July 12, 2018

And then there were two

And then there were two.Well after the rollercoaster ride of emotions that many fans have been experiencing all across England and beyond, I’m sorry to say but it’s not coming home. We dared to dream and came agonisingly close to a World Cup Final but, alas, it wasn’t to be. We’ve had great fun following all the results and looking at the permutations of how the draw has panned out. Up until the round of 16 every KS still had at least one team in with a chance but once the Quarter Finals came only Tim (France, Sweden, Russia), Jules (Uruguay, Brazil, England), Pat (Belgium) and Chris G (Croatia) had any chance of getting their money back. After the first Semi-Final between Tim’s Tasty Frenchies and Pat’s Plucky Belgians it was Tim that emerged victorious as France booked a place in another World Cup Final, twenty years after their last appearance in sport’s biggest spectacle. They’ll be hoping their win on home soil last time round is a positive omen ahead of Sunday. And then last night the nation watched as England came out of the blocks early and scored a wonderful Beckham-esque free-kick by Kieran Trippier. They could have and should have scored again but Harry Kane’s effort came off the post with Raheem Sterling unmarked inside the six-yard box. It was to prove a vital miss as midway through the second half Croatia scored and could’ve added a second minutes later when their goalscorer Ivan Perišić hit the post. England survived and after some encouraging words played out a more-controlled first period of extra-time. But that was the best they could hope for because Mario Mandžukić popped up to catch the England defence off-guard and scored what was to be the winner for Chris G’s Classy Croatians. I know it was a bittersweet win for him because even though he, along with Tim, is guaranteed to double his buy-in for our sweepstake, ultimately he, along with millions of other hopeful England fans around the world would’ve loved to have seen a bit of history in reaching another World Cup Final, more than fifty years worth of King’s Singers after the last appearance in 1966. Well, onto more important things than football now. We are back on the road after five nights in our own beds and, for me, I’m not back home until the beginning of August when we begin our holidays. I’m staying out after this next patch in Germany, Switzerland, Belgium and France and Liz is coming to join us for a selection of concerts so that’ll be great for her to get a taste of European summer touring. The weather’ll be hot and we’ll try and stay cool on stage. Next week is going to be great fun teaching six ensembles from around the world as part of the Schleswig-Holstein Musik Festival Masterclass series. Alongside the teaching we have two concerts with the inimitable Sabine Meyer which will be brilliant. She’s such a classy player and one can’t help but lift one’s own performance level when sharing the stage with a world-class musician like her.Well, bedtime for me. Bye for now!