Well, it seems the whole city is going to one event or the other. I managed to get a few tickets to a football match, the girls politely declined the opportunity to go. Even when I pointed out that we are going for the 'occasion' and not the match. Still no.
I chose an event at Wembley Stadium as it is quite close to us and in the end it took under an hour between being dropped off at the Underground station and being seated. As you can imagine, the crowds were quite big with the attendence being announced as 76,000. The size of Niagara Falls, Ontario (or twice Woodstock)?
As always, Calum had food at the forefront of his thoughts with an insistance that we get a Mcdonalds if one were available. In the end, we found a pizza stall that delivered up a tasty snack that satisfied us both.
Well the game, incidently Gabon (check a map of Africa) vs South Korea playing, duly kicked off and within about 10 seconds there was a stoppage for an injury. Overall, the match was OK. If I were honest the skill level of the teams was in the region of Cowdenbeath vs East Fife-level but both teams were keen to play and win (it was a 0-0 draw). The atmosphere in the stadium was excellent and we were both impressed with the ground. We were also very happy with the seats as we were positioned just behind a goal, fairly close to ground level.
No snags on the journey home either. An occasion to remember. Here our our photos:
This is Wembley Stadium, it is the home of the Enfland Football team
and one of the largest stadiums in the UK.
Lining up for the national anthems; I forgot the words to both anthems...
Free kick for Gabon - check out the video...
Halftime! Time for Calum to get a snack.
Here's both of us.
Somone's 15 seconds of fame.
The crowds were huge to and from the stadium, but we made it through
in good time.
Although a few dark clouds gathered, it was a dry evening with a bit of sun.
The school grants a Best Effort award for one student per class and this year Stef received it for her class of 10D. She received a pin and a £10 book token. Stef is the last girl shown in the video.
Calum has been taking recorder lessons all year and is slowly getting the hang of it. He recently took a music test and was awarded the copper award for playing. Bronze, silver and gold may yet follow.
Last Saturday (14th) we made a doll from an old glove. He'd seen it done on Blue Peter and we gave it a shot. Truth be told, mum & dad did most of the sewing, but Calum gave a hand and designed a 'robot' doll.
And of course at the end of the school year is the annual sports day. Calum's event was touch and go because of the very wet weather we have been having lately: it was cancelled once and was provisionally scheduled for September is no suitably dry day occured. As it happened, the 17th was good and dry and they were able to put it on. Calum's school house 'Mars' was the aggregate total for the day. And everyone got a medal...
With 'copper-level' music badge.
Blue Peter inspired glove doll: the before and after photo.
We all went down to King George V Park on Sunday to watch Calum and a few of his classmates take part in the annual Bushey funrun. This is the third time he has ran in the race and the final year he runs in the Boys Under 10s and next year his distance increases from 3/4 mile to 1 mile.
Yesterday we went to the nearby town of St Albans to see the Olympic torch relay pass through the town. It was a very enjoyable day as it turned out to be quite an event with the numbers of people attending and the good natured atmosphere of the crowd.
We got to an empty part of the High St almost an hour before the torch passed by. The time flew as there were many sights to see.
We chose a spot right across from 'The Mermaid' pub.
This fellow had gone to a lot of trouble!
The girls...
Getting impatient...
Crowd getting bigger.
Tired waiting...
Something is happening...
Excitment growing.
Just high-fived the policeman...
Torch getting closer.
Part of the travelling circus.
Torch inbound...
The Olympic torch bearer, alongside a hairy policeman...
And away they go.
The bus carrying former runners with their torches.
Heading up the road with the crowds.
Smile girls!
And it was quite a fun event to attend, I hope things go well with the continuing relay. We may even see it again as it travels nearby in Harrow.
