England bomb out of the World Cup 2010

So, whilst I was hanging out with me 5 year old homeys at Izzy's birthday party, England were playing Germany in the World Cup 2010.

Yeh, yeh, I know.... we cocked up by booking Izzy's party at the same time as the match. But I had planned to compensate for this diary malfunction by watching the match at home once the party had finished. My plan only had one essential ingredient..... I had to make sure that nobody told me the final score before I got home.

It was all going swimmingly.... the party was over, and I was waving off Izzy's friends and handing out their party bags. Their parents were thanking me for the invite and shuffling their way out of the exit. Then, just when I was nearly done, a member of staff shouted across the room to a colleague; "I can't believe that England lost 4-1 to Germany!"

Sacre-bloody-bleu. I had just been dealt an unexpected double-Doh. Not only had the match result been ruined, but I now knew that England had been knocked out of the world cup. Thanks very much, Mr-Gobby-Jambinos-Yellow-T-shirt-Wearing-Employee-with-Bad-Hair-and-Acne. You ain't getting a Christmas card this year.

All the excitement and anticipation that had been building up all afternoon, was unceremoniously popped like a ballon. England had limped out of the World Cup 2010 with a whimper, and all of a sudden, my desire to watch the game evaporated.

Pic.No.1 England get booted out of the World Cup tournament

The only people left at Izzy's party were Steve, the outlaws (Izzy's Grandparents), and my friend Sam.

"Sod the football," I shouted, "anyone fancy going to the White Horse Inn for a cold beer and a bite to eat?"

After receiving a resounding affirmation, we drove to my local pub and headed for the sunny beer garden at the back. It had all been set up for watching the earlier football; A gazebo had been erected to provide shade and there was a big TV screen which, a few hours ago, had been surrounded by England football fans.

Now it was all was deserted, and apart from the England flags adorning the ceiling, it had the feeling of a bedouin tent.... .with a rug and pillows strewn on the floor.... perfect for Izzy and her friends to play.

Pic.No.2. Izzy with her friends (from left: Honey, Ozzy, and Joe) inside the bedouin tent thingy

Pic.No.3. Children play whilst the adults quaff a cold beer (from left: Sam, Grandad Fred, Nana Shirley, and Steve)

Ahhhh... what a wonderful way to spend a sunny Sunday afternoon. Even Izzy appreciated it... wondering over to say; "I love going to the pub mummy."

"Blimey Iz, don't go saying that to your teachers," I replied, aghast. Not a good look for a five year old.

So all in all, an enjoyable day, except for the football thing.

P.S. Talking of the England football performance, I have a question that I would like to throw into the arena. The England manager, Fabio Capello, hardly speaks any English. Is it possible for him to effectively motivate a team of players if he can't speak their language?

P.P.S. Again speaking of the England football performance, someone once said to me that you could put all the best footballers in the world into a single team and they would be rubbish, quite simply because teams aren't as one-dimensional as that. Apparently a great team needs a healthy mixture of prima donnas and workers....... Discuss.