Football..........

My Tanzanian helpers have had to attend the funeral of their neighbour today so I am taking some down time and will be watching the first game of the world cup this afternoon after a leisurely day mooching around Arusha. Sadly this does mean I have to work tomorrow but, I should be finished in time for the *football match.

There is an enormous amount of excitement in Tanzania surrounding the World Cup and I am looking forward to England's first match against our American friends. Looking at the US record of "friendly fire" mishaps I am hoping they will score an own goal in the opening minutes! Looking at England's historic propensity to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory in this event I am keeping my fingers crossed that England can come out of tomorrows game with at least a draw but, I am not putting any money on it.

It will be very embarrassing to lose. There are an awful lot of American citizens in Tanzania, who are here preparing for their Ivy League schools it would seem, and I know they will be only too pleased to, quite literally, beat the Limeys at their own game.

I leave you with a quote which, although it is from an American sportsman (who I will refrain from naming and shaming), is universally appropriate in my view;

"Nobody in the game of football should be called a genius. A Genius is somebody like Norman Einstein"


Have a good weekend.

*For US readers; I am not talking about the form of rugby you play in which the players seem too delicate to compete without armour and have stop playing every 10 seconds or so for a rest....