El Loro, I promise I will come and visit you here.  Unfortunately I'm not a football fan.  I've said I will only watch England IF they get into the final, which is very unlikely!!

It will be nice to have another thread to come into when all the BB stuff gets too much, which often happens. 

Welcome to the sanctuary.

I agree with you that I would be surprised if they do get to the final. I've worked out that if (and that is an if) they win their group, and Germany are second in their group, that they would meet in the next stage, so I can see that that match could attract people who normally have little interest in football.

I will watch the England matches and the final, but I'm not spending my time watching the other matches as although I enjoy watching some football, I'm not obsessed with it.

One piece of good news today comes from RBS/Nat West which has pledged not to close any branches in communities where there are no other banks. At present there are around 100 such communities where there is just the RBS/Nat West.

And Hamilton has just won the Canadian Grand Prix, followed by Button, then Alonso.

i like this time of year because mummy and daddy put lots of sport on the TV, and I like watching it. I like Wimbledon cos of the tennis balls. In the winter I like the snooker. I tap the balls from on top of the telly. in the football competition, Mummy has to support denmark too because she has them an a sweepsteak. I like steak too. mummy is off work poorly today. she says it might be the antibiotics playing havoc with her digestion. She is sleeping a lot on the settee.... so is polly come to think of it and she had antibiotics too; so I get some paw time on here.

Welcome to the sanctuary.

You'll need to be very kind to Mummy becuae Denmark lost their first match - maybe your Mummy can help Denmark find their match with the help of her sweepersteak.
Naughty aunty biotics giving your mummy tummy ache. If it's more than tummy ache such as being sick, she should get in touch with her doctor.

No 'twittering' though eh?
 

twits are permitted though, else I would be excluding myself

The annual Horse v Man marathon in Wales has been won this year by a horse again, which isn't really surprising.

See this BBC article for the story

Also this is the 2008 race.

A couple of my cousins going for a short trip

It has just been announced that the Israeli cabinet has voted to ease the blockade at Gaza

The BBC news article includes these paragraphs:

The decision to ease the land blockade, agreed by Israel's security cabinet after a two-day meeting, will see the expansion of the number of products Israel will allow into Gaza via border crossing points. The naval blockade will remain in place.

The new Israeli-approved product list includes all food items, toys, stationery, kitchen utensils, mattresses and towels, Reuters news agency quotes Raed Fattouh, Palestinian co-ordinator of supplies to Gaza, as saying.

The only item singled out in an Israeli government statement is a plan to allow in construction materials for civilian projects, but only under international supervision.

Israel has blocked the supply of materials like cement and steel, arguing that Hamas could use them to build weapons and fortifications.

However this is only a partial relaxation and has already been criticised by Hamas and the Palestinian Authority in the West Bank.

Good morning El Loro,
I love the Formation Parrot Flying. As you already know, parrots are very clever birds.

Good afternoon Yogi - thanks for popping in. I've been to the dentist this morning for a filling, scale and polish - yep even parrots (well me anyway) have to go to the dentist sometimes

To celebrate Gloucester Old Spot pigs being placed on the official Protected Food Name list (such as Melton Mowbray pork pies and Cornish clotted cream) here's a brief clip.

If you're near Cheltenham today, pop along to the Cheltenham Town Hall for the Ukulele Festival of Great Britain !
Link to website

And as it's Ukulele day in Cheltenham, I thought I should post this:

And I thought as I posted the highlights of the England Australia gane that I should do the same for the England Algeria match.

 

Good morning to any Fredsters, Bensters, Mariosters etc looking in

Welcome to the Bird Sanctuary

Hi El Loro thought I would drop in and leave you a Wednesday greeting

She's gorgeous

Me too Squiggle.  I think we did Figtree proud and brought a very fitting end to Freddie's thread.  I'm sure he would be proud of us. 

  Ah, squiggle and joyron and yogi and all you Fredsters

On a very different note, El Loro what is your opinion of people taking time off from work to watch the England match this afternoon.  My grandchildren (aged 5 and 8) and being let out of school at 2.30 pm today so that they can get home in time to watch.  I think that is so wrong!!

IF people went into work early this morning to make up the time so that they can leave earlyt this afternoon then so be it.  IF they say they will make the time up later then I'm sure that will never happen.

On your last point Joyron I agree.  We have, I think, had enough of a laissez faire attitude.  It is noses to the grindstone shoulders to the wheel time now and we all have to play our part.  I was horrified to read that even with all the harsher financial difficulties we will still be massively in debt in 5 years time because the deficit just keeps growing when you reach these levels.

I have mixed feelings about letting people off work or school to watch this match. Back in 1966 when England beat Germany, even though it finished well after my normal bedtime as a child my parents let me stay up to see the match, even though they had no interest. They knew it was important to let me be part of the match. Schools and businesses have known for ages when this match was going to take place, and some of them have made arrangements such as putting up big screen at the schools/places of work for those who did want to watch.
And I wonder just how much effective work will be done by those who want to watch but aren't allowed to. But it's easy for me to say this as I work from home and am self-employed so can watch and work at the same time.

mary_bee has made her farewell post on Freddie Fanclub and this is a permalink to that post.

Hello again everyone, and a big thank you to El Loro for this haven.

Hello Yogi .

I'm just flying down to South Africa to watch the match  - it helps that I've got wings

Enjoy the match El Loro.
 I am hoping for an England win, so my poor hubby can have something to smile about.

So far so good, Germaine Defoe scored mid way through the first half, so at half time it's 1-0, and so far England look reasonably on top of things and James has been comfortable in goal. At the other end the Slovenian goalkeeper almost did a Green, but he picked up the ball inches from crossing over. Rooney is playing better than in the two previous games, but hasn't yet provided the devasting touch which he can have.

Heart stopping moment mid way through the second hald when Slovenia had 3 shots at goal in 3 seconds, but England survived.

But England did win 1-0. As USA won in the last minute of their game they go through as Group C Winners with England as runners up. This means that England's next match is against the winners of Group D on I think Sunday at 3.00. This is likely to be Germany!!.
We could have the prospect of that match on at the same time as Andy Murray's match if he wins tomorrow's match.

At last, an England win and my hubby has something to smile about.

Good morning

Did you see that extraordinary tennis match yesterday (and the day before and continuing today)? It has to be regarded as one of the most memorable events in the world of sport of all time. The 5th set alone has lasted for 7 hours SO FAR.

Today I'm having my windows replaced upstairs at the back and side of the house, including the room where I have my computer, which means that I'll be off air for most of the day - also as they will be using glue this is likely to make me off colour today and tomorrow (that's what happened when I had the patio doors and kitchen door & window replaced the other week). I am keeping my bedroom door shut to try to keep fumes out of there.

See you later

Hello El Loro, I've been out and about today - nurses appointment and coffee with a friend.
You certainly are having lots of work done on your house, you must have the patience of a saint to put up with the upheavel. I speak as someone who gets very grumpy about the chaos caused, when decorating one room.
I bet it will look lovely when it is all finished.
<--  Gasmask enclosed to help with the glue fumes.

Afternoon everyone.    El Loro you certainly are very busy with doing up your house.  I thought we had a lot to do but nothing compares with your list of jobs!!

Yogi, how is the gardening/greenhouse going?  I've got a lot of flowers on my outside tomato plants so I'm hoping for a good crop later in the season.

I having one of my really bad days today so I've not been about much.  I have loads of company coming on Sunday so I'm trying to rest as much as possible.  Wish I could put the visit off but it would upset too many people's plans.  I'll just do what I have to and then take a back seat and let the others do the work. 

Yogi, thanks for the gasmask - it really helped and I feel fine as a result. The men had finished by 1 as it was straight forward work.

You should have seen the state of the house before I had started getting the work done! I know I've had a lot of work done, and there's still more to be done, but the most urgent work is now done, and I can get the rest done in stages when it suits me. As you say its been an upheaval, but knowing that I've now got the money to be able to do the work makes it feel less stressful than it otherwise would have been. I know this work has been going on and off for weeks, but I wanted it done this way to be able to keep it under control.

Joyron, I'm sorry to hear you're having a really bad day, but tomorrow will be better and try not to get too stressed about Sunday - as you say take a back seat and let thne others do the work.

That tennis match eventually finished after 11 hours!

El Loro, I think you have coped really well with the upheaval and, as you say, you can do the rest in stages.
I am watching the Haase/Nadal match, which has had some fantastic tennis. Nadal is currently leading three games to one in the final set.

Joyron, I'm sorry you are still feeling unwell. Try to rest as much as possible before your visitors arrive for the weekend.
My tomato plants are coming on well, I've actually got three little tomatoes on one of the plants. The strawberries are doing well too, although my sons say I've to stop eating them as they ripen. Nobody else has eaten any yet.
Herbs, sweet pepper and chillies are coming along nicely as well.