David Coulthard, the Scottish racing driver, has been awarded an MBE in the Queen’s Birthday Honours List. Even though he never won the F1 World Championship he has made a great contribution to the sport – and continues to do so both as a BBC commentator and as a driver in other classes of motor race. I’m pleased for him.
Meanwhile, at the weekend, the two British drivers Lewis Hamilton and Jenson Button came first and second in their McLarens.
It’s just a pity that the England football team didn’t round off the weekend with a win – they drew 1-1 with the USA despite a three minute goal by Liverpool and England captain Steven Gerrard.
Ironside Road, the street in Huyton’s Bluebell estate, where Gerrard grew up, is absolutely overloaded with flags and bunting and messages of good wishes.
Another Liverpool player, Dirk Kuyt, scored the winner for Holland against Denmark in the first round.
While on the subject of Gerrard I should point out that my posting of 5th April
was accurately prophetic – Rafael Benitez parted company with Liverpool FC in May.
On Sunday, the 1990 Italy World Cup star, Paul Gascoigne was in a "serious but not life-threatening" condition in hospital after a car crash in Newcastle upon Tyne. Gazza was a player with Newcastle United, Tottenham Hotspur, Lazio, Glasgow Rangers and Middlesbrough.
What happened to the good old rattle? My hatred of the vuvuzela, the noisemaker wielded by South African soccer fans, grows by the minute. There is debate about whether it's a unique part of South African culture, and therefore untouchable, or just a cheap plastic import that makes a lot of noise, like an electric air horn or a whistle. The vuvuzela ranges in length from 2 to 3 feet. The longer it is, the harder it is to blow. One vuvuzela -- a loud, tuneless blast -- sounds something like a foghorn. But a stadium full of vuvuzelas, all tooting simultaneously, is a noise so irritating that it borders on being painful. It has been compared to a deafening swarm of wasps or a herd of flatulent elephants.
Over here we are celebrating the NZ team's drawn match with Slovakia - our first Football World Cup point ever! It is only the 2nd time we have qualified for the tournament (previous time was 1982).
ReplyDeleteEven the All Blacks stayed up to watch the match!