Wednesday

The plan tonight is to get a Football Basement podcast done, taking in the first few days of the World Cup, with a few more of us on board than there were for last week's one. So after work I gather up my podcasting tools - the external hard drive to save the files on, a notepad and pen so I can thrash out a running order while I'm on the tube and a couple of quid to buy the requisite 3 cans of lager - and jump on the tube heading towards Borough.

I meet Joe, Matt, Dave and Warren in The Ship, where South Africa v Uruguay is on the TV. We watch a little of it, then go and sit in the beer garden to enjoy a little of the warm evening and smoke a cigarette. I haven't seen Joe for ages so it's good to catch up; and we both realise this every time we get together - we've been mates for a good 9 years now and it's silly how little we actually get to meet up.

Just before half-time in the football we make a move toward Warren's house to record in his basement, and watch the end of the first period in HD on his impressively massive new telly. By this time, though, most of us just want to watch the rest of what is an engrossing Group A match, meaning that it would be a little late to start a podcast afterwards. So it is that we have a couple of drinks and watch South Africa lose 3-0, before all heading home around 9.30.

Even though we didn't get a recording done - and rescheduled for Sunday - it's nice to hang out with the South London guys for an evening just for the sake of it, and when Joe suggests I come down to Clapham to watch the England game with Algeria on Friday, I happily agree.