World football - who has the best system?

I have to take my hat off to Jonathan Wilson, a Guardian journalist who produces some great articles on football. His latest piece, written for the FSF's magazine TFS (The Football Supporter) entitled 'Stolen thoughts of a football robot' attempts to answer the question most England fans ask every 4 years or so, sometimes every two years when we fail to qualify for Europe! The question of course is who has the best system in the world for producing good competitive league football, a good national team which competes at a world level and club sides who compete in their respective area competitions?

So who is it? Spain are currently European and World Champions, so is it natural that their league system is the best? Not when you consider that their league is one of the least competitive around and essentially is a two horse race. So, what about the Germans? Or even the Brazilians or the Argentinians?

Do yourself a favour and read the article here, it might just brighten your morning!

Stolen-Thoughts-Of-Football-Robot

Rooney, is it time to drop him from the squad?

Wayne Rooney suffered an ankle injury towards the end of last season, and since then he hasn't produced a single performance of merit for club or country, World Cup or Premier League included. So far this season he's scored one goal for club and another for his country. This is not the performance level required of a so called 'world star'!

His very public misdemeanour's, his contract wrangles and a stated desire to leave Manchester United all add up to a very troubled individual. The performance of Man Utd seems so much better without him that I'm now tempted to suggest he's not worth a starting berth with England. How could anybody ever suggest such a thing? Unfortunately even Fabio has now contemplated the impossible, and the next two friendlies provide him with the ideal opportunity to test that theory without doing any damage to our qualification for Euro 2012.

Fabio has constantly suggested that he won't pick anybody who isn't playing well for his club, but those seem empty words when you examine his selection for South Africa! How poor were some of his choices, both in the squad and the starting 11? Yet he seems determined to leave Rooney out of the next two games, at least that seems to be the rhetoric coming out of the Fabio camp this week. If he is even remotely serious about doing this I suggest he goes the whole hog and drops some of the other lame ducks that currently occupy the starting 11 for England. Then again, what's written in the newspapers and repeated on Sky News doesn't always bear any resemblance to anything that really happens. Watch this space as they say!

Montenegro - who are you and why are you here?

On Tuesday 12th October 2010 England welcome Montenegro to Wembley Stadium to play a fixture in the qualifying campaign for the 2012 European Championships. So who are they and why is this fixture unique? In English eyes of course they are just another minnow nation that need to be put to the sword in the Wembley fortress, but are they, and should we afford them more respect?

Image via Wikipedia

It has long been a view of mine that qualifying competitions of this nature hold very little value, the playing of another fixture of this stature just increases the frustration of the average spectator who wants to see good and competitive football at international level. The group we find ourselves in for the next competition does not hold any promise of exciting football, with the exception of Wales, who we anticipate for historical and geographical reasons, just a series of games to play to ensure our participation in Poland and the Ukraine.

International football is the pinnacle of our game, it should highlight all that's good about the sport and reflect the skill levels needed to be chosen for your national side. And yet this invariably happens. The recent World Cup in South Africa, for various reasons, failed to capture the imagination and left very few embedded glory moments that we replay in our heads over and over again. From an England perspective the two incidents I recall are both disappointments, the disallowed Lampard goal and the Green error. Aside from that the horror show that was the Netherlands attempts to disembowel the Spanish remains uppermost in my mind. Good football? No, as rare as a Scottish team qualifying for anything better than the Mickey Mouse cup.

So what has this got to do with Montenegro?  Well it could be argued that its a further dilution of the standards required to play international football. Montenegro are the newest international side and were formed just after the 2006 World Cup, becoming FIFA's 208th member. 3 years later they are playing England at Wembley in an official competition. At their inception they were ranked 199th in the world, bottom place I might add with 0 points. England are currently ranked 5th. That's like Man Utd playing Forest Green from the Conference. Does that do any of these sides any good at all? I doubt it very much. It probably does more harm for both sides, and prolonging the impatience to see England involved in a decent game of football. At international level they are so few and far between, even during the competition the groups are arranged so that nothing good happens until the knock out stages. No wonder club football holds more interest for the football paying public.



The recent Montenegro victory over Switzerland was a dour affair, yet again ending up with a 1-0 scoreline demonstrating yet again functionality over art. Played 3, won 3, does not give football a reason to pat itself on the back in reflected self satisfaction of a job well done. Rather we should despair that international football is again attempting to achieve even  lower standards. No disrespect to Montenegro, I'm pleased for you and your recent achievements on and off the football field, but not here, not at Wembley and not against England.

What to do with a herd of white elephants?

Those magnificent new stadiums built in South Africa for the 2010 World Cup appear to be heading for a catastrophe, as the reality of keeping their financial heads above water looms ever closer. The ongoing use of the stadia should have been decided before the first brick was laid, but this seems to have been a bit of an afterthought. The run up to a World Cup can be a bit headstrong for a lot of people, and decisions made then can be regretted later and will continue for a generation or more.



The recent Tri Nations match held at Soccer City appeared to be a success, despite an All Blacks victory securing the Tri Nations trophy. However this is a lone swallow in a very long summer. The Cape Town stadium  has been offered to Western Province Rugby as a proposed move and a bid had been made by them to run the stadium in partnership with Sail StadeFrance. Despite the willingness on the part of Western Province unsatisfactory council conditions coupled with the financial aspect has led them to remain at Newlands.



Each of the new stadiums needs to host between 12 and 15 sell out venues annually with tickets costing between R200 and R250 each to be able to balance the books. This is looking increasingly unlikely as they are not multi purpose stadiums, but were designed for sole use, under strict FIFA guidance. One of the main problems is size, as they cannot, in their existing format, host international cricket matches. Without input from these major sports, all more commercially successful than football (soccer), the long term future is very bleak and that hefty R16 billion investment appears  a poor choice.

England v France

Wednesday 17 November 2010
Venue: Wembley Stadium
Kick-off: 8pm  

Ticket info

Basel info

a few bits of interesting ( or not ) info / stats on Basle ( Basel )

it's Switzerlands second largest city ( 188,000 population )

it's on the banks of the River Rhein

it's Switzerland link with the sea ( via the Rhein )

it's close to both France ( 2kms ) and Germany ( 3kms )

it's effin expensive

it's the "cultural capital of Switzerland "

it has 40 museums ( and 40 cinema screens ! )

the ground ( St Jakob Park ) is Switzerland's largest ( 42,500 capacity )

the ground has it's own old peoples home , which overlooks the pitch

this info has been pinched from the freelions

Swiss stROLL

back on the road after the disappointments of the summer and a visit to the picturesque (?) rainy city of Basle ( or Basil as our Jet2 trolley dolly called it ) .The atmosphere around the city seemed pretty low key until about 1 - 1.1/2 hours before the kick off but the game was never going to have an edge.

a visibly older looking crowd were then treated to the best 1st half of football from England probably since the Croatia away win way back , the only downsides were the injury to Theo in the build up to the overdue goal from the media shy Mr Rooney and the fact we only went in one nil up.

the second half started with us on the back foot for 15-20 minutes but with us still creating chances on the break but a flurry of action with a sending off , another well taken goal from the impressive Adam Johnson and a screamer from their hobbit like no23 meant we were in for a good last 15 minutes .

For once England took control of the game and killed the game off with a late Bent goal followed by a few minutes of keep ball.

A good solid performance with Gerrard back to his best , Rooney keeping up Fridays form , Cole outstanding bombing down the wing and Johnson sparkling with some old fashioned tricky wing play ... these were my stand outs but everyone can come away with their heads held high after 2 good team performances..... oh and by the way can someone tell Hart i have high blood pressure and him playing chicken with onrushing centre forwards does nothing to help this !!!!

are you bothered ?

if Rooney has slept with a hooker or the fact he can't score for England

if Terry had an affair with Bridge's wife or isn't the player he was 2-3 years ago

if Crouch slept with a hooker or can't get on the pitch in front of Heskey

if Gerrard punches someone in a bar or can't reproduce his club form for Country

if Ferdinand misses a routine drugs test or hasn't been fit for 2 years

if Capello is a tax cheat in Italy or loses the plot in the finals

if all these had been on top of their game in South Africa would we have won it ??

Bulgaria

well what can you say about the game ? a comfortable win against a second rate team or a professional performance knowing we have a trickier game in 4 days time in Switzerland.

It was good to see Hart given his chance in goal , albeit 4 months too late and the inclusion of Walcott and Jags .... but would either have been playing if Lampard and Terry had been fit ?

The atmosphere seemed a little low key at the start but the expected smaller crowd was soon lifted by Defoe's early strike after good link up play between Rooney and Cole .The early goal didn't kick start the game into life and the match lulled with some poor play from both teams and it wasn't really until well into the second half after a period of Bulgarian pressure that England broke the length of the pitch and Defoe notched his second goal of the evening after being played in from Rooney.

Late srikes from Johnson and Defoe's hat trick goal gave the scoreline a more flattering look but England were never pushed and they will have far more sterner tests in the coming 14 months .

Roll on Tuesday and the Swiss game !!!

its all new !!

well its all new ...new season , new league ( for some ) ,new qualifying campaign and another NEW England kit.

only realised we were getting a new kit when i got an email asking me to pre-order it....so i click on the link to see and look in amazement , it looks like a bland copy of the women's version a couple of shirts ago ......but wait we have coloured crosses on the back and shoulders to symbolise multi culturism ....nice touch for another £50 !!!

Soweto township and England fans

The England fans forum has been full of some very interesting stories about people's experiences whilst in South Africa, most of them very positive about the whole place and the people. I must admit to being amazed at the variety and imaginative experiences that some people get up to under the pretext of watching football. I quite like this video put up on YouTube by an English family, mum,dad, and two teenage kids about their experience in Soweto. Not only did they visit the township but they also stayed there. This video explains all;



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fFfbpxMMzJM

England's World Cup apology from Fabio

Well it’s about six weeks too late, and the timing of it has to be questioned but ultimately it was deserved. A fully fledged apology was needed and indeed was delivered by the man who we grew to respect, in a very short time. The weekend had more important news for most of us, the football league kicked off its season and the England squad was announced for next weeks friendly but the apology was delivered, it was heartfelt, and you just knew he meant it.
The thousands of fans who travelled to South Africa can gain little comfort from hearing from Fabio, although his sincerity in acknowledging what it cost us was plain to see. No, in reality I want to see the players hold their hands up, apologise profusely, and then promise never to take us or playing for England so lightly ever again. One more failure of this sort and magnitude and this devotion for all things English will vanish, forever. Mark my words.

And whilst I’m on the subject, since when has it been OK for players to decide when they want to play for England? How do you retire from International football? I’ll tell you, when the Manager decides you are no longer needed, not when you think you’ve had enough. Playing for your country is a privilege, not one to be taken lightly and not one to be cast aside when you think it may interfere with your club football. England international players should be banned from English football if they adopt this attitude, we don’t want it or need it. I hope you are listening Carragher, Scholes, Robinson and Brown!

Don't blame us says Scudamore!

Well that's no surprise at all, Richard Scudamore repeating the mantra of England's failed campaign for the Euro Championships in 2008 has declared that its still not the fault of the English Premier League for the dismal showing in South Africa. It wasn't the fault of the EPL then and its not the fault for a poor showing today. However, if you trace the success of the EPL over the last 10 years or so you'll find the contrast of the English national team quite striking.

And the question to really ask Scuds is why the EPL was set up in the first place? One of the key answers given in those heady days was that a formation of a Premier league would help the English national team, in fact it was the overriding reason for doing so. But even still his partner in crime, Dave Richards, has admitted that the formation of the EPL has harmed the nations team and prospects by concentrating on easy successes and using money to drive that success. Its far easier to buy young players and transfer targets than it is to develop someone from your neighbourhood. OK, lets remember that Scuds primary role is to develop the EPL rather than 'team England', but as the convenor of our top tier of football talent he must take some responsibility! He has stated on more than one occasion that he would be happier seeing his home-town club being promoted to the EPL than England winning the World Cup. His team is Bristol City by the way! How selfish can you be?

No doubt he will trot out the statistics that show how many youth players are coming through the system and how this will benefit England in years to come, somehow you have to question this as we have heard it all before. I personally  love that phrase that always follows a major defeat, 'we will learn from this', and you know full well that we won't. You want to believe it though don't you? After every penalty defeat they promise it won't happen again, but it does. The wrong choice of squad for a major tournament, the one that leaves us with no striker, or players that aren't fit and we always repeat that, 'we will learn from this'.

So before the season starts, Scuds already has his excuses in place, and the fear is that once the EPL circus is under-way the debacle in South Africa will be forgotten about. A bright start to the Euro campaign will lead us to believe that SA was a blip and that it will be all-right on the night in 2012. I somehow think that with people like Scudamore occupying an elevated position of influence in our game, one that transcends your local team, that we will never see the true capabilities of an English team ever again. The sooner people like him relinquish their hold on our game the better, but somehow the wherewithal and the motivation doesn't seem to exist.

Keeganisms! Or quotes with a twist.

Well I asked for quotes specific to the England national team but didn't get much of any value. However, I've always been taken by a school colleague of mine who has a habit of speaking from the heart, getting his message across but usually mixing up all his metaphors, here's a selection;

"It's like a toaster, the ref's shirt pocket. Every time there's a tackle, up pops a yellow card." Kevin Keegan

"England can end the millennium as it started - as the greatest football nation in the world." Kevin Keegan

"There'll be no siestas in Madrid tonight." Kevin Keegan

"I know what is around the corner - I just don't know where the corner is. But the onus is on us to perform and we must control the bandwagon." Kevin Keegan

"The 33 or 34-year-olds will be 36 or 37 by the time the next World Cup comes around, if they're not careful." Kevin Keegan

"England have the best fans in the world and Scotland's fans are second-to-none." Kevin Keegan

"The Germans only have one player under 22, and he's 23." Kevin Keegan

To be honest you could fill a few pages with what King Kev's come out with over the years, but you have to accept it all comes from the heart, doesn't it?

And one of my favourites,  a departure from the tales about England but I can indulge myself every now and again can't I?

This wasn't some lower-league long-ball assault on a poor pitch that ousted Aston Villa from the League Cup, this was League One mid-tablers Doncaster Rovers out-passing, out-playing and out-tackling a truly rubbish Villa side.

        - Sarah Winterburn, after Doncaster humble Aston Villa 3-0

Good football quotes

Football is one of those games that attracts fantastic, oft repeated quotes, as exemplified by the late Bill Shankly and his take on football being more important than life itself. Well, seeing as we are all moaning about the shortcomings of English football I thought I'd mention one or two that encapsulate our thoughts about the English national side.

'Last night England faced their most frightening, most persistent and most dangerous opponents: the expectations of England football fans'

The Times, 31 March 2005 World Cup Qualifier v Azerbaijan

'England expects that every man will do his duty'

Admiral Lord Nelson, 21 October 1805

'Football is like the dilemma of a love affair. If you don't take it seriously, you get no pleasure from it. If you do take it seriously, and as a player you have to, somewhere along the line, it will break your heart'

Eddie Hapgood, England captain, 1939

Scholes spent less time on the left wing than Tony Blair.

 

        - F365 review of England's dire performance v Slovakia

Maybe the one from Eddie above expresses how the average England football fan feels, yet another broken heart!

A previous trip to Israel and the Dead Sea

We've had some memorable trips in different parts of the world when watching England (attempt to) play football. As a rule most news items and journalists always run stories about how dangerous it can be when we visit some of these locations. Just to demonstrate how dangerous it can be look at this clip of us in Israel.

Travel tip, the Dead Sea stinks! You can shower as much as you like but the smell isn't going anywhere fast.

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• The Dying Dead Sea (ecotourismleavingfootprints.blogspot.com)

The Capello Index

Does anybody know what all the fuss is about? In principal I quite like the idea, a rating system that can be applied across teams, competitions, leagues and different systems that actively rates each pass, cross, shot etc. I'll be honest, the intimate discussions about which system suits best, a 4-4-2, or a 4-5-1 leave me cold, but ranking players for their skill level does interest me.

So why all the fuss about this new system? Is it because Capello has put his name to it or is it because the England players have been judged as well? Whatever it is this fall-out from the World Cup continues and who knows what happens next. I've had a look, and so far it appears to have had all the England players removed which is a pity, but the bits that we do know seem odd too. The best central defenders (apparently) were Terry and Upson, excuse me! Did somebody not watch that pitiful performance in Bloemfontein? They were awful, so maybe the England team has been removed for re-evaluation, lets hope so. If you haven't seen it go here and have a look;

http://www.capelloindex.com/en/aboutCI.aspx

CAPELLO'S PLAYER RATINGS 

 

Top player overall: Uruguay's Diego Forlan

 

England players in the top 100 up to the last 16:

Steven Gerrard (71st), John Terry (87th), Matthew Upson (100) 

 

Sole England player in the top 100 of the group stages: Steven Gerrard (65th)

 

Highest average score for an England player: Jermain Defoe (62.47)

 

Lowest average score for an England player: Robert Green (51.67)

 

Highest score in the World Cup final: Spain's Andres Iniesta (75.17)

 

 

 

So its Spain then!

To be honest we could have saved ourselves a lot of time and money, left the England team at home, or at least they could have hit the beaches earlier and declared Spain the winners in early June. It was that one brief upset against the Swiss that caused some doubts but apart from that they had World Cup winners written across their Mediterranean foreheads two years ago when they won the Euro title. Maybe we should do that for the next World Cup? We can still go to Brazil but just declare who we think should be crowned champions before the tournament starts and then just meet back at the end to see them accept the trophy. That way we get to have a proper holiday, no need to worry about England, overpriced match tickets, rip off airlines, car hire, too much travel and the worry of it all. No this way we save ourselves the trouble and do all the bits we enjoy first, then declare a winner, go home and tell everybody what a great tournament it was without any upset at all.

To be honest I didn't enjoy watching the final, nor seeing the Spanish, (notice how they are one nation now), celebrate their first World title. For me I had agonised over travel arrangements for this week for many months, trying to work out how I could be back in South Africa to see England lift the cup. Do you do the early rounds and bank on an England failure, or do you save your holidays and go for the more prestigious games? For me I decided to do both and booked two sets of flights, in the end I only needed the first. To rub salt into the wounds South African Airways refuse to hand any money back for these flights claiming that they had a World Cup policy of no refunds, that's very nice of them! Maybe they should detail that on their website when people book flights, or maybe send those terms and conditions with their booking confirmation. No, not a bit of it, they just wait until you're at your lowest ebb after seeing your nation knocked out of the World Cup and then they tell you. Does it get any worse for England fans? I somehow doubt it.

The flag gets delivered!!

The flag from Masiphumelele school in Cape Town is safely delivered to Leeds! After visiting Cape Town and enjoying the hospitality of the schoolchildren the YES team promised to safely deliver all the artwork that the children had made and make sure it arrived in Leeds. Well earlier this week, ahead of the Cup Final this Sunday, a presentation of the flag was made to Jo Speak on behalf of the schoolchildren at Cookridge Primary School. A further presentation will be held when other members of YES, the schoolchildren themselves and the British Council will be present to view and appreciate all the different art pieces that were collected in Cape Town.

Englands new sponsors

Interesting! I sometimes wonder if the FA really do have a plan or whether they make stuff up as they go along. I realise that in football things change and reactions are always needed to what's in front of you, but heavens above do the FA have even a basic plan? In business there was always a tactic known as 'The American Plan' and that was very simply to keep throwing money at a problem until it was fixed. The building of Wembley reminded me of that, construction was out of control and yet the solution was to keep emptying the till and get the gates open as quickly as possible. More hold ups meant more money, an expensive treadmill if there ever was one.


So here we are, approaching a World Cup, the Manager is rumoured to be thinking of joining AC Milan after the competition, of which we are guaranteed to win, so what do the FA do? I know, lets throw some more money after that little problem. Result? Of course its the right thing to do, after all we have the Nationwide as our main sponsor, a very typically loyal English (British) company waiting to part with another £20m to continue their devoted support of the national team. Surely if we win the World Cup they'll part with another £20m, won't they? Well actually they won't and who can blame them; after such a dismal performance shouldn't the FA be handing out refunds to sponsors and fans alike?

Throw out a net and see what other large fish we can find, oh dear this looks interesting, what can suit our image better than the Nationwide Building Society but that so very typical American company known as Facebook! Oh my giddy Aunt! Answer this question, who is going to be the first person in the queue to buy an England shirt with Facebook plastered all over it? Form a very short line here if you will. Prestige, suitability, admiration, all great words but lost on this current bunch of FA mandarins, lets try greed, ignorance, short-sighted, words they feel much more at home with. Can this summer get any worse?

This blog

I was talking to  my son earlier tonight and I asked him if he'd enjoyed reading the  blog and what he thought, he said it reminded him of a drunken Bill Bryson! I'm not sure if I should be pleased to be bracketed with Bill Bryson or annoyed to be classed as a drunk! Hmmm!

Some very valid points are made here

No quick fix for England malaise

30th June 2010

In the aftermath of England’s 4-1 World Cup knockout by Germany, the FSF's chair Malcolm Clarke, the first ever fan representative on the FA’s ruling council, shares a few thoughts about what ails the game on our isle and argues that there are no quick fix solutions.
Since the final whistle blew against Germany in Bloemfontain, and the sun set on a South African winter’s day in the high veld, the usual quick fixes have been suggested. Some run like a re-make of the Sam Peckenpah 1974 classic Bring Me the Head of Alfredo Garcia. The 21st century tabloid equivalent being Bring Me the Head of Fabio Capello.



I have posted the full transcript of this article on the FSF page. Select the tab above to read the rest.

Our trip to Robben Island

On the day we went to Robben Island a Sky News team captured quite a few of our YES team wandering around the exercise yard and the holding cell of Nelson Mandela and his comrades. The flag also makes an appearance. See how many you recognise;

http://news.sky.com/skynews/Home/World-News/World-Cup-England-Football-Fans-Visit-Robben-Island-Where-Nelson-Mandela-Was-Held/Article/201006315651073?lpos=World_News_Article_Related_Content_Region_2&lid=ARTICLE_15651073_World_Cup%3A_England_Football_Fans_Visit_Robben_Island_Where_Nelson_Mandela_Was_Held

The fall out

Well I suppose it had to happen sooner or later, the rumours and tittle tattle has started over the internal wrangling in the squad. Now, I don't know any more than you do, but this story has been doing the rounds for the last few days so maybe there is some element of truth in it. If so, then John Terry deserves all the public criticism he gets, lets face facts here, the man has behaved appallingly prior to the World Cup, he tried to lead a revolt of players during the World up and now this. His performance against Germany was no better than League 1 level, its time he went.

http://www.metro.co.uk/sport/football/833707-steven-gerrard-and-john-terry-feud-ruined-englands-world-cup-b

Day 20 - Home

The flights proved tiresome and very long. However some of us are now back in the sunny British Isles, and despite brave talk of staying while the end every one of our party eventually changed their flights and are now making tracks back. Some are still in the air as I write this.

However this won't be the end of this blog, nor will it be the end of the tales of the World Cup, after all the competition has not finished yet. No, over the next few days and weeks more stories will be relayed given that now we have more time to spend recollecting some of the good and bad times we had. More photo's have been put up and no doubt we'll find time to put up some of our video clips too, some of which are absolutely hilarious!

Watch this space!

Day 19 - The long road home

It’s a pleasant, although a long journey lasting about 4 hours. We see the plane at the side of the road that made an emergency landing onto the N1 the night before, it does look strange and so out of place. A petrol detour take us to a rough looking industrial area and not for the first time we are the centre of attention. The lady petrol attendant, who doesn’t speak any English, gives me a big bear hug and a broad smile as I’m sporting a Bafana Bafana t-shirt which she approves of. Back on the road again and the mileage keeps clocking up, over 4,500 kms and still going. We find a hotel near the airport which those of our party who can’t rearrange flights will stay at. I take the batmobile back to the hire place and grab a lift to the airport. The place is heaving! The queues for the service desks are massive as everybody is doing the same thing, fortunately Skip, Mark and me are already sorted so we just have to hang around for about 6 or 7 hours for our flight. The journalists are a bit thick on the ground too and we do several interviews for Radio 5 Live, The Guardian etc. The England team are also leaving at this time but they are selected for special treatment and don’t come anywhere near us, typical.


The time from check in to departure is filled by shopping for presents. I’m still looking for something I saw at the hotel at Storms River but eventually concede defeat and choose some other bits and pieces. The items we all like are far too big and heavy to purchase here, it’s a pity, we also decide against food stuffs like Animal Droppings and Ostrich Paté, and I kid you not! The flights called and we make our way to the gate. We’re desperately sad to be going and yet looking forward to getting home to see friends and family and leave the embarrassment behind us.

Day 18 - Germany v England

Up early and in the shower. Deano gets the breakfast on and I start to update the blog. Disaster, a power cut leaves us in the dark, no breakfast, no internet, nothing, what a stupid stop this is proving to be. We persevere, I find out how to get the power back on but it does take ages. Come on let’s get moving!


The batmobile takes us to a Park and Walk, along with what seems like hundreds if not thousands of Australians all keen to take in an England v Germany game and no doubt appreciate what a real atmosphere can be like. 10 minutes later we’re at the Waterfront and despite such an early start there is virtually nowhere to sit and savour the atmosphere. Eventually we create our own seating arrangements by stealing some tables and chairs, popping to the local liquor store and stock up on beer and ice to keep everything cool. The walkways, both upper and lower are crammed and the whole of the world walks by. The English are on the prowl searching for their mates, and we see lots of people we know plus many famous faces that we don’t. The locals and others are all keen to get a look at this type of football support, the flags, banners and the singing seem to put smiles on everybody’s faces and no doubt a real atmosphere is building. Surprisingly the Germans are here but in relatively small numbers, yet again the English team has had a major turn out with its travelling support, do they deserve this, only time will tell. The Germans attempts at singing is yet again to nick our songs and change the words, 3 Lions does not sound the same when they sing it. The only real attempt at originality comes from a bunch of Aussies who have changed the words of our national anthem to something like ‘God save Robert Green, the worst save I’ve ever seen’ etc, it gets a round of applause for being different.



By now the beer is flowing but getting food or anything else seems to be impossible, we’ve had our name on the waiting list at the nearest restaurant for over two hours yet so far nothing. South Africa does make an attempt at fast food, the same names and menus that we are used to, but always seems to promise more than it can deliver. The queues in the local food court are massive, and in all the restaurants people are complaining about not getting served. We give up! We walk to the stadium, encounter South African security which is pretty meaningless as I have my bag searched three times and yet they never bother to look inside. We take photos of ourselves using the Free State Stadium (Vodacom Stadium) as a backdrop. It’s one of the older ones and looks it from the outside. We settle for a hot dog and another beer and then meet up with our little group inside the stadium. The flags are up, the atmosphere is building and yet the age of the stadium shines through with the difficulties encountered in getting food and drink, more than one argument is encountered as people queue on the packed gangways. The poor ticketing arrangements shine through as well, despite this being the ‘official’ England section there are lots of Germans mixed in with us, this should be interesting.

Well the game starts, the atmosphere is really good for a few minutes and then the Germans score. What a poor defensive display, and already we can see a defeat on the cards, we’re going nowhere with this style of play. A second goal and we are even more deflated. Interest picks up as we grab an equaliser and for a few minutes we look like the team we really should be. We all celebrate as Frank Lampard sticks the ball in the net to grab the equaliser, but somehow it’s not given, we’re devastated as we could all see that it crossed the line. Text message from people in the UK confirm this as they have the benefit of a television replay, they don’t do this for us poor souls in the stadium. The newspaper journalists who report that we start to boo the referee after seeing the replay get it wrong again; we don’t see this until the following day. The same journalists who claim we booed the players at half time report other inaccuracies, we weren’t booing the players, we reserve all of our derision for the referee. After half time we have plenty of possession and we push for the equalizer, yet are caught on the break, this is a step too far, and lots of fans start to leave the stadium unable to take the embarrassment. The fourth goal inevitably comes and by this time we don’t care, English football is sacrificed on the fire of the overpaid, don’t care, Premier League. 5 players in that England side have played in a Champions League Final, and yet they look lost against a team of young energetic German players. We’re devastated!

I must say one thing for the German supporters we meet, they all sympathise about the goal that wasn’t and take their victory in good heart, and we certainly wouldn’t have been so considerate! The walk back to the car is a quiet one, nobody yells or jeers at us, maybe they feel sorry for our humiliation. Next stop a restaurant, a couple of bottles of wine and the mood is elevated. Plans are made to get back to the UK as soon as possible, mine and a few others have been sorted for a while but some of the lads have flights arranged for after the final, another two weeks away. The plan is to get up; head back to our starting point of J’berg and see if flights can be re-arranged.

Cape Town travel

Check this one out;

http://www.capetown.travel/2010/blog-entry/england_football_fans_in_cultural_exchange_with_township_children/

Day 17 - Bloemfontein

Good old England, one more goal and we would have been headed back to Rustenburg but unfortunately we are now in the tough half of the group and we meet Germany in Bloemfontein. We organise accommodation, which proves to be a problem. Horror stories arise about the lack of accommodation and t e cost being charged, therefore we settle for a rented house in the Universitas region of Bloemfontein. I make a call to the FSF for confirmation but it all seems a bit overhyped.




Anyway we check out at Gariep Dam and head north along the N1 towards Bloemfontein, about a 2 hour drive away. Our first port of call is the house we’ve rented, a detached 4 bedroom house hidden away like so much of SA behind gates and security walls complete with dogs and armed response only a phone call away. Unfortunately our accommodation luck runs out, despite it being the most expensive accommodation we’ve had on this trip it’s also the worst. I doubt if the inside of this house has been decorated since the 1970’s, all chocolate brown and dingy with a lack of beds and bed spaces. It looks like the floor will be an option for a lot of people! Don’t get me wrong, the owner is a lovely lady and she’s obviously proud of what she has, but an interior designer she isn’t.

Into Bloem we go heading for the ticket office. The Waterfront is a poor attempt to replicate what they have in Cape Town but it’s still very pleasant in the bright sunshine. I stupidly forget any form of ID when I go to collect the tickets but we were told they would be available from machines using the credit card we booked with. Good in theory but bad in practice as none of the machines are working. Despite being able to quote my passport number, provide half a dozen credit cards, have the people around me produce ID including my brother, the FA officials also verify who I am, but the African lady will not produce the tickets. This is so typical of what we have seen here and is reminiscent of most 3rd world countries, give somebody a job, tell them what to do and they will do exactly that, no imagination or common sense needed here. I stand my ground and eventually she does provide what we need. I bump into Ken Malley later and he tells me a similar story although he produces a bus pass which gets him what he needs. Security, it’s laughable!

We avoid the hordes of ticket touts and settle for a waterfront cafe. The sun is really warm and for the first time on this trip we bump into lots of England fans, media guys, journalists etc. Ade spots Gabby Logan and husband; I spot a comedian off the telly but can’t remember his name so avoid asking him for his autograph. A bit of shopping gets me a clean T shirt, it’s been a long stint and most of us don’t have anything clean left. The Waterfront is beginning to resemble a typical England away game and there are a lot of familiar faces. We settle the bill, jump in the vehicles and head for the house so we can watch the next game on TV, enjoy a bottle of wine and look forward to the big day tomorrow.

The sleeping arrangements are causing us a problem and for the first time general disagreement breaks out in the group. We may have to have more evictions in the morning from the Big Brother house to restore order.

Day 16

Day 16 - Gariep Dam


A gorgeous start to the day, the sun rises over the dam and looks superb in the early morning light, what a great setting this hotel enjoys. We head for breakfast and decide today is a chill out day, no travelling, no shopping, just taking it easy. A walk to the nearby dam sounds like a good idea and so we all troop off down the hill and enjoy the fresh air. After about 15 minutes a car pulls up and out jumps a Blackpool supporter who’s travelling in South Africa on his own. We have a chat at the side of the road and he decides to join us for the morning. We enter a tunnel that takes us into the bowels of the dam and meet a guy called Murphy who gives us a guided tour. He’s worked here for 45 years and so he knows it reasonably well. One of the silt gates is open and the rush of water cascades into the Orange River at the rate of 55m³ a second. Murphy goes inside and closes the gate before opening it up again to demonstrate the workings of the dam. We enjoy about an hour of his company while he explains some of the details; construction started in 1966, took 6 years and was opened in 1972. It’s the largest structure in Africa standing 88 metres high and 914 m long. The body of water behind the dam is about 5,670.3 million m³ and looks spectacular.

A quick sandwich, a beer or two and we head for our arranged boat trip around the lake. It starts out quite well but soon we get bored as there is so little to look at. We spot a Fish Eagle but not much more than that and so we’re very happy when the boat docks back at the jetty. It’s a great setting but needs a bit of life injecting into it. Back at the hotel we start firming up our new travel arrangements, but this could prove to be tricky as we all have different requirements at the moment. So far I’m due back in the UK on Monday morning and my discussions with KLM have not gone very well. I’m a bit annoyed to say the least.

Day 15

Day 15 – On the road again


A not so bright start as we all appear to have hangovers, but we are still up around 8 and we contribute a tin of beans to the breakfast menu! Lyn is very attentive again, the dining room is a great setting and our hangovers start to dissipate. An hour later we are packed and set off towards Bloemfontein, it’s now that we start to make things up with regard to hotels and destinations as we are dependent on the England team and how well they do on the pitch. The next game is in Bloemfontein on Sunday but we decide to settle on a hotel about 2 hours drive away at a place called Gariep Dam. Skip drives and I take a back seat for a change. We drive through some of the most interesting countryside you could imagine, the views we are enjoying are so big that we have to stop occasionally and take photos. The roads in this part of the world seem to be covered in monkeys, hundreds of them, all attracted to the road because of the warmth from the tarmac, we even had a very large baboon scrambling to get out of our way. The other good thing about these roads is that they are straight long and empty. We stop off at a place called Craddock to fill up, grab a coffee, access the internet, check on flights home etc. it’s quite nice in a very strange way, the local church is modelled on the one in London at St Martin-in-the –fields.

We carry on, the spare wheel carriage drops off the back and we have to stop and tie it back on, but we eventually pass through Colesberg and turn off the main N2 and head for Gariep. We find the hotel and are amazed at the views from the bedrooms across the dam waters; yet again stumbling across something that really pleases us. We seem to be doing everything right on this trip. We settle into the hotel bar, laugh at Italy losing out to Slovakia, have a few more beers and I update the blog again. I hope you enjoy this; it really is turning into an amazing trip.

Day 14 - England v Slovenia

A great start to the day; we wake, shower, enjoy the African sunshine and devour a large breakfast in the open dining area. Lyn ensures that we are well fed and we set off for the fans match. We arrive at a primary school called Astra Primary and we meet all the kids who are very happy to see us. They produce more songs and dances for us before we walk through the township to the local sports ground. The game kicks off, Dave Bev referees, Skip, Mark and Deano all play although Skip only lasts 5 minutes claiming a heavy breakfast for his poor performance. A 1-1 draw is played out in front of a very large audience of local people who all seem extremely excited that we are there, including some local dignitaries and a whole bunch of security staff brandishing batons, yet somehow it all seems normal.


Straight after the game we jump in the batmobile but are very low on petrol, so I use the satnav to take us to the nearest petrol station not wishing to run out whilst in the middle of a township. Unfortunately Dave Bridge who is following me in the car is panicking a little as he doesn’t know where we are or where we are going. I can’t blame him; some of these places are really intimidating and display signs warning you that you enter at your own risk. We fill up, but nobody here seems to speak English which makes for an interesting exchange of signals etc. I determine that the woman petrol attendant thinks we are the English national team which explains some of the attention we are getting.

We push on and eventually get to the other end of the township and everybody relaxes a little. This time we head for a park and walk which is set up at the local rugby club, park up, grab a hot dog and a beer and set ourselves up for the afternoon. Another beer and we head for the stadium; the local pubs seem really busy so we decide to get in early. The interior of the stadium looks terrific in the afternoon sun and Skip and I set the flag up nearby. The lad putting his flag up next to us is from Mexborough, his name is Colin, one of the Sheffield Wednesday contingent. We chat away and it turns out he knows Hippy very well. The officials here are all a bit fussy, sticking to the letter of the law on all matters, silly really.

We are in the stadium quite early; Mark Chappell picks us out and joins us for the afternoon, as does Jimmy Carrol from Radio Sheffield. At least here we have no queuing for beer or anything else and we chat away quite happily in the afternoon sun. Some of those around us bought their tickets and made travel arrangements when we did, a long time ago, but some had only bought theirs a few days ago and bought cheap air tickets from Durban etc. This World Cup has been a farce from start to finish with regards to tickets, and when I tell one of my neighbours how much time and effort has gone into acquiring ‘caps’ so that I could qualify for official tickets they don’t believe me. It’s all wrong, but then again FIFA have never been interested in the average fan. The beer available in the stadiums is Budweiser, what’s wrong with helping the SA economy and use local beer too? I digress.

The stadium fills up and again looks like a home game with all the English flags and banners. One in particular is a banner that reads ‘Welcome to Scouse Africa!’ We like that one. Hippy bumps into some other Donny fans that are here as well, what a small world it can be at times. The beer continues to flow and when it’s my turn to go guess what, England score! That’s great and so typical. England do look better in this game but still not world beaters. We need a second goal or the USA to draw so then we finish top of the group and then all my plans fall into place. Come on England! The game finishes in a bit of a blur, maybe that’s something to do with all the beer, but we are reasonably happy with the result despite it causing me travel difficulties. So its Germany next in Bloemfontein, a little early perhaps but that’s the luck of the draw. We make our way back to the car, Hippy is briefly arrested for stealing a poster, that’s really funny, but nobody stops me from stealing one that’s stuck to the wall with blu-tack, a nice bit of memorabilia. At the car we decide to buy a few more beers, enjoy some curry and rice and chat with all the locals and England fans doing the same thing. The annoying thing is a young Millwall fan who wants to have a go at everybody, nobody knows why. He then has a pop at me, I can’t remember what he says but I decide it’s time to act, I grab hold of him by the arm lecture him quite loudly and escort him away from the rugby ground. He doesn’t come back! All mouth and no trousers!

We arrive back at Crislin lodge clothed in darkness, very boisterous, and we find it funny that we are all telling each other to be quiet as it then dawns on us that it’s still only 8 o’clock! We make our way to the bar, which is closed, we ask if we can buy beer and a very terse no is all we get, and so we switch on the TV, drink our own beer and wine and eventually retire to our mud huts, exhausted, happy and very drunk. Another great day.

Day 13 - Addo

A reasonably bright start sees us heading east along what’s left of the Garden Route and then eventually turning north to head for Crislin Lodge, an eco friendly mud hut type resort to the north of Port Elizabeth. A short journey for us, about 3 hours and we arrive pretty exhausted. We don’t hang around though as the reason for being here is to visit the Addo Elephant Park, a quick turn around and we’re back on the road again. 10 minutes later we’ve paid our money and enter the park. This park is massive and we start off driving slowly but eventually pick up speed as we search for the wildlife. We see kudu, wildebeest, water hogs, dung beetles, springboks etc but no elephants yet. The park consists of fairly high bushes that meet the road, very few trees and the odd waterhole or two. Because of this visibility is quite difficult and the view into the bush is restricted to about twenty feet or so apart from the odd viewpoint that enables you to park up and view the rolling landscape. These stops are all accompanied by signs that tell you to ‘Beware of Lions’ and that stepping out of the car is at your own risk! Because of the restricted view across the bush when you do see the wildlife its invariably right next to you and can be quite a surprise, and that’s how e do start to see our first elephants! Up close, at the side of the road and invariably chewing the leaves on the bushes is how the elephants entertain us for the next two or three hours. And then we have a real close encounter! I’m driving and we are parked at a kind of crossroads in the bush watching a rather large elephant chewing away quite happily. After ten minutes or so I start to move forward and then turn left. Our attention is drawn to an elephant walking fairly rapidly on our left hand side and keeping pace with the car, it’s a very large bull elephant and for some reason he looks annoyed. Suddenly he veers into the road and bears down on the car, I accelerate only to find that he’s chasing us down the road, the car erupts into fits of laughter and we slow so that the lads can get some great pictures, which afterwards look pretty good. An enjoyable afternoon ends with the sun setting across some great landscape and we make our way back to Crislin Lodge.


Crislin Lodge is a working lemon farm that is owned by two very nice people called, appropriately, Lyn and Chris. The accommodation are some recently constructed mud huts in the grounds of the farm, each one has the facilities that you need and with ensuite facilities they prove to be very comfortable. I’m sure that in summer this could be a great place to stop, enjoying the swimming pools and the rest areas that are provided, unfortunately it’s too cold for us to enjoy these. The evening meal is a Braai, a South African barbecue set in an open dining room and we all gather around the TV to watch the game between Nigeria and Korea. We sample more beers and a further selection of South African wine before we retire and look forward to a big day tomorrow.

The bungee

After a spot of lunch we make our way back to the accommodation as we have Dave’s bungee jump booked for 3pm. We sit around in the bright sunshine, share a beer or 3 and I update the blog. Dave Barlow’s boss has turned up and he is, confusingly, called Dave too, and his surname begins with a B, so that makes 3 Dave B’s we have. Neil, one of Dave’s friends turns up too. Eventually we jump into the vehicles and head west into the sun, along the Garden Route and eventually the Bloukrans Bridge appears and we turn off the N2 into the car park.


The place is heaving with people, mostly Dutch who are making their way to Cape Town and English going in the opposite direction heading to Port Elizabeth. Although the sun is high in the sky and without a single cloud it’s not very warm. We head for the bar and viewing area that has an open balcony withy great views of the bridge, the valley below and the jumping area. It also has a very large screen with live pictures beamed from the jumping platform, just so you can see the final moments of people being hooked up and shuffling to the edge before diving headfirst into the chasm below. We wait for Dave to have his briefing. It’s starting to get cold and we have nothing to do but wait. We wait for Dave to put his harness on, and still we have nothing to do. We wait for Dave to be called for his jump and by now we sit and watch the Spanish play and laugh at Ronaldo who’s just a sulky big boy at best. We wait for Dave to walk out to the platform and the sun is going down and getting colder. He appears on the platform amongst a lot of orange, what is it about the Dutch, do they have such a limited wardrobe that everything has to be that horrible shade? Can you imagine them getting dressed in the morning, hmm, shall I wear my orange T shirt or my orange fleece, or better still my orange boiler suit? I digress. They are filling the bar now as everybody doing the jump is coloured orange and we see Dave in the background waiting his turn. So we wait. One by one an orange lemming throws itself off the edge of the platform, falls for a very long 6 seconds and then repeatedly bounces up and down until rescued by some very brave soul, who abseils down and helps each jumper back onto the ledge. Each jumper gets a very loud cheer from the orange melee, men and women included. We wait for Dave to take his turn, and we secretly start filming the large TV pictures, much against the rules of the establishment. It’s now down to the last 3 or 4 and still we wait, now very cold, impatient and thoroughly bored, but I’m sure Dave will lift our spirits. Eventually Dave appears on camera, he looks very nervous, and the Dutch start cheering for themselves as though it’s a Holland v England International. Dave Bev joins in, much to my annoyance as I keep saying=g he’s not going to do it. He shuffles to the edge, looks down the 216 metres to the valley bottom and turns away. No hesitation, just one look and a quick no. The Dutch erupt into fits of laughter and we depart thoroughly embarrassed, thanks Dave!

We wait in the batmobile for his return, we’ve wasted a complete afternoon getting cold and waiting for him to jump. He even, to his embarrassment, bought one of those t shirts that proclaim he’s jumped off the highest bungee in the world. Doh! As a bit of kidology we pretend to have been in the batmobile all afternoon and don’t know if he’s been successful or not, but Dave decides not to speak to us. We set off and I head for the petrol station to fill up for the morning and get money out of the ATM. Nothing is said from either side, I can just hear chicken noises coming from the back of the bus which I find hilarious but Dave still doesn’t speak. We get showered, changed, and head for dinner, back to our previous evenings venue in a private room at the local hotel, log fire burns away, the telly shows the football and they have set out the table with England flags, messages of ‘Welcome to the England Fans’ written out and placed on the table. A very nice touch. We enjoy another glorious meal with lots of red wine, but Dave decides to head to bed again without a word. Ok if he can keep it up so can we. Tiredness kicks in, we have another drive in the morning so we head for bed, bring on Port Elizabeth.

Keep the comments coming!

We are glad to hear you all enjoying reading this, but we are enjoying your comments too, so keep them coming please!

The Garden Route

Day – 10


It starts with two more evictions from the Big Brother house as we have to part with Adam and Rich in the early hours of the morning. There was some feeble excuse about a family wedding demanding their presence back in the UK but I’m not sure about that! Only joking, it was sad to see them both go as they are good travelling companions.

We lose the car as well, so from now we are down to the mini-bus for the 7 of us. We pack up, say our good byes and hit the road. The route takes us around False Bay and we begin to climb high into the mountains; we make our first stop as the scenery gets ever more interesting and we all want to capture this. A couple of hours later and we head for Hermanus, the whale watching capital of the world, and we are assure there is a 95% chance of seeing whales from the shoreline. It’s a beautiful place, and I have to reflect how many times I’ve said that so far on this trip, too numerous to keep doing it I’m sure. The sun shines brightly, the bay waters are perfectly still as we watch a few sea lions frolicking in the surf by our feet. There are no clouds in the sky, nor unfortunately any whales in the bay and after a considerable time we need to get on the road. It’s a long way from one stop to the next and we need to cover another 386 miles before we stop again. So far we have covered over 3000km on this trip and we are not even half way.



We make several stops as areas of real natural beauty keep coming our way. The Garden Route is aptly named and we stop again at Dolphin Point so we can all snap away. We close on our destination just as the sun is setting but we stop just once more. This time we alight at Bloukrans Bridge which is the largest single concrete span bridge in the world and accommodates the highest Bungee Jump in the world too at 261m high. We all go to sign up, but disappointingly I can’t do it because of my knee injury, they won’t allow it! Surprisingly everybody else has some kind of latent injury that stops them doing it too, but we do manage to book Dave Barlow in and we set the time for 3pm the day after. Our accommodation is reached in the early evening whilst everything is pitch black apart from the brightly starred sky, just how good are the night sky’s in the southern hemisphere!

At The Woods is a delightful place set amongst the trees at Storms River in the Tsitsikamma National Park. We shower and change and head to the local hotel where we have a reserved table waiting for us. There is a large group of England Fans staying in the hotel and their evening meal is taking place in the gardens. We say hello and are then led into an amazing private room where there is a blazing fire, a television, sofas, and a well laid out table. We place the orders and sit round the fire drinking beer and red wine reflecting on what terrific surroundings we find ourselves in yet again. Our waiter and waitress are wonderful people, Mona and Sam, and we soon have them laughing away with us as we relish the evening meal and the delightful food. We all agree this one great meal and my choice of sizzling snails in a butter sauce followed by Springbok loin is fantastic. Everybody dines well. The red wine goes down really well too, and after about 4 or 5 bottles I fall asleep on the sofa, after all I did all the driving and I’m feeling tired. Eventually we go to our beds, well fed and all looking forward to a good night’s sleep.



Day 11

We wake early, grab a shower and head for breakfast, our hosts are wonderfully nice people and the breakfast is great. The view from the dining room takes some beating. We all get together and head down the village where we are booked onto the Canopy Tour. Mark B decides to bottle it and heads back to bed, the wuss, that leaves six of us. We get ready, take a journey into the forest and start the canopy tour. It’s easy for Deano because he does a lot of abseiling during the curse of his work and he volunteers to go first. I go second. I get hooked up, launch myself off the platform and slide about 30meters over the forest floor. I make the same mistake every one of our party makes, I grab the cable to slow down and the result is a severe jerk and a possible dislocation of my dicky shoulder. I let go in time. Ade makes the same mistake and hurts his whilst Dave Bev is nearly in tears, the big jessy. What you’re supposed to do is apply pressure downwards, the friction then slows you down and we all have a quick chat to make sure we get it right. From then on we have a great time; some of the traverses from platform to platform are 30 metres high and 90 metres long. It’s an exhilarating experience and puts a smile on all our faces, apart from Ade who continues to be underwhelmed by the whole experience. A bit of lunch and we head out towards Bloukrans Bridge for the bungee jump, we continue to wind Dave Barlow up and ask him what bits we can claim from his estate, but we do promise him a good send off!

More photos added - inc school visit

We have lots of new photos but for now we've just added what we can. Enjoy!

Day 9 - Table Mountain

A bit of a later start but we eventually get on the road and head for Table Mountain. We arrive at the cable car station park up and check the information board to be told visibility is zero and it’s very cold. Just below the cloud level we stop and take plenty of photos as the view is as spectacular as we have been led to believe.


Back on the road again and we head north into the Winelands, experiencing once again the spectacular scenery. The Stellenbosch region is considered to be one of the finest wine regions in the world and there are too many vineyards to visit, however the Duck Pond looks really nice from the car so I pull in. Several glasses of red wine and our attempt at discussing the merits of each one puts us in a good mood and helps soften the mood, once again reflecting that the holiday is always good but spoilt by 90 minutes of football. A really nice meal of duck and lamb is well received.

The next vineyard we stop at is really good and just our luck we miss the Brazilian star Cafu by just a few minutes. We order 6 different wines and get a history and description of each, what a way to spend a Saturday afternoon. Ade and Dave B are happy to note that one of the signature wines is called the Owl Post, and Dave wangles an empty bottle out of the staff, the tight fisted so and so!

The drive back again brings us down the False Bay coast and out to see we have some fantastic views but the one inland is of one of the largest townships you have ever seen, Marshals Plain which houses 1.5 million people. It’s awful! I want to stop and take photos but the atmosphere is not that good and everybody urges me to drive on, I don’t object for too long.

Back in the car we head back to the accommodation to prepare for the next day. We lose two of our number, Rich and Adam who have to get back for a family wedding in Southampton, and the rest of us are heading out along the Garden Route and head for Storms River for a two night stay, more to follow.

England v Algeria

England v Algeria


We leave St Georges and drive into the centre of Cape Town, ignoring all the Park & Rides because we don’t want to suffer the difficulties we had in Rustenberg. Eventually we arrive at the Waterfront and park next to the Green Point Stadium. The Fans walk is heaving with England fans and flags are draped over every available bit of space. Queues are building at every restaurant and pub, so we trot off to something I spotted the day before in the shopping centre, a restaurant that has an open balcony overlooking the harbour and we find some comfy chairs, a great view and settle down with a beer to watch our group opponents play out their game. We cheer loudly at every goal and constantly reappraise what result we need from this one for England to progress, eventually agreeing that the 2-2 draw is fine by us, so we are pleased to see the US grab the last goal. A further round of beer and 9 Ostrich burgers puts us in a good frame of mind for what is to come. I find my Ostrich burger a bit of a disappointment and rather tasteless although I appear to be the odd one out, everybody else is very happy.

We head back to the Batmobile and wrap up for what we are led to believe will be sub zero temperatures, more information that proves incorrect as we all complain about the heat! There is a lack of signage around the ground so we follow the crowd and get stuck in a rather large scrum at one of the security checks. You’ll have to excuse me for using the term ‘security’ because it’s all quite laughable, they make a show of doing it but are so naive. The bags we carry are not searched and the body scanners bleep away but nothing is checked. The security people employed for this World Cup have all gone on strike and there has been mass demonstrations, but for this game its being controlled by the Police. The fans around us are very keen to sing all the England loyal songs, but yet again it’s the ex-pat England fans from SA who are making all the noise. I bump into Graham White one of the FA’s security team and he asks about our experience of getting access to the stadium, a 40 minute wait and no signage don’t help as he tells me some of the turnstiles are actually empty! Inside the stadium we find our seats, put up our flags, grab a beer or two, chat to the England fans that we know and recognise and catch up with how they are progressing around SA. Mark Chappell from Rotherham tells us how he was robbed at knife point by 4 guys in Rustenburg and offers some advice on how to avoid it.

The atmosphere is building and we are pleased to be in a proper football stadium again after the disappointment of Rustenburg. There we had a crowd of 40,000 and the service was appalling and here we have a crowd of over 60,000 and you can get food, beer and access the toilets, it’s so much improved. I am impressed by the amount of England fans and flags on display, much more like a proper England crowd than the one we had in the previous game. There are no vuvuzelas in our section and we do manage to get some songs and an atmosphere going. The game kicks off and it’s a disappointment from start to finish, we are truly appalling, one of the worst games I have ever witnessed from an England team, so the less said the better. We exit the stadium and there is no smiling from anybody, no desire to hang around and have another beer, so we make our way back to the accommodation. The journey back is reasonably quick, we avoid the main routes and use the coast road and arrive just before midnight. A bit of telly, a beer and a glass of red wine drowns the disappointment and then we trudge off to bed. Tomorrow we become tourists again.

St Georges Grammar School & match day

St Georges Grammar School – Day 8


A meander along the coast, taking in the views across False Bay, gets us eventually to our destination at St Georges Grammar School in Mowbray, a delightful old school with a backdrop of Table Mountain and some very lush playing fields. The setting is wonderful. On the playing fields there is a display of African dancing and music performed by the young schoolchildren and watched by the visiting England fans and media.

After the music I am invited to receive an England flag that has been made by the children at Masiphumelele Primary School and is destined for Cookridge Primary School in Leeds. We take this opportunity to hand over the artwork, flags and other items that the children at Cookridge have given to us to deliver safely. This is very well received and provides some very good photo opportunities. We also hand out T shirts, England flags, and badges which creates mayhem as everybody wants their share, which is understandable. To top it all off there are 12 replica Sheffield Utd shirts donated by the club and signed individually by the players which Darren, an England fan from Barnsley has carried out to South Africa. I don’t think the children that get these shirts quite realise the value of these, but I’m sure they will!

We are invited into the school hall to watch a display of singing and dancing from the children at Masiphumelele Primary that they have been practising and learning for our benefit. I must admit that this is one of the real highlights of our trip as they are superb and are extremely talented children. We video all of this and everybody comments on what a wonderful experience this has been. A further handover of artwork to individuals of YES is gratefully received and provides another great photo opportunity. I make a little speech and thank the school on behalf of Cookridge Primary and promise to hand over everything when we get back home. The videos are done and will make a great present for all the kids when we get the chance to deliver them. I think the British Council project of Connecting Classrooms is a very smart and impressive one and deserves its success.

The fans match takes place straight after this and Skip and Deano take part which is refereed by another of our party, Dave Bev. The African team is made up of a group of locals who are involved in some coaching project taking place in SA and involves coaching by Martin Allen, the ex West Ham player. He turns out to be a really nice guy and we enjoy a laugh and a joke whilst snapping away. The match is a disappointment for the spectators as the opponents are far too good for us, but the players really enjoy themselves as they run around under the hot African sun. What better location can you get for a football match with Table Mountain in the background, superb. Again there are lots of photo opportunities and everybody has a big smile on their face, what a really enjoyable experience this has been.

Robben Island and the V&A Waterfront

The tour progresses slowly past Nelson Mandela’s cell and we are struck by how small it is. Everybody wants their photo opportunity and our tour is slowed by the presence of TV cameras, which we later find are broadcasting our ugly mugs on Sky Sports News. A quick wizz around the island with an ex-inmate can’t remember his first name but his surname was Isaacs, who was informative and funny. We see the major sights and then jump on the ferry for the ride back to the Waterfront at Cape Town. By now it’s really hot and the trip and early start has made us hungry so we search out a restaurant by the water. We settle for fish & chips by the harbour, a choice of hake or snoek but no mushy peas! Another beer and we start our investigation of theV&A Waterfront, Table Mountain looks inviting but it’s actually quite difficult to get to from the centre of CT so we leave it for another day. The fans park and associated fane entertainment is present everywhere and feels somewhat overwhelming and without the charm that we have seen in Germany and Portugal, maybe it’s their attempts to please that is part of the problem?


The journey back to Fish Hoeck on the train is spectacular and we take in the views across False Bay. We all take the opportunity to visit the Internet Cafe, catch up with your comments on the Blog, thanks to all of you for taking the time to do so, and feel aggrieved that we are missing out on Daz’s barbecue! No not really, only joking! The pace of this trip is now taking its toll and we all feel exhausted so we settle for a night by the fire, rustle up some spaghetti Bolognese, take in a beer or two and fall asleep in front of the telly.

I’ve just been reminded that the tour guides we had on Robben Island were Lionel Davies and Cedric Isaacs, both very important people in the anti-apartheid movement in Robben Island and Nelson Mandella’s close friends.

Day 8 – Match Day

Today is a really big day so we start early again. We are starting with a trip to St Georges School in Cape Town to pass on all the posters, books and associated well wishes from Cookridge Primary School in Leeds. We hope to collect something in exchange to take home with us, and we’ll report back later.

After that we will be playing in the fans match at the school, Skip and Deano want to play whilst Dave Bev will be refereeing. Then we will make our way into the centre of town, take in the atmosphere and make our way to the stadium for tonight’s important game against Algeria. A straw poll in our group suggests a 4-0 result to England, but we will see!

The road trip continued

Eventually we close on Cape Town after hundreds of miles. The mountain ranges that circle Cape Town are visible from about a 100 miles away, snow capped and seemingly impassable. However as we get closer they appear more beautiful as we approach the mountain pass that enables us to make our way. The scenery appears greener by the second, the sun breaks through and we face the long drop down through the mountains into Worcester, vineyards by the mile and we revel in the scenery that unfolds. But there is a twist, the beggars on the road increase as we approach some of the worst looking townships you could ever imagine, the contrast between the incredible scenery and the deprivation that is in front of us is indescribable.


The sun is setting in the distance as we make our way through the suburbs of Cape Town; Table Mountain an imposing figure in the background is shrouded in mist and the mountain light. Traffic delays us yet again and we arrive on the coastal road rather later than we expected. The scenery is stunning as we negotiate our way around the coast, down through Kalk Bay and onwards to our final destination at Fish Hoeck. We arrive, and are taken aback by the quality and spaciousness of our accommodation. The name, Amazing Views, is everything it promised to be and even at night the view across False Bay takes the breath away. We settle in, and then jump in the Batmobile to find something to eat. Low and behold the first thing we come across is an Indian Restaurant called Bihari, and we all pile in. The owner explains that they don’t have a liqueur license but that doesn’t bother us as we offload a crate of red wine from our car. Strangely enough the owner is English and is attempting to create English style curries in this part of the world. You can order medium, hot, or Indian hot and I choose the latter for my chicken Jalfreizi. And it is hot! After several hours we make our way home, bellies full of curry and popadoms, catch up with the football on the telly and then make our way to a welcoming bed.

A Painful Start

Day 6, and no more ejections from the big brother house, well not yet at least although I’m tempted to elect a few who are irritating me a little more than usual. We all awake to some of the most amazing views we have ever seen and I revel in the warm satisfaction that yet again we picked right. We all take some incredible photos and smile at what the day might bring. I pop downstairs to check on what Skip is doing and suffer a strong fall in the downstairs corridor as some clown has dropped water all over the tiled floor, and I slip and appear to break a toe or two, very painful!

We head south along the coast stopping off in Simon’s Town, a town heavily connected by history to England and the Royal Navy. We stock up with money, breakfast, mementoes and carry on towards the Cape of Good Hope, entering the national reserve to do so. We take some great photos, enjoy the visit, suffer several rain showers, and bump into Ollie from Leeds and a few other England fans that we know. Lots of photo opportunities later we make our way back towards Fish Hoeck but find time to stop at Boulders Beach and enjoy the penguin display. We make our way to the beach, climbing over the boulders as we go and then I suffer another painful fall, this time straining my knee joint as I go, not the best of days for me. Now I really do have reason to limp!

The trip back from the Cape is interesting as we round a corner and find about 20 baboons in the road. All the cars come to a complete stop but some bloke is daft enough to open his car door and the largest of the baboon family jumps into the car looking for food. Unfortunatley he has 3 kids in the back and he can't get it out until a local comes to his aid and uses a big stick. They can be quite dangerous and do attack adults and children alike.
A bit of shopping restocks the fridge with beer and other important items, like er, more beer! We keep being stopped as we walk down the street, everybody seems to want to talk to us and we have our photographs taken numerous times with locals and fans from Australia, Mexico, Korea etc. The only exception to the rule is a bunch of miserable Brazilians who object to us displaying the flag. However Simons Town is so British in its construction, architecture and history they may feel somewhat humbled, who knows. There is a market set up in the local square and we all take the opportunity to buy some overpriced local goods.

Eventually we arrive at the house, drop off the goods and then search out an internet cafe so we can update the blog. Afterwards we make our way to Kalk Bay and search out a restaurant that Penny at Kuilfontein recommended, the delightful Cape to Cuba, a delicious restaurant that focuses on Cuban food, a terrific setting overlooking Kalk harbour and wonderful service. Danny, our host looks after us, the girls are terrific dressed in their Cuban attire, and we are all taken aback by the quality of the food and drink. The beer of choice here is Cuban, Bucanneer, which is delightful. A few shots of English Shooter, a cocktail dreamed up just for the World Cup. We did intend to watch the South Africa game on TV but a 3-0 defeat is rather depressing for our hosts and the whole country is in shock, never before has a host country exited the World Cup in the group stages. We have a big day tomorrow, up early to visit Robben Island so we all eventually make our way to bed, apart from me, who sits here long after everybody has retired and write up what I can remember, and feel sorry for myself with my aches and pains! Oh well, tomorrow is another day.



Day 7 – Robben Island here we come.

A bright start despite the cold weather. Deano makes breakfast for everybody, egg and bacon sandwiches with a cup of tea to wash it down. Today we are attempting to get to the water front in Cape Town by using the local train, this should be an experience.

We park up in a dubious looking car park, buy 1st class rail tickets which cost all of £1.75 and settle back to enjoy the ride. We were told that the train goes through the townships that inhabit the Cape Flats but we don't see anything of concern yet again. On arrival we jump a cab and head to the Nelson Mandela Gateway where we catch the ferry. The sun is cracking the pavements so we head to the top deck. Once there we meet England fans we all know, including a couple we met at Kuilfontein 3 nights ago. As the ferry pulls away from the jetty and out through the harbour we see the wonderful skyline of Cape Town with Table Mountain in the background. We also get our first sight of the stadium which nestles in between the city and the waterfront.

We dock at Robben Island and make our way through the prison complex where we enter one of the large holding cells. We then are treated to a talk by one of the inmates and a good friend of Nelson Mandela who describes some of the horrific experiences he suffered during his 7 years locked up. We are then treated to a further visit of Block B which was the high security wing and where Mandella was incarcerated. We check his cell out and its the smallest of all of them.

Photos are up!

OK, managed to get some of our photo's uploaded onto the site, takes a bit of time though so enjoy these until we get more done. Nice to read all your comments too, thanks Zoe, Steve, Andy, Phil,etc etc

The long road trip

Day 4 – The morning after the night before! Sundays in South Africa are quite odd, nothing appears to be open, the restaurants are closed along with any liquor stores, despite the influx of thousands of tourists normal life seems to be carrying on. This causes us a little problem which we solve by ordering a dozen pizzas and finding a supermarket that sells red wine. We retire to our cottage to watch Germany v Australia and feast on our recently acquired provisions until the early hours of the morning, not a good idea when you have breakfast planned for 7am.


A monster hangover accompanies all of us as we head for our final breakfast at Apricot Hill Farm. I take one look and decide to give it a miss and snatch another 10 minutes in bed before we begin our long trip south west to Cape Town via a nights stop in Colesburg. We say goodbye to Wendy who has been an excellent host and the mini bus and car set off down the long N1. What strikes us is how empty this place can be, virtually nothing to look at for mile after mile, just grass lands and blue skies. The other thing is how big this country is, and we’ve so far only seen a very small part of it.

We drive for hour after hour meeting other supporters on the road, flags flying from cars and trucks and impromptu singing competitions at the toll booth stops, which we win as usual!! Eventually hunger takes over and we stop at Tom’s Place, a roadside diner, barbecue area and campsite nestled beside the N1 and a large lake where people are enjoying the fishing. We order beers, Steak sandwich and chips and chat with one of the locals while we wait. Gus, our new friend introduces himself to everybody who walks through the door and welcomes them to South Africa. Before he leaves he buys a dozen beers for us, nice fella! We also get talking to some ex-pat English people who are making their way to Cape Town and find out that one of them hails from Doncaster, it’s a small world.

We carry on with the road trip, the roads are relatively empty apart from the frustration of all the road works progress is made and we make our way to Kuilfontein Stable Cottages just as the sun is setting. The sunsets here are extraordinary and we all take pictures while we settle into our stable rooms. It’s a pity we only have one night here as the setting and scenery is wonderful although it does begin to feel cold and we won’t be partaking in the swimming pool and other outdoor activities. Penny, the host is very helpful and offers me the use of her computer so I can update the blog which I welcome. We have a few beers in the cosy little bar they have here before settling down for dinner. I remember Tracey Campbell telling me to try the lamb when we are here and I duly order the lamb for 9 people. The local lambs are all free range, they have 27,000 hectares here, and they eat on the local bushes which infuse the meat with a taste similar to rosemary. The Great Karoo lamb, according to our genial host, is the most famous lamb in the world but I must confess to never having heard of it before. It’s gorgeous! A fact not lost on all the local cats and dogs who stare intently at my plate waiting for any droppings or tit bits, no chance!

Several bottles of red wine later we retire back to the cosy bar, partake in more liquid refreshments and watch Italy struggle against Paraguay. The atmosphere is now boisterous and we make friends with some other England fans, Julie who supports Aston Villa and her husband who is a Southampton fan, much to the delight of Rich who is pleased to meet another Saints fan! We chat away to the owners who describe what it’s like to live in this part of the world and Skip is intrigued by the stories of the snakes that live in this area, not only the frequency but the size and tactics used to protect yourself, apparently you just hit them with a stick!



Day 5 – We wake to see the Great Karoo covered in snow! A once in a ten year event according to our hosts and we get to witness it. Breakfast is delightful and we all enjoy the ‘cuddled’ eggs which are a new one on me. Our hosts present me with the bill, which is as follows;

                                            9 x Dinner 1305

                                            Drinks 2286

                                            Total 3591



A source of amusement, the drinks bill is nearly twice the size of the bill for the famous Karoo lamb dinner! We settle up, say our goodbyes and hit the road for Cape Town.

The Great Karoo looks pretty good covered with snow but its causing havoc on the roads as we see accident after accident and trucks that can’t negotiate some of the steeper inclines are left where they are in the middle of the road.

What a night!

Day 3 – The morning after.




We rise late still suffering the after effects of the day before, the long hours, distances covered and the frustration of being an England football supporter. The sun’s already high in the ever present blue sky when we witness our first eviction from the Big Brother house! One of our party decides that she’ll be better off at home, packs her bags and disappears over the African horizon, leaving her hubby here with the rest of us. We’re now down to 9, but at least we’re all male and armed with some great joke making material, all at the expense of a miserable looking Dave B!!

A pleasant morning spent chatting in the sun raises our spirits and we make plans for the rest of the day. We start by jumping in our great looking mini-bus, a van that’s meant to look like a football but actually looks more like a giant zebra. A not too long journey gets us to the gates of the Rhino and Lion Reserve on the outskirts of Magliesberg. An afternoon of driving around the African high veldt gives us the chance to experience wildlife up close with some great close encounters with Lions, Rhinos, Springbucks, Water Buffalo and plenty of other wildlife from various parts of the world. A trip down the 3rd largest cave in South Africa causes hilarity amongst our group, along with the very pleasant guide who bursts her sides laughing at some of the very basic humor we use to describe the movement of wind and the eating of beans! A trip to the Reptile room gets us all too close to some of the most dangerous snakes on the planet and the Egyptian Cobra tries desperately hard to infect us all with its poisonous venom. A further drive around the reserve enables us to get some close up shots of cheetahs, vultures and wildebeest before we make plans for the evening and our onward trip to Cape Town. Today has seen the spirits rise, lets hope the England team can produce the results while we plan who next is to leave the Big Brother house!