1978 (and before...) - no telly
1982 - saw quite a bit, in between 'revising' for crappy-but-school-said-they-were-important exams. England v France, I ran home from school, arriving two minutes after kick off. England had scored.
1986 - time zone bad, also the early stages fell slap bang in the middle of A-Levels...heck, I've just realised why I didn't do as well in my A-Levels as I ought to have done...
1990 - good timezone, living in misery in a bedsit in Westcliff on Sea, nothing else to do but watch the World Cup, except when I went to Nottingham, Hackney and Sale and watched the World Cup. Also, I remember there being some sort of concert the night before the Final
1994 - bad timezone, Up-to-eyeballs as newly elected Lambeth Councillor and newly qualified (and promoted) accountant. Didn't matter; England didn't qualify. The year we all supported Ireland
1998 New Lambeth New Labour. Serving my notice at work. Good timezone. Saw more than I thought was possible.
2002 Bad timezone, newly released from the council. Didn't see as much as I would have done in a good timezone. Perhaps due to poor and deteriorating TV reception. Plus we were on holiday for a week.
2006 Good timezone. Good TV reception. No council commitments. Working part-time. Roll on the World Cup...!
Oh bugger, I've gone and booked Fedora the night of one England match, and a night at Tosca completely clashes with England's final group qualifier.
Why can't I get my diary organised?
And if England win their group, they could be in a quarter final just three hours before curtain-up at Tosca, which is fine if it doesn't go to extra-time and penalties...do you think there's any chance of a Big Screen in the Floral Hall. The alternative is worse - England finishing group runners-up and yet somehow getting to the Semi-Final that will clash entirely with Figaro, my favourite opera with my favourite baritone.
I know it's chavly premature but it's only a virtual flag
There is an actual England flag somewhere in Gert Cottage but it will not be dug out until Saturday, and then only flown discretely during the match.
I have to say that I am looking forward to a Festival of Football, and of course, I'm supporting England, but I also want to see some excitement and flair from other teams...doesn't everybody have Brazil as their second favourite. I will be blogging the World Cup, of course I will.
But I have to say that even as a football fan I am mightily sick of all the hysterical hype that has been dominating the British media for the past god knows when, reaching fever pitch yesterday when David Beckham personally piloted an aeroplane and Wayne Rooney's metatarsal into Baden Baden airport. Football is a beautiful game that has inspired poets. But most of the talk, speculation, hype, chatter, blah, crap coming out of the mass media is at the end of the day trite, clichéd and vacuous.
In a way it's already started, a concert in Munich, with live webcams an' all. I grabbed a screen shot. Your guess is a good as mine....
Maybe that's the Finale mit allen Künstlern: COUNTDOWN FOR THE CHAMPIONS - "Youll never walk alone, Pomp and Circumstance (Edward Elgar), "We are the Champions...
