Very serious business today

This morning I set out at 7.15 am on behalf of you to check that Twickenham was ready for the final and there was no sabotage! This morning was a trip to Twickenham to tour behind the scenes and of course check out for you all that the following were in place: 1.The correct jerseys were displayed alongside the great bronze outside Twickenham 2. The correct flags were flying inside the stadium 3. There was no glass on the pitch 4. The All Blacks had the correct Changing Room (England's of course being the most prestigious) 5. The changing room was appropriate for the mighty All Blacks 6. There was no food in the fridge in the changing rooms that might go off and poison the lads! It was a really interesting trip inside the stadium. Once you are on the edge of the grass you get a sense of what it must be like for players to see the stadium full. On the pitch there were lots of special light mounts (looked a bit like the sprinklers our farmers use to water their paddocks). These lights imitate sunlight and supposedly help the grass to grow. Three per cent of the grass is artificial as the artificial grass is used to bind the natural grass and make it stronger. We then went through the hallowed doors of the Changing Rooms and saw all those dedicated seats we often see on pre-match TV. I did check out the fridge to make sure there was no rotting food there that would poison our team. There was a good display of international rugby players who died in World War I and you will see in the pictures John Key on a TV. John Key would not always make my postings but he was speaking on the video on the contribution and commitment of NZ'ers in World War One and the fact that the events of World War One were a significant part of New Zealand become a Nation in its own right. Today was one of those days when you contemplated giving the tour a miss (many did and although 7 buses were ordered for TED Team only three were required). We left the hotel at 7:15 am in pouring rain and it rained almost non stop for the two hour journey to the stadium. However by the time we alighted from the bus the rain had stopped which was just perfect for the tour behind the scenes. I was glad I made the effort even if the alarm did go off at 6:15 am. We finally arrived back at the hotel after 1 pm so I grabbed a Banana and a coffee from the coffee shop in the hotel to get some sustenance and contemplate what I might do with the rest of the afternoon. Decided that I would visit the Imperial War Museum as they were promising a special World War I display. I arrived and joined what felt like thousands of others to view the display. There seemed to be lots of school groups which I suppose makes sense in that the English version of Anzac Day (Remembrance Day) is in early November and no doubt all the schools were visiting so the pupils could get a sense of what Remembrance Day is all about. I didn't think the display compared as well as the one we saw with John in Manchester earlier in the year but that could have been because of the crowds. Finally back at the hotel around 5 pm for a dose the The Chase and the news before I head out to find a meal in the vicinity of the hotel. Saw a local pup not too far away so thought I might try that tonight. Just realised that Saturday the day of the Final is Halloween so it could be an interesting night after the match. Glad to see you are back on line Irene - hope you enjoy following along.