That Blog

Hiya (I have picked that up since I got here…not quite the same ring as “Howzit”). How you all doing back in SA? I hope you have all been Keeping the Flags flying and none of you have been plunged into post-World Cup Depression. What is life like after the World Cup? I miss it terribly!!!

Well, the first few days in Londontown have been fab. I arrived on Saturday and navigated myself to the little South African enclave known as Putney. The sun was shining and I could have sworn that Putney High Street was the direct route to the beach. The girls were wearing very little and bikini’s tops seem to have taken over as the underwear of choice for summer!! I felt decidedly overdressed in my t-shirt and shorts!!

It would appear that my initial referrals to the Mud Island are somewhat misplaced…this place looks like it hasn’t had a drop of rain in months. The normally lush green parks look something like what I recall school hockey fields looking like in mid-winter!! Unbelievable!!!

So far, all has been good…I have learnt to very important lessons early on and hopefully not too many more to come

1) Don’t wear high heel shoes to walk anywhere other than in the office. Nobody else does and if you do, you WILL be in a WORLD of pain. We are not trained to cover such distances in high heels back home and boy do you feel it!!!

2) Do not leave home without an umbrella. Even though the place looks like it hasn’t seen a drop of rain since the Reign of Henry the 8th, that is a misnomer and it WILL rain on your walk to/from the office/tube station. Hair + rain = disaster.

Hoping to hit some sales this weekend…so will report on High Street fashion and attempts at Celeb spotting!!

Miss ya!!

Well That Blog fans, after the long and sad farewells of last week…I encountered what can only be described as a bureaucratic nightmare of note that involved me having to re-apply for my visa and spend a week milling about Jozi waiting for visa app #2 to be approved. Lesson learnt…submit AS MUCH info as possible with a visa application. If there is even a glimmer of a doubt that you will ever return back to sunny SA, you won’t get that visa and that is a lesson I learnt the hard way. It seems that despite my Proudly South African beliefs, the authorities seemed to think that I was a likely candidate to hit the Mud Island, grow roots and start claiming benefits. Anyway, I have persuaded them otherwise and I set sail or should I say, take off tonight.

Anyway…in my abscence, I would like to ask a very big favour of you…please don’t forget the amazing atmosphere that has built up in this country over the last month of fantastic football. If you need any help remembering how the World Cup has inspired us…check out this great website www.keepflying.co.za 

I don’t want to hear stories of post-tournament depression and general sadness…we have accomplished SO much as a country in the last month and you can’t just let that be forgotten on 12 July. Keep those flags on your car/house/wall. Keep those wing mirror covers there and keep that spirit going!!

KEEP IT FLYING!!!

So, I told you yesterday that Betty Windsor was headed Stateside…yip, obviously inspired by the recent Sex and the City 2 movie, Bettie and Phil decided it was time to hit the Big Apple and see how things had changed since their last visit in 1976.

On the off chance that any New York residents were faced with HRH and weren’t sure what to do or how to behave, the New York Daily News offered its readers a quick etiquette guide. They were advised not to mention the Duchess of York, to stick to small talk about dogs or horses, and reminded: ‘Don’t offer a handshake, a fistbump or a high five.’

Brilliant!! I would just love to see the average New Yorker trying to High Five or fistbump HRH!! I think the line that might be used is “We are not amused…”

[Source: The Daily Mail]

I have often seen the ad on the home shopping network for The Bedazzler and wondered whether anyone had ever bought one and if so, whether they used it…now I see that they do.

Betty Windsor is currently on tour of Canada and the US of A and decided that why go buy a new frock when you can just bedazzle up and old one. 

She first wore this frock to a State dinner in Trinidad and Tobago…and to give it a bit of an island feel, she got her peeps to pretty it up by embroidering it  with appliqué birds and flowers…nice touch don’t you think? 

Betty goes with a subtle island vibe

Then, when wondering what to wear to a banquet during her trip to Canada…Betty did what all street-wise girls would do…save money for shopping and sight-seeing on the trip by breathing new life into an old frock. Yip, Betty got her peeps busy again and this time they were to unpick the island feel (not really appropriate for Toronto) and get busy with the Bedazzler. What a stroke of genius…a fortune freed up for shopping and perhaps some pressies for friends and family back home and maybe even be able to catch a show on Broadway! Nice one Betty!! 

Betty bedazzled to the Max

 So, for a little close up view of what she did there… 

The Island Vibe

Unpick that embroidery, bring on the Bedazzler and look what you get… 

Swap Island-vibe for a bit of Bling...

Good work Betty!!

[Source: The Daily Mail]

Happy Friday to all of you!!! Hope the week has not been too brutal and the slow weaning process from the mania of Soccer World Cup 2010 has been alright for you. I have to say that I was left at a bit of a loss as what to do with my evenings when I had free TV viewing time between 4:30 and 10:30pm! What did we do in the evenings before SWC? I guess it is a bit like the question “What did we do before cellphones?” The answer…we didn’t know any better and so just managed!!!

Why have I stuck a random picture of Picadilly Circus in this post you may well ask?? Well, as the heading of this article suggests…That Blogger is going on an adventure. After a brief work hiatus, I am venturing back into the world of gainful employment (am very sad to say that blogging is not quite paying the rent) and in a brilliant turn of events, my gainful employment (more…)

Perhaps this is why so many of the big teams of fallen by the wayside…they came to our shores expecting the landscape to look like this and our pitches to work in a similar way! Mmm…they were in for a bit of a surprise weren’t they?? In fact, of the big name stars in this advert, I think only two of them is still hanging around for the Quarter Finals…the rest of have already had the opportunity to experience the brand new departures terminals at our beautiful airports first hand.

Anyway, I still love this advert and am still fuelled by the “Gees” of Soccer World Cup 2010 Africa Style!!

[Thanks The Bruv]

Way back in the early days of That Blog, I gave you the heads-up about an awesome new on-line shopping site that was about to launch in sunny SA…do you remember? Or maybe it was before your time. Anyway, click here for a little refresher…

So…that amazing new on-line shopping site has now launched and there are some pretty exciting things going on there. It is called Twangoo and it is a really interesting approach to buying services and stuff on-line

Let me give you a quick run down of how things work there…the clever blokes at Twangoo have been frantically sourcing deals from loads of different shops and service providers. They will then run a deals for 24 or 48 hours…you will read about it on their site or if you follow them on twitter or facebook. If you like the deal, you will sign up for it…you then need to persuade your mates to sign up for the deal too. The reason for this, is that every deal has a critical tipping point and so only kicks in when a certain amount of people have signed up to it…so if it is something you really like, you need to make sure it hits the tipping point. Pretty cool idea isn’t it??

The launch special is a pretty awesome one…basically, if the deal hits tipping point and you have signed up for it, you can get 3 of the following spa treatments at Suntra Spa 15 on Orange Hotel for just R670.00

• massage,
• scalp therapy,
• reflexology,
• facial,
• body polish,
• Guinot technispa slimming / firming treatment,
• pedicure or manicure

Have you been for a spa treatment recently? If you have, you will know that this is a VERY good price for 3 treatments!! Imagine…total pampering for 2.5 hours. WHAT BLISS!!! This is such good value, why don’t you treat your Mum or even your best friend to this amazing experience

So…all you need to do is head to Twangoo and sign up for the deal and then get your girl posse to do the same…the deal tips and hey presto, everyone’s a winner!!!

Happy shopping Gals!!

We have known each other for a little while now and so I thought it might be a good idea to tell you a bit more about my life and share a few things that perhaps you don’t know about me. The first thing I shall share is that I live in an Old Age Home that is disguised as a really lovely old block of flats. When I rented my flat, the agent didn’t see fit to point out the fact that when I moved in, I would almost certainly be the youngest person in the block by at least one generation. I guess, the lesson learnt is, that when viewing potential places of residence, one should keep a look out for any evidence of nosey “curtain-twitchers” and zimmer frames!

The other characteristic of this lovely block of flats that the afore mentioned agent neglected to mention is that the garden is a veritable treasure trove for birdwatchers . Whilst I love the familiar call of the Hadeda or occasional cry of a Guinea Fowl as much as the next South African…I never realised that these birds and other very noisy varietals have been allowed to breed prolifically in the gardens of the block and seem to lead a very protected existence. When I say protected, what I actually mean is carefully guarded and exceptionally well cared for…to illustrate my point, let me show you Exhibit A – The Peacock Update. This little newsletter appeared in my post box shortly after moving into the block and served as an introduction to the family of Peafowl that roam freely in the gardens (names have been removed to protect the innocent).

Exhibit A - The Peafowl Chronicles

Updates similar to this appear pretty much on a monthly basis and I will share them with you some time in the futre…but you will be delighted to hear that despite his advancing years and receding tail feathers, Percy is still going strong. Have you ever heard the noise a Peacock/peahen makes? If not, I have attached a little sound clip for you to hear them (Click here to listen)…that often goes through the day and night. They also seem to have developed some kind of harmonising routine with the resident Guinea Fowl, Egyptian Geese, Dikkop and Hadeda population (did I mention it was a veritable treasure trove for birdwatchers??). The only benefit of din would be that the chorus of vuvuzelas that accompany all World Cup Soccer games really don’t phase me at all…

So…now that you are familiar with the fauna of the block, I shall now tell you about some of the residents. I have managed to keep to myself since moving in and have (fortunately) had very little to do with most of the residents…but what I can tell you is to Beware of Greeks Old Grannies carrying Gifts…they definitely have a hidden agenda. I discovered this when I was greeted by Downstairs Neighbour on Friday morning, bearing a gift. (It should be noted that whilst we normally greet each other and discuss the weather when passing in the passage, we have NEVER exchanged gifts). I was immediately suspicious and I was right…she was coming to give me a “talking-to” and thought she would soften the blow by arriving with a gift. It seems that my late night returns from various World Cup game viewings have not gone un-noticed in the Block and it seems, were waking people up. It would appear, that there was also some concern as to what exactly I was doing that was causing me to return home at such odd hours of the night (do old people not watch Soccer or remember that you might celebrate a result by having a drink or two after the match???)…so after much discussion, Downstairs Neighbour was appointed to come and chat to me about my “questionable behaviour” AND whilst she was having the chat, she also thought it appropriate to request that I refrain from flushing the loo after 9pm, as it wakes her up and causes massive distress…so much so, that she has been forced to take Rescue Remedy to calm her nerves. I was quite shocked…firstly that anyone thought MY night time activities suspicious enough to convene a discussion about, secondly that they then felt the need to discuss it with me, thirdly that a flushing loo could cause anyone enough distress that they would need to resort to Rescue Remedy!! Anyway, I  promised not to flush between hours of 9pm and 7am and assured them that after 11 July normality shall return and late night arrivals will be limited to weekends!!

However, whilst trying to block out the cries of Penelope and her brood whilst trying to sleep off the effects of a few too many glasses of wine on Friday night, I got to thinking about how much noise I could possibly be making as a Singleton Girl, living alone, not in possession of any major surround sound or home theatre equipment and due to the barren nature of the Man-scape, certainly not entertaining any gentlemen callers…and decided “WTF!!! These old people are just being ridiculous and if they think that is a noise, I will show them a noise…I am going to get a vuvuzela AND a kuduzela and use them A LOT!”.

Although, not sure what medication Downstairs Neighbour will need to resort to if I do that…I dare say it may have to be slightly stronger than homeopathic!

I shall keep you posted on how my strategy works out!!

Well, I think by now you have worked out that That Blogger is pretty excited about the World Cup and all related festivities. It is here and we love it!!! Will Middle Earth EVER be the same again?

So, for today’s SWC fun…check out the latest in the Lord of the Rings series…awesome stuff!

(Thanks to The Bruv)

You may or may not be aware of this guy. He has become pretty well known for the brilliant e-mails that he writes. He wrote the brilliant Spider e-mail and the brilliant Party in Apartment 3…amongst a load of others. Anyway, the latest tirade is about a missing cat and it is sensational!

_______________________________________________________

From: Shannon Walkley
Date: Monday 21 June 2010 9.15am
To: David Thorne
Subject: Poster

Hi
I opened the screen door yesterday and my cat got out and has been missing since then so I was wondering if you are not to busy you could make a poster for me. It has to be A4 and I will photocopy it and put it around my suburb this afternoon.

This is the only photo of her I have she answers to the name Missy and is black and white and about 8 months old. missing on Harper street and my phone number.
Thanks Shan.

_______________________________________________________

From: David Thorne
Date: Monday 21 June 2010 9.26am
To: Shannon Walkley
Subject: Re: Poster

Dear Shannon,

That is shocking news. Luckily I was sitting down when I read your email and not half way up a ladder or tree. How are you holding up? I am surprised you managed to attend work at all what with thinking about Missy out there cold, frightened and alone… possibly lying on the side of the road, her back legs squashed by a vehicle, calling out “Shannon, where are you?”

Although I have two clients expecting completed work this afternoon, I will, of course, drop everything and do whatever it takes to facilitate the speedy return of Missy.

Regards, David.

_______________________________________________________

From: Shannon Walkley
Date: Monday 21 June 2010 9.37am
To: David Thorne
Subject: Re: Re: Poster

yeah ok thanks. I know you dont like cats but I am really worried about mine. I have to leave at 1pm today.

_______________________________________________________

From: David Thorne
Date: Monday 21 June 2010 10.17am
To: Shannon Walkley
Subject: Re: Re: Re: Poster

Dear Shannon,

I never said I don’t like cats. Once, having been invited to a party, I went clothes shopping beforehand and bought a pair of expensive G-Star boots. They were two sizes too small but I wanted them so badly I figured I could just wear them without socks and cut my toenails very short. As the party was only a few blocks from my place, I decided to walk. After the first block, I lost all feeling in my feet. Arriving at the party, I stumbled into a guy named Steven, spilling Malibu & coke onto his white Wham ‘Choose Life’ t-shirt, and he punched me. An hour or so after the incident, Steven sat down in a chair already occupied by a cat. The surprised cat clawed and snarled causing Steven to leap out of the chair, slip on a rug and strike his forehead onto the corner of a speaker; resulting in a two inch open gash. In its shock, the cat also defecated, leaving Steven with a foul stain down the back of his beige cargo pants. I liked that cat.

Attached poster as requested.

Regards, David.

_______________________________________________________

From: Shannon Walkley
Date: Monday 21 June 2010 10.24am
To: David Thorne
Subject: Re: Re: Re: Re: Poster

yeah thats not what I was looking for at all. it looks like a movie and how come the photo of Missy is so small?

_______________________________________________________

From: David Thorne
Date: Monday 21 June 2010 10.28am
To: Shannon Walkley
Subject: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Poster

Dear Shannon,

It’s a design thing. The cat is lost in the negative space.

Regards, David.

_______________________________________________________

From: Shannon Walkley
Date: Monday 21 June 2010 10.33am
To: David Thorne
Subject: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Poster

Thats just stupid. Can you do it properly please? I am extremely emotional over this and was up all night in tears. you seem to think it is funny. Can you make the photo bigger please and fix the text and do it in colour please. Thanks.

_______________________________________________________

From: David Thorne
Date: Monday 21 June 2010 10.46am
To: Shannon Walkley
Subject: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Poster

Dear Shannon,

Having worked with designers for a few years now, I would have assumed you understood, despite our vague suggestions otherwise, we do not welcome constructive criticism. I don’t come downstairs and tell you how to send text messages, log onto Facebook and look out of the window. I am willing to overlook this faux pas due to you no doubt being preoccupied with thoughts of Missy attempting to make her way home across busy intersections or being trapped in a drain as it slowly fills with water. I spent three days down a well once but that was just for fun.

I have amended and attached the poster as per your instructions.

Regards, David.

_______________________________________________________

From: Shannon Walkley
Date: Monday 21 June 2010 10.59am
To: David Thorne
Subject: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Poster

This is worse than the other one. can you make it so it shows the whole photo of Missy and delete the stupid text that says missing missy off it? I just want it to say Lost.

_______________________________________________________

From: David Thorne
Date: Monday 21 June 2010 11.14am
To: Shannon Walkley
Subject: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Poster

_______________________________________________________

From: Shannon Walkley
Date: Monday 21 June 2010 11.21am
To: David Thorne
Subject: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Poster

yeah can you do the poster or not? I just want a photo and the word lost and the telephone number and when and where she was lost and her name. Not like a movie poster or anything stupid. I have to leave early today. If it was your cat I would help you. Thanks.

_______________________________________________________

From: David Thorne
Date: Monday 21 June 2010 11.32am
To: Shannon Walkley
Subject: Awww

Dear Shannon,

I don’t have a cat. I once agreed to look after a friend’s cat for a week but after he dropped it off at my apartment and explained the concept of kitty litter, I kept the cat in a closed cardboard box in the shed and forgot about it. If I wanted to feed something and clean faeces, I wouldn’t have put my mother in that home after her stroke. A week later, when my friend came to collect his cat, I pretended that I was not home and mailed the box to him. Apparently I failed to put enough stamps on the package and he had to collect it from the post office and pay eighteen dollars. He still goes on about that sometimes, people need to learn to let go.

I have attached the amended version of your poster as per your detailed instructions.

Regards, David.

_______________________________________________________

From: Shannon Walkley
Date: Monday 21 June 2010 11.47am
To: David Thorne
Subject: Re: Awww

Thats not my cat. where did you get that picture from? That cat is orange. I gave you a photo of my cat.

_______________________________________________________

From: David Thorne
Date: Monday 21 June 2010 11.58am
To: Shannon Walkley
Subject: Re: Re: Awww

I know, but that one is cute. As Missy has quite possibly met any one of several violent ends, it is possible you might get a better cat out of this. If anybody calls and says “I haven’t seen your orange cat but I did find a black and white one with its hind legs run over by a car, do you want it?” you can politely decline and save yourself a costly veterinarian bill.

I knew someone who had a basset hound that had its hind legs removed after an accident and it had to walk around with one of those little buggies with wheels. If it had been my dog I would have asked for all its legs to be removed and replaced with wheels and had a remote control installed. I could charge neighbourhood kids for rides and enter it in races. If I did the same with a horse I could drive it to work. I would call it Steven.

Regards, David.

_______________________________________________________

From: Shannon Walkley
Date: Monday 21 June 2010 12.07pm
To: David Thorne
Subject: Re: Re: Re: Awww

Please just use the photo I gave you.

_______________________________________________________

From: David Thorne
Date: Monday 21 June 2010 12.22pm
To: Shannon Walkley
Subject: Re: Re: Re: Re: Awww

_______________________________________________________

From: Shannon Walkley
Date: Monday 21 June 2010 12.34pm
To: David Thorne
Subject: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Awww

I didnt say there was a reward. I dont have $2000 dollars. What did you even put that there for? Apart from that it is perfect can you please remove the reward bit. Thanks Shan.

_______________________________________________________

From: David Thorne
Date: Monday 21 June 2010 12.42pm
To: Shannon Walkley
Subject: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Awww

_______________________________________________________

From: Shannon Walkley
Date: Monday 21 June 2010 12.51pm
To: David Thorne
Subject: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Awww

Can you just please take the reward bit off altogether? I have to leave in ten minutes and I still have to make photocopies of it.

_______________________________________________________

From: David Thorne
Date: Monday 21 June 2010 12.56pm
To: Shannon Walkley
Subject: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Awww

_______________________________________________________

From: Shannon Walkley
Date: Monday 21 June 2010 1.03pm
To: David Thorne
Subject: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Awww

Fine. That will have to do.

Even though we didn’t qualify last night, we still beat France and we still have a lot more soccer to enjoy. We have achieved so much as a nation, that we cannot stop now.

Click on this link to view something really inspirational and special (it has sound too) SA – It Does Not Matter

Watching this just gave me goosebumps all over and made me feel so proudly South African. We won in so many ways!!

Well done South Africa!! You are awesome! I am so proud of you!!

KE NAKO!!!

(Thanks Steve)

The clever gals at Habits have come up with a Soccer shirt with a difference and That Blogger will definitely be sporting one of these little numbers for the next game. Don’t you just love the jumbled letters…a bit like some of the game results of this World Cup!!

Get yours from Habits in Claremont or available on-line at www.habits.co.za

Incidentally, if you are concerned that your shopping might interfere with game viewing…fear not, Habits is screening the games on a flatscreen TV and will be serving De Grendel wine to calm your nerves.

In the aftermath of the devastating drop-out of our Mighty Bafana Bafana from the Soccer World Cup, I didn’t think I would be able to find anything that could possibly put a “smile on my dial”…until I spotted these magical words “Brandon Flowers has released a solo album” whilst perusing the interweb.

On the off chance you don’t know who this genius is, Brandon Flowers was the lead singer of one of the greatest bands of our time…The Killers. Remember them? Came here last year, did a concert at Val da Vie…awesome concert spoilt by possibly the worst traffic jam in living memory. Yes, that was The Killers. Anyway, the lead singer has gone and done a solo album and one of the songs…Crossfire…has been leaked to the world.

According to those in the know on the interweb (obviously as trustworthy as the tabloids) this is not the end of the Killers…just a hiatus for the band. They are hopefully going to be recording a new album soon.

Anyway, Listen to it right here on That Blog (Crossfire)

I love it, what do you think of it???

Apologies to all That Blog followers for the problems you may have encountered yesterday and today with the site. it looks like all is sorted now and hopefully your That Blog experience will be uninterrupted in the future.

I am fairly sure that some time in my school education, some well-meaning teacher tried to teach me cross stitch. Now I could just kick myself that I didn’t pay more attention…little gems like this don’t come along every day and you really need to be able to capitalise on them when they do…unfortunately, I was clearly more interested in the latest developments in Loving (you may recall that was the soapie of the day) to focus on cross stitch and now I will have to let this opportunity pass me by.

Whilst perusing the British tabloids today, I discovered a link to a PDF file of a Wayne Rooney cross stitch pattern. Honestly, can you think of a better way to remember the excitement and drama of World Cup 2010 than to have your very own Wayne Rooney scatter cushion??? No seriously, is there in fact a footballer that would go better with your beautiful carefully selected St Leger and Viney sitting room decor than Shrek aka Wayne Rooney?

The newest trend in home decorating

So, for those of you that did actually pay attention in Needlework Class…good luck and get stitching!!

(I really tried to find gems like this about our own Bafana Bafana, but it seems that the Poms outstrip the Bafana Bafana fan base when it comes to memorabilia like this!)

[Source: The Guardian]

I was sent a link to this great music video the other day and have subsequently seen it on a couple of other fab Cape Town blogs.

I just love this video and thought that just in case you hadn’t seen it yet, you might want to check it out…

Doesn’t it just make you want to live in Cape Town??? Oh wait, I do…Lucky Me!!! Long may that last!!!

So, first there was designer glasses frames and now we have gone one step past that, to designer eyes. Now, you can get contact lenses with the ‘CD’ logo etched in alongside gold flakes…because everyone knows nothing brings out your inner vampire like unnatural eye colors!!

The contacts have a ‘CD’ logo etched on the left side and a gold strip covering the entire right side. There’s also what appears to be a black rim surrounding the circumference of the contact. Am hoping that the wearing of designer contact lenses doesn’t limit you to mascara that makes your eyelashes go all clumpy like that though…not a GREAT look!!

That Blogger is not completely sold on this new fashion item to be honest…We are all for non-permanent ways of playing around with your look, but branding your eye ball? Is that not taking things just a smidgen too far. Can’t wait to see what the designers at Louis Vuitton and Gucci can do to improve on this…LV is not known for making things subtle and understated, so the Battle of the Eyeball is bound to be an interesting one!!

Have you noticed that at the end of some matches, the teams swap shirts? Well, if you haven’t, it is definitely something worth hanging around for. Perhaps, try not let The Bloke flick over to the other sports channel to see what is happening in the golf/rugby/cricket as the final whistle goes and see what wonderful things transpire on the field.

Anyway, ahead of the Portugal vs Ivory Coast game this afternoon, I thought you might be interested in a little glimpse of what the shirt-swapping exercise could hold for you. Do you remember I showed you those delightful pictures of Cristiano Ronaldo? Well, our favourite Portuguese soccer player is getting his kit off again…this time he is doing it for Armani. The new Armani advertising campaign is about to be launched and guess who their poster boy is?? Yip, Cristiano himself.

A thing of beauty isn’t he??

"I can't believe she has put THOSE clothes out for me to wear"

"You're great! My last girlfriend hated me lying on the couch when I got back from a training session"

Alas, with the nasty cold spell that seems to have gripped the country, I am not sure anyone is going to be too keen to whip their shirt off, but well worth hanging around for after the final whistle…just in case.

Kick off is at 4:00pm today. Enjoy!

[Images courtesy of Armani]

That Blogger has returned from an awesome weekend up country. The Opening Game is something that I will remember forever…in fact, probably, for many years after I have lost the full function of my sense of hearing as a result of the amazing sound of all those vuvuzelas gathered in one place! Well worth it though, the day was incredible!

Anyway, I was told about these beautiful art prints and thought you might be interested in buying something really special to remind you of this awesome time in our country. Obviously, that furry soccer ball hat that you bought outside the Stadium will always remind of you this special time, but perhaps you are looking for something a little more classy…or that you can have out on display ALL the time! A selection of local and international artists were invited to create works that celebrated art and soccer. Each print is numbered and come with a signed certificate of authenticity. (Click on the pics to see them enlarged)

There are loads more beautiful pictures that can be viewed on the FIFA™ Website, but these were just some of my favourite ones.

You can chat to Suzie Copperthwaite on +27 83 468 0363 or e-mail suzie@artlogic.co.za if you want more info about the artworks.

That Blogger is actually on tour at the moment…well, if you call heading up country to Jozi “On tour”. Yip, I am lucky enough to be heading to Soccer City to watch the Opening Game live!!

Anyway, I would never forget my lovely readers and always have their best interests at heart…that is why I thought I might mention a great special you might want to check out.

The über cool, Planet Bar at the Mount Nelson Hotel is getting into the World Cup Spirit…yes, they too can feel it!

There very talented team of mixologists (you may know them as barmen) have come up with a series of awesome new cocktails. With exciting names like ‘Italian Glimpse’, ‘Golden Goal’, ‘Berlin Martini’, ‘Slovenian Tea’, ‘Benny’s Kick’ and ‘Hemingway Special’, the thirteen cocktails sound as exotic as their ingredients, and are bound to get you into the swing of things!!!

Also, it is a well know fact that SERIOUS A-LIST celebs luuuuuuuuuuuuurrrve the Mount Nelson and the Planet Bar…so why not print out your list of WAGs and set off for a snifter or two.