Hedging my bets

Well, the World Cup kicks off tomorrow and I am so excited! I'm not usually the gambling type but I got my friend, Heart of the District, to take me to the betting shop where I placed my bets. They were a mixture of split loyalties, desperate wishes and a soupcon of common sense. They went like this:

England to win the World Cup (7:1)
Spain v Argentina final (20:1)
New Zealand to make it through the group (9:1)
Fernando Torres to collect the golden boot (13:1)
Peter Crouch to collect the golden boot (50:1)

The girl at the shop laughed at me (well, she's Welsh so her team didn't even make it!) when I told her that I had to support England, New Zealand and Liverpool. She reckons that's actually a pretty common combination in this town. And I know Peter Crouch isn't Liverpool any more - but he should be. Actually I think Germany and Argentina are both in with a chance, and I wouldn't count out Italy either - and of course, you can never ignore Brazil - but I didn't want to bet on them.

So, we shall see. Whatever the outcome, I shall be glued to the screen for the next month. Bring on the beautiful game!