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Location: Blogs Simon and Melody's Blog |
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| Posted by: supersi |
Thursday, June 22, 2006 |
Well two things are certain: summer has arrived… and so has the World Cup! Believe it or not, in Mel’s plant they have setup tele’s at various locations so that workers can watch when a game is on. Otherwise, the company will be faced with huge productivity losses due to people calling in sick. Even in my office there is a cordoned off area for watching the match.
The BBC has also setup giant screens at various locations across London to televise the games. There is one at Canary Wharf just a few minutes from our flat. Early on the morning of the first game (England vs. Paraguay) people were already saving seats on the grass, and 6,000 had turned out to watch by the time the game started. If we were around we too would have braved the sun and heat to get a little taste of football fever. Instead we attended the Family Missions Day conference in south London. For more than one reason it turns out it was a good thing we did.
On Sunday night we went for a walk and noticed a high police presence around Canary Wharf. It is a financial district and we wondered if there had been a threat or bomb scare, but it turned out to be something far more lethal: football hooligans. The Monday morning paper told the story. Several youths supporting rival football teams had started a “mass brawl” at the BBC screen. It is believed that up to 200 people were involved in the fight. News reports stated, “Bottles were thrown, there was a lot of blood, and six people were taken to hospital.” No arrests were made but the screen was permanently switched off. Well don’t it just take just a few to spoil it for everyone else? Now instead of gathering outside to watch the game, those poor office people will actually have to put in a day’s work during the World Cup!
All football hooligans will be relieved to know, though, that in place of the BBC World Cup screen there will be various free, live outdoor events. Performances include, but are certainly not limited to, the Royal Opera House, open air Shakespeare theatre, Geno Washington and the Ram Jam Band, and the London Symphony Orchestra.
We’re trying not to let the darkness of our times get us down, but you never can be too careful these days. As such, I’ll be sure to come to the Romeo and Juliet performance armed with a few rolls of toilet paper, just in case things get ugly. |
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Re: Football Hooligans |
By Anonymous on
Monday, June 26, 2006 |
Wow, I figured you and Mel would be right in the thick of things. Toilet paper? They may question you at the door.
England has squeaked by so far... Portugal may prove a challenge. |
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