Rising to the Challenge

I tackled my first rugby game on Sunday, and it was fabulous! Great sport! Great sport! I went with my friends Gill (Murmle) and Rich (Rich), and we learned some important lessons.

1. Whereas a bottle of beer in Canada is something like 355 mls, one must remember that at a British rugby game they are 500 mls, and therefore one shouldn't be surprised when one sees the world in a different perspective upon standing up at the end of the game having drank a few of those afore mentioned 500 ml bottles, thinking they were equivalent to two pints over two hours, as opposed to two litres over two hours.

2. The teams switch sides half-way through the game

3. Sadly, contrary to how it may appear on TV, when you see the game live, one cannot hear what the miked refs are saying

4. A few G&Ts shared among friends is a nice way to while away an early evening whilst overlooking Green Park, where birds chirp merrily and families do wholesome things like play frisbee together.

5. It is pretty much as exciting as hockey

6. The players are actually quite young and many of them seem to be lawyers, or interested in being lawyers. The whole stupid rugby player thing is a bit of a myth!

7. The game is actually no where near as violent as it may appear.

8. After a meander through the West End, and a fine dinner at a well-known Italian coffee-food emporium, a small half-pint of fine imported ale, a glass of orange juice, some water and some wonderful chocolate ice cream is a nice way to finish a fine day with two (and later joined by two other) friends. And leaves one feeling refreshed and ready to tackle a 25 Km hike the next morning!

9. It would seem that the world of rugby is very small - Rich seemed to know half of the people there!

This next part isn't so much a lesson, but a confession that will shock and appall all of you who know me! It would seem that drinking on the tube is a bit of a regular occurrence here, which neither Murmle nor I could understand. We hypothesized the reasons as being:

a) it is normal, like drinking coke on the tube
b) one wants to seem cool
c) one has a problem
d) (This was later suggested by one of Rich's friends) One is a builder and has had a long day of building.

We decided to test which of the above is most likely, and saved a dribble in our bottles to take with us on the tube. We didn't know when we'd have the chance to do this again, and thought it be best that we do it together to rule out possibility c). It would seem that perhaps a new category needs to be added, as it was the one that was most applicable in our case. e) one didn't have time to finish it before leaving the venue. Anyways, I don't think we're really any closer to the answer.

Pictures will follow...