Would you believe it?
England, the world champions! And what a game it was too. Made my hangover almost bearable. We'd gone to see Moloko in Manchester on Friday, staying in a hotel. We got an alarm call at 9am to watch the game. Towards the end I drifted off a little and woke at almost the exact moment Jonny Wilkinson drop-kicked to victory. Made for a perfect weekend.
Moloko were brilliant. Shame about the hotel. Wanting to treat Karen to a nice weekend away I chose Malmaison, paying twice what I would normally for a hotel room - thinking it would be really swanky. Well, it was, but it didn't make me feel special. To me it was just like Travelodge but with fancy bed linen. When I requested a cooked breakfast in the morning I was told I would have to come downstairs for it. They only do continentals in the room. Just how much do you have to pay for a room before you can get whatever you want? And the phone call 5 minutes after the requested checkout time, reminding us to get out.
Anyways, well done to the Aussies who took it all so well. Nice to see a game where there's still good sportsmanship.
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Congratulations England, the new World Kickby Champions! :D
Yes, great game - I was with the England side all the way (but then I'm a kiwi). Us kiwis need to learn to loose a little better given that's all we do of late - the nation has been in some wierd state of mourning since last weeks semi-final loose to Aussie. Its just a game people, just a game!!!
I've heard that as a result of the Kiwi loss to Australia, the price of lamb in NZ has dropped.
It's now only $10 per hour.
As an Aussie, I feel like one of us needs to speak up, so you don't think we are bad sports... It was a great game, and funny to see an entire room slump in unison as the field goal went over. I believe there has been a lot of gracious acceptance here of our default, mostly I think because it was such a close game.
Now, I just have to hold out hope that we can at least win the Davis Cup final on the weekend...
Shame shame, Kanga... never pay more than $5 an hour. ;-P
Congrats to England!
Colin, all that's required to put the All Blacks back on top is to add a couple of lines about disembowelling to the Ka Mate (along with the appropriate gestures). "I live, you die!" would strike a bit more fear into the enemy, I'd think....
Oh, and congrats to the rose -- it's a bit like Canada winning at ice hockey after all those years of Russian domination. All's right with the world at last.
Jake, we were staying in Manchester on Saturday night, just up the road from you at The Place. Shame I missed you, I reckon I must owe you a pint or three for the advice down the years.
They are appartments, so it's self-catering, but they are very nice. Just come down the ramp from Picadilly and hang a right.
{Link}
James. We left on Saturday afternoon. Would have been good to meet up though.
Thanks for the link. Might stay there next time if there's a few of us.
Why is it that the US so rarely features a national team in any popular sport? And would the world be a better place if they did?
I've no idea who Moloko are (or were given the longevity of modern groups)but I do recognise where they got their name from. Did they just like the name or is there some stronger connection with A Clockwork Orange?
Well the US are so rarely featured because they don't like playing with other countries. Take their 'world series' for example.
That's what I mean. OK - they are a long way from lots of other countries but that doesn't stop Australia or New Zealand. Perhaps better sporting relationships would help in other areas.
Um, the World Series of Baseball has nothing at all to do with supremacy over the planet that we live on -- it's a hangover name from the days when Joseph Pulitzer's New York World newspaper was the sponsor for the tournament. Like the MacDonald's Brier (the Canadian men's curling championship), though, it has been the de facto world championship by virtue of the lack of top-level competition from outside Major League Baseball. The Brier has been eclipsed since, first by the Silver Broom and now by a World Cup, but it's still safe to call the World Series the de facto world championship in its sport -- for now.
Interesting... explains it, thanks
Jake, looking at their website should have warned you about that place (besides the name - if mal means bad and maison = house, then...? Right - a bad place!):
"This super-stylish Hotel, Bar & Brasserie,"
- it's not elegant and comfortable, it's "super-stylish" = overpriced, but awkward enough designed to make some people feel they have to speak quiet as in a church.
And something like "A cool destination all year round." may or may not be true - but outfits that say this of themselves are suspicious - if others write it about them and are quoted, that's great, but if it's themselves... : "Look, we're $uper-$tyli$h, and we're cool." They lather the selfpromotion on really thick, but save on the service.
Now tell me where my interpretation is wrong, but obviously they were cool enough to get you off their premises pretty timely. That's super-bad style. I wonder how they'll be able to afford rudeness like that on the long run.
>Moloko were brilliant.
Saw them here in Rhein-Main, and they were quite decent. First time I saw them (and opening Act Gus Gus from Iceland), but I was pretty impressed after a while. The first third of the show wasn't so strong (was it the sound engineers, or the new lineup?), but two or three songs before the encore, they suddenly became very very good, good enough to make up any weakness in the first part.
>I've no idea who Moloko are (or were
>given the longevity of modern groups)
Third album out this year after a break of a couple years. Dancefloory electronic pop stuff that grooves and moves nicely enough to even convince old rock hands that contemporary pop ain't all for the furnace.
It's basically two people who met, did an album ("Do you like my tight sweater?"), became a couple, another album, broke up, quit Moloko.
Now still ex-lovers, reanimated Moloko as full-fashioned band, returned with an album centered around the topic of the end of love and relations (that reads much worse than it sounds). Actually quite likeable, and "The time is now" of one of the other albums is one of the most beautiful tunes the Nineties gave us. Recommended listening from a former music-mag editor.
>but I do recognise where they got >their name from. Did they just like >the name or is there some stronger >connection with A Clockwork Orange?
Chap wore whiteish, possibly striped pants, braces and a bowler hat on stage. No boots, though, barefooted. - if any of this answers your question. ;=}
Cheers from Germany,
A.