Despite having said that I was going to support A B E on the Wales Home site, I have changed my mind.
Apart from Welsh politics my other delight is family history, which can be an expensive business when one has to pay for access to family history sites such as Find My Past.
Find my Past has pay to view family history records that include all the England and Wales Census records from 1841 to 1911, an index of Birth Marriage and Death indices from 1837 t0 2006 and many more records.
During the World Cup Find my Past has a bargain for those who do not want to watch the footy:
If you're not football mad, there is something else to do during the World Cup – make it your goal to research your family history.
You can view all the records on findmypast for free during every England World Cup match – all you need to do is register.
How it works:
30 minutes before kick-off we'll stop charging for 3 hours, which should give you plenty of time to explore what we have to offer
England will play on / at
12/06 19:30 BST
18/06 19:30 BST
23/06 15:00 BST
South Africa is currently in Winter and working on GMT so add an hour for international world clocks based on GMT.
Of course if England succeeds to progress beyond the first stage there will be even more free time available on Find My Past, another four games / 12 hours if they go through to the final or the 3rd place play offs!
So come on Eng-earl-and!!!
Showing posts with label world cup. Show all posts
Showing posts with label world cup. Show all posts
12/06/2010
18/10/2007
England or South Africa?
I am not very interested in sports. I have never quite understood the significance of the fact that my country is better than your country because a dozen or so of my compatriots can kick, throw, head or bat a ball better than a dozen or so of your compatriots.
Having said that I am aware of how politically significant 1966 was. 1966 was important not just because England won the football World Cup, but that it was won by beating Germany. It was the real end of the two world wars. Had England won in 66 by beating France, Brazil, Sweden or Argentina, it wouldn't have been half as significant an event as beating Germany was.
Every England supporter over the age of 21 had been born during or before the war. They had known the feeling that England had won the wars in theory but had lost out in practice. 1966 proved that England WAS better than Germany.
1966 was also important because it showed that England was a nation and not an euphemism for Britain as had been the case before. England beat the Fritz, alone in 66, without the help of Scotland, Wales or the Irish Unionists.
England won the rugby World Cup in 2003. England has probably more than a 50/50 chance of being the first country to win the cup twice in a row, but even two rugby World Cups wont add up to the significance of 1966.
But yet the thought that England might win is enough to send some of my sport loving acquaintances into fits of apoplexy - including those who claim to consider themselves to be more British than Welsh, they will be shouting for South Africa on Saturday rather than our neighbours who share this island with us. Why?
Gwe, Ceredig and Normal have written about British / Welsh identity recently and have all claimed that a dual identity is possible. Can they explain how this dual Welsh / British identity can also be so anti English?
I have little interest in the outcomes of sporting events, but as a quarter of my ancestry is English and none is South African, I wish England all the best for Saturday.
Which team will other Welsh bloggers support: England or South Africa? Let me know who and why in the comments
Having said that I am aware of how politically significant 1966 was. 1966 was important not just because England won the football World Cup, but that it was won by beating Germany. It was the real end of the two world wars. Had England won in 66 by beating France, Brazil, Sweden or Argentina, it wouldn't have been half as significant an event as beating Germany was.
Every England supporter over the age of 21 had been born during or before the war. They had known the feeling that England had won the wars in theory but had lost out in practice. 1966 proved that England WAS better than Germany.
1966 was also important because it showed that England was a nation and not an euphemism for Britain as had been the case before. England beat the Fritz, alone in 66, without the help of Scotland, Wales or the Irish Unionists.
England won the rugby World Cup in 2003. England has probably more than a 50/50 chance of being the first country to win the cup twice in a row, but even two rugby World Cups wont add up to the significance of 1966.
But yet the thought that England might win is enough to send some of my sport loving acquaintances into fits of apoplexy - including those who claim to consider themselves to be more British than Welsh, they will be shouting for South Africa on Saturday rather than our neighbours who share this island with us. Why?
Gwe, Ceredig and Normal have written about British / Welsh identity recently and have all claimed that a dual identity is possible. Can they explain how this dual Welsh / British identity can also be so anti English?
I have little interest in the outcomes of sporting events, but as a quarter of my ancestry is English and none is South African, I wish England all the best for Saturday.
Which team will other Welsh bloggers support: England or South Africa? Let me know who and why in the comments
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