I was at the Offside Bar in Islington last Friday.
I went to watch the draw for the 2010 World Cup final in South Africa. It was a great evening organised by London England Fans. They normally have a Christmas party in the Offside Bar.
Gary Napper was there. He’d come up from the south coast for the day. I met Gary in Japan in 2002 and have been going to England games with him since. We have an apartment booked in Cape Town for the 2010 tournament.
Springbok
There was South African Gum-boot dancing and South African Food. I had to try the Springbok. It was different and tasty.
The event featured on Sky Sports News and the national press.
The draw looks good for England. We kick off on June 12 against the USA. Then on June the 18th England face Algeria. The final game of the group will be England v Slovenia on Wednesday 23 June.
I am happy with the draw. The match against Algeria is in Cape Town near where where I’m staying. England face Slovenia in Port Elizabeth. Which I’m told is an hour’s drive from Cape Town.
Only the game against the USA will be difficult to get to. It’ll be in Rustenburg on the second day of the tournament.
There’s still lots to sort out.
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Posted in: The Beautiful Game
My parents grew chilli peppers this year.
They grew loads and passed some around. Which is just as well as mine died. To put them to good use, I’ve decided to have a Mexican theme for my meals this week.
I’ve never cooked much Mexican food. OK, I’ve been cooking chilli since my student days, but I doubt if any Mexican would recognize my chilli as such.
I did have a phase of eating TexMex a few years ago. The Break for the Border restaurants in London were a favourite venue for my birthdays. I love fajitas. And the beer with a slice of lime in the top, was all the rage for posing with a decade ago.
But this week I intend to try cooking some authentic Mexican food. Should be fun if nothing else. It’ll probably turn out as nothing else.
If I don’t post for a while, it’ll be down to chilli overload.
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Posted in: Breathing In
My harvest is in and it has been a poor year.
Last year I grew tomatoes. But they took over the flat, so this year it was peppers only.
Unfortunately, some kind of disease got to them quite early in the year. They never developed properly. I don’t use pesticides as I have to live in close proximity to the plants.
They taste fine. But are on the small size. I will have enough for a couple of salads only. Still this is my first year with a yellow pepper!
And I’m getting some of my window shelf back for the winter.
sad
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Posted in: Breathing In
