I’ll have to stop saying my weekends are busy, because they always are! But it’s great that I seem to be doing so many different things every weekend. For those of you trying to spot a pattern to my blog updates, at the moment, they’re happening in the first half of the week… I expect it to probably stay that way!
* BUZZING WASPS *
London Wasps used to be based round the corner from where I live now in Sudbury. As a kid, I never really realised it until I started playing rugby at school. By the time I took a more serious interest in Rugby, the club had turned professional and moved to Loftus Road and are now based in Wycombe. I haven’t been to a professional rugby match before, despite having followed rugby more than football in recent years. And the chance to change all that came last Saturday.
Sim had invited me to go see Wasps at the Causeway Stadium play Sale Sharks for a place in the Zurich Premiership final. It wasn’t something I could refuse, so we popped down the A40 and M40 for the quick drive up to the stadium. The game itself was a gem for Wasps fans, a chance to see England players including Lawrence Dallaglio, Matt Dawson and Josh Lewsey in their side, with Jason Robinson and Jason White in Sale’s side.
The atmosphere around the stadium was amazing. Rugby matches don’t have the same feel as football matches. Opposing fans mingle, alcohol is free flowing (and indeed one can bring a pint into the stands) and lots of families with young kids go along too. It tends to be less so at football matches. Opposing fans are often tightly segregated, not a single drop of alcohol is allowed at all (even bottletops of drinks bottles have to be removed before entry for fear they’d be used as some sort of ammunition) and not all parents would be so happy taking their kids. It may be rough and tumble on the pitch, but it’s certainly quite friendly in the stands.
As for the game itself, with the windy conditions came a “ridiculously open” game (Sim’s quote), as Sale put the pressure on in the first half with the wind on their side, only to be completely overhauled by Wasps in the second half with 26 unanswered points. It was a fantastic match to watch, Wasps winning eventually 43-22, with seven tries in the game. Wasps go to Twickenham this Saturday to play Leicester Tigers for the title of Zurich Premiership champions. And we might just be there!
* JANET *
Nice to see you again, Janet. Yet another old friend from Oxford back in the UK temporarily from HK, Alison, Annie and I took a chance to catch up over dinner with Janet who is with us for six months. Anyway, it was a bit late, but Janet, hope you have a great time in London over the next 4 months!
* FLAT UPDATE *
Well, my mortgage adviser is scurrying to search for some mortgage options for me, so on Wednesday, I can choose a product. I guess it’s all moving now fairly quickly. But unlike anything else I’ve ever bought, this one does take some time, doesn’t it?
Anyway, tick tock….
* IF ONLY… I HAD A SOUP POT *
Ok, a return to If Only… which I had neglected for a while. This week, a man is living in a giant bird’s nest for 30 days and nights in the middle of Beijing.
Well, at least it’s not David Blaine…
Tagged: Friends