Just a couple of hours to go...

...and then it is make or break for the England team.

At 3pm the whistle will sound the start of the match between England and Germany - a game that most Englishmen & women will watch with some trepidation. Past meetings with Germany have not tended to go in our favour in big events like this but we have proved that we can beat them and have done so on numerous occasions by very healthy scores...remember the 5-1 win in 2001.

Our team need to pull up their socks and give their all - we are here, right behind them, flags flying and raising a glass or two to cheer them on their way to success.

I can't say I'm a huge footie fan, and I can't tell you all the finer details of the game...but I am English and proud of it (well, perhaps a little bit of a European mongrel - descended from French/German/English).

Andy at Pinnacle Crafts is getting a little wound-up waiting for todays game and he had posted the following quote on his blog...

KING HENRY V:
Once more unto the breach, dear friends, once more;
Or close the wall up with our English dead.
In peace there's nothing so becomes a man
As modest stillness and humility:
But when the blast of war blows in our ears,
Then imitate the action of the tiger;
Stiffen the sinews, summon up the blood,
Disguise fair nature with hard-favour'd rage;
Then lend the eye a terrible aspect;
Let pry through the portage of the head
Like the brass cannon; let the brow o'erwhelm it
As fearfully as doth a galled rock
O'erhang and jutty his confounded base,
Swill'd with the wild and wasteful ocean.
Now set the teeth and stretch the nostril wide,
Hold hard the breath and bend up every spirit
To his full height. On, on, you noblest English.
Whose blood is fet from fathers of war-proof!
Fathers that, like so many Alexanders,
Have in these parts from morn till even fought
And sheathed their swords for lack of argument:
Dishonour not your mothers; now attest
That those whom you call'd fathers did beget you.
Be copy now to men of grosser blood,
And teach them how to war. And you, good yeoman,
Whose limbs were made in England, show us here
The mettle of your pasture; let us swear
That you are worth your breeding; which I doubt not;
For there is none of you so mean and base,
That hath not noble lustre in your eyes.
I see you stand like greyhounds in the slips,
Straining upon the start. The game's afoot:
Follow your spirit, and upon this charge
Cry 'God for Harry, England, and Saint George!'

Hope you didn't mind me pinching it Andy, I couldn't have expressed National pride in a better way.

COME ON ENGLAND!!!

Well, we won...

...so we're through to the next round.

England played so much better - perhaps knowing this was 'make or break' egged them on - however, it wasn't a brilliant game and the faces of the crowd showed that folk were not overly impressed.

Fingers crossed that having overcome this hurdle performance will continue to improve.

COME ON ENGLAND.............!!!!!

Second game...

...hmmmmmmmmmmmmm!!!

0 - 0

Well, I didn't expect this World Cup to be a walk-over for England by any means but do we have to make things soooooooooooo difficult for ourselves....................

Not long now...

...to England's first World cup match.
Whilst I can't claim to be a huge footy fan I do like to show support to events where I can cheer on my Country. Last week I was sat in front of the TV cheering on England in the Sport Aid match against the rest of the world...I should have known when it went to penalties..........

Well kick off is not too far off now and I'm sure my sister has made herself comfy infront of her TV LOL not so sure I'll be glued to mine (have to admit, as a kid my main interest in footy was the teams that had the best looking fellas LOL) but I'll certainly have it on.

Wishing our national team all the very best - COME ON ENGLAND!!!!!!!!!!

What is it with...

...naked flames, all of a sudden.

Rhonna's flower (link is a couple of posts ago) required melting the edges of satin ribbon to create flowers - now the Cuttlebug challenge site are using the same technique to create Grunge flowers



They are so very pretty and I would love to have a play but knowing how I nearly melted the table making UTEE coated paper beads (even though there was a heat proof mat) I think it would be safer to leave this technique to others.

Shame, as they really do look very pretty.....................

Kristy & Dan set sail...

...for pastures new.

Today Kristy, Dan & the dogs set off for what will be their new home for almost the next 3 years. Dan has been posted to Germany (near the Dutch border) so their household has 'upped-sticks' to move to the new home that the army has allocated to them - they are off on the ferry today and will be making their way to their new location in order to collect the keys to their new home, next week.

Can't wait for Kristy to send some pics of their new home as all we have seen so far is the sat view on Google maps...it appears to have a nice roof LOL

Kristy says she will be signing-up for German lessons as soon as they get settled - seems like the family has finally returned to its roots...my paternal grandfather came from Germany and not a million-miles from where Dan will be based so Kristy will have a chance to do some tracing of the ancesters.

I know Kristy is hoping to find some craft places within easy reach of their new home otherwise it looks like her grandma & I will be sending out emergency rations - Haribos for Dan and stash for Kristy.

Hope it isn't too long before they can get internet access as it would appear that phone services to the base are rather expensive.

Wishing them all the very best in their new home...and I will share any pics with you all - when I get some..........................

From bargain...

...to treasure.

This is what Emma & Margaret came across during a recent trip to Ikea. What made it even more interesting was that it was reduced to £2.99 because of it being an end of line.
It must have sparked some crafty ideas becasue they bought a load and then came up with a project for today's crop - with some help from Caroline who made up a sample as a demo piece.
From boring tea-light holder to pretty frame with the help of some Webster's Pages PPs, some dotted swiss CS, a few die cuts, assorted brads & blooms and some alcohol inks.
I added some grunge paper roses coloured with toning alcohol inks and blinged up a bit with some stickles, along with a couple of pretty hair clips and some embossed ivy-leaf punched shapes. Oh, and I nearly forgot the resin butterflies that I found recently and had to buy as I was sure they would come in handy for something LOL.
I just love the way the 'Tim Holtz' style roses really add something to a project.
I think I need to convert some photos to B/W or Sepia for this project so at the moment there are no pics on it but I really love the way this all came together......