sarahx

I'll be seeing Germany play Poland in Dortmund on 14 June, and Brazil play Australia in Munich on 18 June.

I'm really pleased I'll be seeing Brazil, but to get Poland is a great disappointment. Holland or the Czech Republic would have been lovely.

And England have got Sweden again. Plus Paraguay and Trinidad & Tobago. It could have been a lot, lot worse.

Sven Goran Eriksson was funny on Radio FiveLive this morning - he said his nightmare scenario would to be in a group of the English-speaking nations - Australia, USA and Holland. Holland?!!

I just love the weather when it's like this. Just got home, and the car's claiming it's still 26°C out there. Glorious.

Lovely weekend, too. Spent much of yesterday wandering around Kew Gardens on a Chihuly-hunt. There's a fabulous exhibition of Chihuly glasswork on there at the moment, with lots of his amazing glass structures living with the plants, particularly in the big glasshouses. It's on until January, and if you get chance it's really worth a visit. They're going to be opening up in the evenings one week in October, too, I think, and I'll certainly have to go and see it all again lit up in the dark.

Many photos were taken, and at some point I'll get them downloaded and uploaded. Including redoing this icon - this sculpture, of the Sun, is in the foyer of the Princess of Wales Conservatory and was installed ahead of the rest of the exhibition back in February. This photo was taken with a mobile phone; more were done with a Canon EOS 50D yesterday. But it's not here, so it'll have to wait!

Today I've been running round a football pitch refereeing - the first match of the new season. Blackburn Rovers v Aberdeen 2 (supporters clubs thereof!). Very hot and sticky - I think I was in something of a minority thinking that was great weather for footy. I'm not in too much pain from all the running around yet - but I'm quite sure I'll be sore in the morning. As the only running I do is when I'm refereeing, I get rather out of condition during the summer!

I also filled the car up on the way home - a very painful £44-32. Ouch ouch ouch ouch. And that was having looked at all the prices at the petrol stations between here and Wandsworth Common so I could fill up at the cheapest on the way back. Though 'cheapest' hardly seems like the right word - I forked out 93.5p a litre at the Esso station in Forest Hill. It could have been worse - it was an astounding 96.9p at the BP in Tulse Hill. I wouldn't be surprised if it's gone over £1 a litre at some of the thieving bastard motorway service stations.

Time to go and investigate how the tomato harvest is going. I have a feeling there will be plenty of red ones this evening!

...Jingle bells, jingle all the way
Oh what fun it is to sing when Wednesday win away, hey!

I'm still feeling a touch hung over after last night's footballing entertainment. And it was... entertaining. Very. Oh yes.

Second leg of the play-off semi-finals at Brentford. 1-0 up after the first leg. Stage all set for another Wednesday disappointment. Amazingly, they didn't stick to the script.

Lee Peacock scored a blinding header after about half an hour, and we could easily have been 3-0 up by that stage. Despite the fact that we were playing well and Brentford didn't look very threatening, it was impossible not to be worried still. We're so good at throwing leads away.

Even when we went two up on the night, and three overall, thanks to a deflected free kick from Chris Brunt, I couldn't relax. And sure enough we let in an 87th minute goal. But fortunately it was too little, too late for the home team, and it's Wednesday who are off to Cardiff.

Cue much celebration from the Sheffield contingent.

And it seemed very rude not to go back down the pub for a little more celebration. Three pints of pre-match anaesthetic, and three pints of celebration, and the hangover was well earned.

Next stop - the Millennium Stadium a week on Sunday. Yes yes yes yes yes yes!

Since I was oop north anyway, it seemed rude not to go to John Sheridan's testimonial match in Oldham. Even if it did mean I did two RAF (rough as f***!!) northern towns in two days.

It was just fabulous to see loads of the old Wednesday players from back when we were good in the early 90s playing together again - even if several of them were twice the size they were in the good old days. The Wednesday team facing a team of Oldham 'legends' included David Hirst, Chris Waddle, Carlton Palmer, Danny Wilson, Des Walker, Viv Anderson, Phil King, Mark Bright, Paul Warhurst, Nigel Jemson, Nigel Pearson, and the still gorgeous John Harkes. At the other end of the scale, the Oldham team was graced by football's ugliest man, Iain Dowie. He may be intelligent and a really nice bloke, but he'd definitely have to have a bag over his head...

We also borrowed John Barnes for the day - and my mate Tom was playing too, having been announced as 'Coronation Street's dead man' over the Tannoy when he came on (and the Oldham fans were singing 'where's your spanner gone?' to him, thanks to the fact that he was last seen being clobbered over the head with a wrench by his screen daughter). Wednesday won 3-2, courtesy of a Hirsty hat-trick; Shezza played for both teams but mostly Wednesday; a fine way to spend a Sunday afternoon.

Miraculously, it only took me about 3.5 hours to drive all the way back from Oldham, and now I'm on the sofa with a cat that's very pleased to see me, and about to get around to watching 'Casanova' which has been hanging around on the Sky+ box for the past couple of months, awaiting a quiet evening so I could give it the concentration it deserves. David Tennant.... mmmmmmmmm...