World Cup Soccer 2010 USA versus England

USA victory over UK in 1950 (see link below)

As this post is aired, the score will be known of last night's match between two arch rivals: England and the USA. I may or may not post the result depending on the hour; we are early-to-bed birds but Grant and I will be watching the match here in our flat in Khartoum tonight.   We will be rooting for the US!

To read more about the "blip" in soccer history sixty years ago, click here

Note: (11.29 pm) So it was a draw! Poor Robert Green.

The USA team was TOPS!

The Arabic word for sixty is setaheen.

World Cup Soccer for Pets? Nah...

Rambo waits patiently to help feed his offspring but Sweet Pea still doesn't allow him near the baby budgies!

The latest news about the budgies is that it seems as though there will be three babies. I removed one egg yesterday (it is three weeks overdue) and was very light; obviously infertile. We're surmising Sweet Pea may have removed a broken egg (also infertile) earlier in the week. Two of the babies are huge and I've had a glimpse of a third, slightly smaller bird squashed up against the back of the nest box.

Sweet Pea is a wonderful mother and regularly comes out of the nest covered in milk! She sits and preens herself for ages by which time her babies wake up and call for more milk. So the process starts all over again!

Rambo, who according to the Internet - which could be wrong- should help with feeding, tries to peep in the nest he gets a clout across the ear for his trouble.

Grant has made a platform that fits just below the nest opening in anticipation of the little ones' appearance sometime this month. At first Sweet Pea was very suspicious of the attachment (she is the most suspicious lady I've ever known) and it was only when her babies yelled incessently for food that she ventured onto it and into the nest.  Phew! A relief. (I had visions of trying to feed the babies - what, I don't know - with a dropper)


Meanwhile Shadow does what cats do best; he SLEEPS A LOT! Apparently cats sleep for twenty-two hours a day. So far Shadow spends many hours playing with his toys on the lounge mat. When he tires of this, he disappears.  If I go looking for him, I normally find him in the kitchen facing the fridge. After feeding him his dinner of Beef and Rabbit in Jelly (at SDG9/US$3 a tin), he wanders off to fall asleep in one of his many favourite spots.  Need I say more...

What a life for a former feral kitten!

Sweet dreams

Aaah ...that's better

For more on pets around the world, click here

The Arabic word for sleep is yanum

A vuvuzela moment

Above is a photo downloaded from the Internet: the South Africa vuvuzela moment, as it has been dubbed.

The streets of Sandton were covered in a sea of gold and green as South Africans came out in support of the national team which was touring the area in an open top bus.

"I have never seen such a mood," was what former Bafana Bafana player Doctor Khumalo had to say.

The vibe was also seen on the streets of Pretoria with some workers leaning out of their office windows blowing their vuvuzelas while others lined the streets of the city blowing their vuvuzelas in solidarity.

School children in minibus taxis also blew their vuvuzelas from the inside of the vehicles, while other motorists hooted. Metro Police officers also took to hooting and among the myriad of noise an ambulance kept watch at the corner of Prinsloo and Vermeulen streets. The sea of noise however did not seem to obstruct traffic much. 

Across the country, people had been asked to blow their vuvuzelas at midday on Thursday in support of Bafana Bafana and the World Cup 2010.
(Source: http://www.vuvuzelamoment.com/)

Yesterday was the opening match between South Africa and Mexico. We, here in Khartoum, saw the first minute of the game and then we lost the signal. The picture returned forty minutes into the game.

Halftime came and went; within a few minutes of the second half, Bafana Bafana scored the first goal. Whoo-hoo. What excitement! Grant said he regretted not bringing a vuvuzela from South Africa; he'd have blown it! 

And then we, here in Khartoum lost the signal again. The picture returned and we saw that Mexico had scored so it was one-all. Then we, here in Khartoum lost the signal again.

The picture returned after the game and we saw it had ended on a draw.  What a relief for South African fans. At least Bafana Bafana will go on to play in the next round now.

As the tension of playing in the opening match is over now, I believe that the national team is going to surprise us.

Go Bafana Bafana!

The Arabic word for noise is sahoot.