I was intrigued by the word KOP used at the stadium. Why is the Liverpool FC also called THE KOP?
Spion Kop (or Kop for short) is the name for a number of terraces and stands at sports stadium; so named due to their steep nature, resembling a hill near Ladysmith, South Africa that was the scene of the Battle of Spion Kop in the Second Boer War. The Liverpool stadium is said to be the first terrace to be officially named Spion Kop, and the supporters on Liverpool's Kop helped make Anfield famous for its atmosphere. "Kopites" is a collective name given to the loyal supporters of Liverpool Football Club.
Anyway, back to the game... I was quite excited to be at the match... I'm not a big fan of football, but watching the match at the grounds is a completely different experience than what you get on TV or at your local pub... the atmosphere is overwhelming!
And yes... hehehe... I borrowed Naveen's Liverpool scarf for the match as obviously, I don't have a Liverpool jersey....
But oooppsss.... that meant that Naveen didn't have his Liverpool scarf with him when they sang the Liverpool song! Sorry, Nav!!!
Match started at 3pm with a packed stadium... and as the match went on, it began to drizzle...
Even though it was raining and the pitch was wet, the game went on... we were lucky enough though to have shelter AND to be on the side where Liverpool scored two goals in the first half!
But hey hey hey.... just when you think you know all about British weather.... you're WRONG. In the second half, the sun came out... shining so brightly that it was difficult for us to see the pitch... and the Liverpool goal keeper had to ask for a cap to shield his eyes from the glare of the sunlight...
And we took the opportunity to take some pictures while the sun is still out!
Well, the game ended with Liverpool winning 3-0. Phew! Luckily they won, otherwise, I'm sure all the guys would blame me for bringing bad luck to the club in my first trip to Anfield!*****
That evening, we headed to the Liverpool city centre for a night out. We went to O'Neils as KT Yeo and Nav knew that there was this good live band playing there.
The live band was really pretty good, but I was more amused by the locals in Liverpool. First of all, they are REALLY friendly... I'm not exaggerating here, but I don't know why... they even gave up their table and seats for us... and bought us rounds of drinks!
And secondly, I HAVE NO IDEA WHAT THEY ARE TALKING ABOUT! It's not so much of the topic, but it's their accent that I don't understand at all! 95% of the time, I can't make out what they were saying although they are speaking English! And in the end, to be polite... I will always just smile and nod my head.... gosh... felt like an idiot!
Nevertheless, we enjoyed ourselves.... Beng and Kai Yen joined us from Manchester after their match at the Old Trafford...
But.... once Naveen requested the DJ to play the "Umbrella" song, we all started getting stupid... and from there....
IT WAS ALL DOWNHILL
You can so clearly see that everyone was getting drunk! But oh well... at the end of the day, YOU NEVER WALK ALONE...
So, thank you to everyone for making my first trip to Liverpool an enjoyable experience... Kudos to Naveen, who drove most of the journey, for bringing us there and back safely!
Was over at 21 Thame Road just now for dinner and KT Yeo was playing this song repeatedly... the tune was stuck onto my mind as I walked home... so here's a post on it!
On a warm summer's evening on a train bound for nowhere
I met up with a gambler
We were both too tired to sleep
So we took turns a-staring out the window at the darkness
'Til boredom overtook us and he began to speak
He said, "Son, I've made my life out of reading people's faces
And knowing what their cards were by the way they held their eyes
So if you don't mind me saying, I can see you're out of aces
For a taste of your whiskey I'll give you some advice."
So I handed him my bottle and he drank down my last swallow
Then he bummed a cigarette and asked me for a light
And the night got deathly quiet, and his face lost all expression
Said, "If you're gonna play the game, boy, you gotta learn to play it right."
You got to know when to hold 'em, know when to fold 'em
Know when to walk away, know when to run
You never count your money when you're sitting at the table
There'll be time enough for counting when the dealing's done
Now every gambler knows the secret to surviving
Is knowing what to throw away and knowing what to keep
'Cause every hand's a winner and every hand's a loser
And the best you can hope for is to die in your sleep
So when he'd finished speaking he turned back toward the window
Crushed out his cigarette and faded off to sleep
And somewhere in the darkness the Gambler, he broke even
But in his final words I found an ace that I could keep
You got to know when to hold 'em, know when to fold 'em
Know when to walk away, know when to run
You never count your money when you're sitting at the table
There'll be time enough for counting when the dealing's done
I guess it's not only in Texas hold'em poker that the song applies to! It's also a metaphor of life... at the end of the day, it's how we live our lives - whether it'll be a "winning" or "losing" hand, it depends on how we play it!
Can't remember how it started but somehow, we ended up having a Sports Day yesterday....
I can't even recall when was the last time that we did something that is healthy over the weekend... I mean drinking, playing poker and challenging the IT box can hardly be counted as a sport :P
But against all odds (and even the gloomy and rainy weather in London) we went ahead with it, though I was the only girl who turned up!
The guys started the Sports Day with football in the rain! Then we headed indoors for several rounds of badminton.... and following that, 4-a-side basketball...
Obviously I sat out of the football bits (I can still deal with watching football matches... but me playing football in the rainy pitch? Er.... no thanks!)
I did enjoy myself in the badminton and the basketball session though (and although I suck at shooting the hoops....)
BUT.....
The signs of age catching up with me are showing....
I'm aching all over today... sigh.......
I'm probably one of the most forgetful person that you'll ever meet. I can't even remember the number of times I have left something behind.
The list includes scarves, hand phones, t-shirts, ear-rings, gloves, wallets, credit cards, tickets, oyster cards, etc.
I think as long as the item is not attached to me, I have a very high probability of leaving it behind.
And today, I can add a new item to my long list.
I left my keys hanging on my locker in the office............
And I only realised that when I reached home, stranded below my flat as I didn't have my keys with me to open the door.
To add to my woes, since I live alone and the only other spare key is well.... in my flat.... so, it meant that I had to travel all the way back to the office to retrieve the keys in order to have somewhere to sleep tonight!
I'm lucky that my office is only 10 minutes away.... and not an hour away! Imagine if I live out of London!
I shudder at that thought.... and more than ever, I'm convinced that one day.... I'll end up leaving my child behind.... (if I ever have one... because maybe it's a good idea not to have one so that I'll never lose the child!)
So long, farewell, auf Wiedersehen, goodbye....
After 4 years in London, Chong has finally made the decision to leave and return to Singapore... so we had a farewell celebration for him...
And our gifts for him... were an album and video of memories... of all the fun and good moments that we had together...
I've said it before, but I'll say it again - Chong, I'm glad that our paths crossed...
All the best and good luck to you Chong! We'll miss you... Take care and keep in touch!
