In The Pink

I am enjoying a quiet few minutes before the weekend really kicks in as we have a lot planned for the next couple of days. We did have a lovely lie in this morning as for some reason, known only to Roxy, the dogs did not venture into our room until 7.45am! After that I have been doing some computing and have downloaded Google Chrome to try as a new browser. It claims to be quicker for blogging so I thought I would give it a go. It has also brought to the forefront of my plans some PC repairs as for a short while now I have been getting an error message on start up and have trouble with my windows install software. The same thing happened with the Google Chrome this morning and although I am using it, and liking it so far, I know it is not properly installed. So I have given the local PC shop a call and am going to take my PC in on Monday for a review and possible upgrade to Windows 7. It has been suggested that reinstalling Windows may solve my current issues however I thought I ...

England 1 - Slovenia 0 Wo-hoo! We're Through!!!!!!!!!!!!!  Image Credit: 3D Wallpaper

Oh dear! My World Cup Diary has become predominantly about England these past few days. We are still watching as many matches as we can and loving the competition however its now got serious and all of my energies are with my home team. Last nights performance, despite earning the team a point, was worrying and a little depressing however after a good soak in the bath and the diversion of a good book I had picked myself up and moved back to optimism town! Today has been filled with criticism and concern which I have done my best to avoid. I do not know why we played so bad and looked so uncomfortable and I don't feel qualified enough to comment on the reasons for this. I am a little fed up of having concerns regarding our manager and their tactics and it is very reminiscent of our performance in the last World Cup under Sven when we began doubting the managers ability to inspire the team and select the appropriate squad and formation but my thoughts on this will make no differe...

Well it is going to have to be some half time team talk by Fabio. I am blogging as I do not want to listen to the half time chat in the BBC studio. It has been a very long time since I have seen England play this bad. I hope that they find their confidence and come out playing in the second half like the team I know they can be, and usually are. Come on England...and Happy Birthday Fabio (64 today).

Well work has put pay to my daily World Cup diary entries the past few days but it has not reduced our enjoyment of the competition. All of the games have been of interest but I thought Germany have by far looked the most dangerous and organised team so far. England play their second game tomorrow night and my nerves are returning. I have put it out of my mind for the past few days and have just been enjoying the other games but now the butterflies in my stomach have returned and the mental countdown has begun. I never have any doubt that we have the skill to win but I think confidence and positive attitude on the night are so key for England. So, I will do my best to put my nerves aside and lend the power of positive thought to my team! I believe!

Group C (Polokwane) Algeria vs Slovenia (12:30) 0-1 R Group D (Pretoria) Serbia vs Ghana (15:00) 0-1 R Group D (Durban) Germany vs Australia (19:30) 4-0 R

Well....it's been a long day! It's hard to look back now, I was expecting an England win, but we played really well and have taken 1 point which is very good. So, firstly, Greece vs Korea; I have to say as much as I like Korea I wanted to Greece to win. I lived there for a year so they are the nearest to a second home I have but I am afraid they did not turn up today and it was 2 easy goals that saw South Korea beat them. Secondly, I am afraid Argentina are an arch enemy of England in terms of football only, and I like Nigeria, so I was sad to see them loose but they really had their chances and blew them all. As for the last game, and the best game of the tournament yet in my opinion, I was expecting England to win. I know they can do it but at this stage you can not afford to miss any opportunity. I have been watching football for 13 years now so I know these guys, boys to men. It was an excellent game and USA were worthy opponents. We played very well but were not ...

Group B (Port Elizabeth)  South Korea vs Greece (12:30) 2-0 R Group B (Johannesburg)  Argentina vs Nigeria (15:00) 1-0 R Group C ( Rustenburg )  England vs USA (19.30) 1-1 R * We have noticed some discrepancies between published fixture times, world cup wall charts (from the same publications!) and the TV Guide (Radio Times) so I recommend you turn on your TV early and check your TV Guides so avoid missing the start of any game. I expect it is due to the time difference between the UK and South Africa however publications are not specifying this so be careful! All three games are going to be brilliant today! We are watching a repeat of yesterdays opening game at the moment as we missed it due to work and what an opening game it was. Also I am really happy to say I think the referees and lines men have been very good so far.  I am used to officials in the World Cup being a little over zealous when it comes to penalising players. I can understand it, this is th...

I have pinched another of Bing's images and I have to say they are really pulling out all of the stops at the moment with each daily image being a beauty. Obviously this is nice and topical too as it is England's first World Cup game later today against USA. I also have to post this fantastic image I got off Bing last week . I cannot take my eyes away from this owl, his gaze is so intense and so knowing! Thanks Bing ! I really would recommend setting Bing as your homepage as their photos are amazing and there are links on the page you can click on to find out more about the subject matter of the shots they include.

Well the fours years of waiting are over and once again World Cup excitement fills our lives! The host nation - South Africa. It was very sad that they day also started with the news of the death of Nelson Mandelas great grand daughter, and also the vehicle accident that lead to the death of 3 students from Leicestershire and the serious injury of several other students. I started listening to Radio 5 Lives coverage of the competition on my drive to site this morning where the build up began, my stomach churning in excitement. I missed most of the first game, between the host nation and Mexico which kicked off at 3pm, but was delighted to hear that South Africa scored the first goal of the 2010 finals with an amazing strike from Siphiwe Tshabalala. I did hear their chance to win the game, following a late equaliser by Mexico, as they hit the post in the last 10 minutes or so however it was not meant to be. The game finished 1-1 and by all accounts was a fair result. I made it...