westerly facing beach in Sydney so it gets the sun all day long) and near the "Bower" point break. They stayed around for ages but it's quite hard taking a picture of them, as you can see here (they are in this photo, but only just - you may have to zoom in).















So before we had even got to the reserve, we'd witnessed a shark alert and seen some doplhins. Not bad eh!

I should have taken some pictures of the protected reserve, and I can assure you it is very nice. From the look-out you get a cracking view of the point break (called 'Fairy Bower') and the surfers out there going up against the huge southerly swell. There wasn't much room for error if they'd fallen off the waves in the wrong place.

My First Aussie Random!

Today is a public holiday in New South Wales. Why? Because it is the Queens Birthday apparently. It doesn't make much difference to me as I am not working at the moment. Anyway, unlike the rest of the weekend, today was gorgeous. Lots of blue skies and a big ocean swell. After I got up I crossed the road to the beach, and sat on the wall, where I continued reading my third book in the sunshine, which I am actually enjoying quite a lot now.

After a while of minding my own business this random Aussie fella decided to perch himself on the wall, a couple of yards away.

"You been out there mate? You look like you have." He said.
I must look like a surfer!
"No, the waves are too big for me today. I just learning". I replied.
I clearly don't sound like a surfer.

He then went on to tell me that he was hoping I had got a board he could borrow (he couldn't) or that someones "leggie" broke so that he could get a surf with their board. And failing that, he would go bodysurfing if some "deep tubes" came it. Fascinating I thought. Now please leave me alone. He didn't.

He was quite friendly though, and I'd already read a big chapter which was good going for me, so he wasn't interrupting my booktime. He then said that there was lots of plastic on the beach. I think he meant the rubbish. I actually couldn't see any because the council clean the beaches here every night. I actually told him this.

He then came out with a cracker,
"You'd think all the people who go to church on a Sunday wouldn't go one day, and spend their time cleaning the beach instead. Then they could ask for forgiveness. But Jesus is dead so its unlikely he will forgive them". An interesting point I thought.

By this time I was thinking about how I could make my excuses to leave and I didn't want this guy coming with me. After a few mintues of idle chat where I generally agreed with him to keep the peace, H appeared. She could tell he was a bit random. He then changed tangent.

"There are too many Chinese and Japanese mushroom heads here. I've had my run-ins with them. And I think there is probably a tunnel straight here from the Middle East".

I have no idea where he thinks China and Japan is.

"They were probably here with the Aboriginies before the Poms and they probably did the same in America as well". I'm not quite sure what they are supposed to have done with the Aborigines, or in America for that matter, and I wasn't in the mood to ask.

H suggested we leave. I agreed, we said our goodbyes, and left the random on the wall.

Andy - he sounds like one of yours.

Angola 0 Portugal 1

Ok, so I missed this one as well.

I think I have set a precendent now by writing something about my World Cup experience (or lack of!) of each game.

Mexico 3 Iran 1

I watched the first fifteen minutes of the second half. I probably should have made more of an effort with this one given the fact I missed the first half of the Holland game, but to be honest, I was pretty tired and fancied some kip.

Whilst scanning the news this morning I see that Theo Walcott has suffered a slight calf injury. Great! So it'll be back to that tried and tested formula of Peter Crouch and Joe Cole up front if Owen doesn't play (and only if Cole has recovered from his injury - if not then how about Owen Hargeaves? Why not Sven? It's what the nation expects). Unless, of course, ROOOOOOOOOOOOONEY is unleashed on the Soca Warriors.

Serbia & Montenegro 0 Holland 1 (Australia 34 England 3)

I missed the first half of this game because H and I went to the Olympic Stadium to watch Australia play England at Rugby Union. It's the second game of Rugby I have ever been to and I wasn't massively impressed. My attitude would probably have been a lot different it England had won, or at least scored a try that was allowed (I was out of my seat at one point, high fiving with another Pom - isn't that what rugby supporters do? - when we scored a try - it was then disallowed).

The Olympic Stadium a great stadium. It's huge. And you can drink beer in there. It's a shame that the atmosphere in it tonight was poor though. I heard one rousing rendition of Swing Low Sweet Chariot but that was as good as it got for the Poms. The Aussies on the other hand didn't sing anything. Ever. Not once.

You can't beat the set-up there as well. The ticket to the game covers all public transport costs and the service provided by CityRail is superb. They get you to and from the ground, and back into the City, with super efficiency. I guess that's one of the bonuses of living in an Olympic city. I wonder how London will fare?

The highlight of the evening though was hearing the French guy, who was sitting behind us, say "Sacre Bleu". It was something stright out of Tricolore folklore. Yes, the French do say it. H and I both looked at each other to reassure ourselves that we had actually heard it. It was as exciting as when I first heard an Aussie say "Fair dinkum" (and no, it wasn't Alf Stewart, it was a real person).

Anyway, here are some snaps;

























































As for the football game, I can't really comment on it as I was sat quite a way away from the TV screen in the pub. But I have just been told that Lineker said this to Ian Wright;

"...So Wrighty, do you fancy a bit of S&M?...."

Well someone had to say it didn't they?