TO DYE FOR: Andy Carroll looks different with blonde hair
Fun Fact…
Despite destroying much of the city only six people died in the Great Fire of London.
Wikipedia ‘Fact’…
The lack of significant deaths in the Great Fire of London led to locals coining the phrase ‘friendly fire’.
National Hero…
BBC did the legwork for us on this one and from a long and competitive list of candidates the winner was Sir Winston Churchill. The younger generations may associate the name more with a smug dog hawking insurance but Churchill is regaled as the man who guided Britain through the darkest hours of World War II.
A noted writer and winner of the Nobel prize for literature, Churchill penned the inspirational speeches which strengthened and inspired the spirits of the British people throughout the war. He was also one of the first leading voices to warn of the forthcoming threat of Nazi Germany. He then had to step in to the breach to defeat them. In the same survey Princess Diana came two places ahead of William Shakespeare. At least they got Churchill right.
Football Pedigree…
They invented the game as we know it so that’s a pretty good pedigree. The world over will be forever grateful to the chaps in Cambridge who sat down to decide on the first official rules for associated football back in 1848. Since then England has retained a prominent place in world football despite not always justifying it on the pitch.
The domestic league is one of the strongest in the world today and English club sides have competed at the top level of European football over the last fifty years. From 1976 to 1984 English sides won eight of nine European Cups (now the Champions League).
The international side reached their high-water mark in 1966 when they won the World Cup on their own soil. They’ve failed to reach that peak since, despite a number of opportunities, and too often find themselves undermined by the intense pressure created by their media. The distinct lack of expectations this time round could be just what they need.
Acceptable National Stereotype…
‘Beer, honesty, Bulldog-type, Royal Family, Cricket, the Weather.’ – Dickie Bird.
Unacceptable National Stereotype…
The men are all football hooligans and the women look like Jordan.
Don’t be surprised if they…
Lose to Germany on penalties.
Yeah, that’s us, on the button ! (Lose in the Quarters . . . to Spain ? . . . maybe on pens)