.JohnnyTheNic diarises his World Cup viewing and listening habits. And what he’s had for breakfast. We think he rather enjoyed the first four days, flitting between the Beeb and ITV…
With a 1pm kick off, I spend the morning baking. When a World Cup is on, you need plenty of finger food. By the time noon comes around I’ve got a tray of mini beef pies, cheese straws and some veggie pasties cooling. Postie arrives with a curtain pole and some records. Mostly picture discs.
Guy Mowbray is the BBC TV comms man with the pleasing flat Yorkshire vowels and he has Jermaine Jenas beside him. JJ is another who is far better on the radio and needs to be more upbeat on TV. I mute the TV and go back to the radio. Nigel De Jong is on hand, looking like an illusionist who sells himself as ‘The Man of Mystery’. Dawn says he looks like a Mexican drug lord. I tell her I can’t write that. Wrighty is there too as is Gary Neville in a stiff, will-this-do dad jacket. They’ve gone for one of their greatest hits for commentary; Jon Champion and Ally McCoist.
When the viewing figures were announced, an average UK audience of 7.4 million watched England play Iran on BBC One, and 9.4 million watched Wales play the USA on ITV. Those seem a bit lower than I’d expect. Boycotting?The contrast between Iran not singing their anthem and England being scared into not wearing the armband is still getting a lot of mileage.
Angus Scott works in this part of the world these days and he tells us about the dispute between Qatar and Saudi over illegal broadcasting. Then it’s to the game with Sam Matterface working with Lee Dixon. Sam welcomes those at work listening on headphones, which strikes me as a weak echo of Des’s ‘shouldn’t you be at work?’
5Live has Vicky Sparks and Pat Nevin on duty. I like it when Vicky lets rip with a full-throated paint stripper and when Pat – who sounds more Scottish than usual, running words together in the traditional slide of vowels – makes some allusion to the Scottish colourists or the 4AD label. Sadly, he does neither. ITV have Hartson and Seb Hutchinson, who couldn’t be more different. Hutch is another from my efficient but anonymous file, as I can never recognise anything distinctive about his voice.
Gary Lineker along with Shearer, Didier Drogba and Vincent Kompany make up an excellent panel. Shearer has a nice lightweight beige long sleeve polo shirt in a fine soft cotton or possible cashmere. He suits lighter softer colours. Drogba doesn’t make any sharp movements, blinks slowly and seems semi-liquid. Vinnie looks like he’s hatching an egg.
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