“Mark, would you like to do overtime on Saturday night?”
“No.”
“Are you sure?”
“Yes.”
“It’s double time…”
“I don’t care if it’s fifty pounds an hour, there is no way you are getting me in that place. Yes, I know it’s going to be 31°, yes, I know England are playing in the quarter finals of the world cup. Yes, I know that we desperately need the staff. Call me selfish if you like, but nothing I’ve done in a past life would ever warrant the punishment of working that shift.”
England lost to Portugal on penalties, after playing one man down from 62 minutes onwards, after top striker Wayne Rooney was sent off for stamping on and pushing an opponent.
I am totally not regretting my decision at all right now. It was bad enough being at work the other weekend when England won the football; I don’t even want to think what it’s going to be like tonight. When England win, a sizeable proportion of the casualties are benevolent drunks who have fallen off their barstool after one Stella too many. When England lose, people get moody. And moody drunks fight. And they do stupid things like get in cars and run people over. Some of them even find the failure of their national team is the final push that drives them to suicide. Whatever happens, you can guarantee tonight is going to end in tears and 999 calls for a lot of England fans.
There’s only one place I would less like to be now than at work, and that’s in Wayne Rooney’s shoes.
July 2nd, 2006 at 3:33 am
Commiserations for the English! Celebrations for the Portugese! Just caught the game (delayed) here in NZ. My English buddy now off to drown his sorrows - so don’t understand the preocupation with the game myself…but if he’s anything to go by I def would not want to be working at Nee Naw with thousands of depressed and drunken POMS!!
July 2nd, 2006 at 7:25 am
Well, I for one don’t blame you, Mark. I’m no footie pundit, but I know that our lads played stonkingly well with 10 men, and really deserved to win. I think a few things went wrong for England, but despite Gerrard’s desparate plea (see BBC news) I blame Rooney. He stamped on the guy’s balls, fcol. There’s no excuse for that.
I’m having a moment now for all the emergency staff everywhere who did the night shift last night…
July 2nd, 2006 at 7:53 am
The ball-stamping incident didn’t look entirely deliberate to me. Carvalho was wrapped around Rooney’s feet doing his best to get in the way. It looked to me more like the referee was sending him off for shoving the other guy, which seemed a bit harsh to me. But I’m not a footie expert either.
Anyway, it’s all academic now. Better luck in 2010!
July 2nd, 2006 at 10:26 am
Was on standby at home in case of “civil disturbance” and reading the HR text messages about staff wanted for overtime. Feelings of guilt followed by moments of sanity.
Best quoted by Phoebe from “Friends”……. I’d really like to help, but unfortunately I just don’t want to.
July 2nd, 2006 at 10:33 am
Can’t fault you at all for not wanting to work. The small market town where I live errupted into violence last night with the whole centre being closed by the police. One poor guy had his throat slashed (sadly didn’t make it), and another had a great chunk bitten, yes thats right, BITTEN out of his neck.
What makes it worse (if that’s possible) was that they were all England fans fighting each other!
July 2nd, 2006 at 10:59 am
this is what we get when the brattiest of footballers are the most famous and are held up as role models. Hey everybody, being stroppy is okay, even if you’re breaking the rules! It’s alright to swear at the ref, get physical and push people around! Gazza and Cantona were “bad boys” when I was a kid, but in today’s teams no one would bat an eyelid.
Actions lead to consequences - if Rooney chose to behave like that, and rightly got sent off for it, when a lot of people were depending on him to conduct himself according to the rules of the game and stay on and play to the best of his ability… then he can only expect to take all the consequences coming.
Question: were they offering double time because they thought people would rather watch the game than come in to work, or because it was bound to be such a hellish shift?
July 2nd, 2006 at 12:04 pm
I was walking down Charring Cross and thought of you as I called for an ambulance for a beaten up unconcious person. I’m glad you weren’t working the “London ambulance is very busy… don’t even try for an ambulance, you’ve got no chance mate… but, don’t hang up” message at the start of the 999 was all I needed to feel really sorry for you.
July 3rd, 2006 at 12:05 pm
As a Scotsman I cant lie and say I wasnt cheering when England lost. The majority of Scots are “Anti England ” as a football team because of the media. Even going as far as taking bets as to how long it takes to mention 1966.
I feel sorry for the majority of supporters whose reputation is marred by a small percentage of the travelling and domestic supporters who insist on rioting and violence.
The tartan Army should be looked as a good role model for supporters. win lose or draw (lets face it its often loose) not a punch or chair is thrown.
germany to win the WC
July 3rd, 2006 at 1:53 pm
“There’s only one place I would less like to be now than at work, and that’s in Wayne Rooney’s shoes.”
Yeah, he’s twenty years old and earning about a hundred grand a week - wouldn’t want to trade places with him, no way.
July 3rd, 2006 at 5:24 pm
Alan: sounds like sour grapes to me. How many times have Scotland qualified for the world cup, eh?
Hooper: Money doesn’t buy happiness, you know! Not that I know this from experience as I have never had any money.
July 3rd, 2006 at 10:24 pm
was treating a chap yesterday who had come off his ancient racing bike and landed on his hand. We were packing it with ice and waiting for the pain to subside so he could ride his other bike home……. The chap was not a youngster, and I thought about the bloody footballers we see on the TV who roll on the floor and bleat and cry when someone merely jostles them, compared to this old guy who fell from his machine, got up, completed the race and came to see me much later on when all his packing up and sorting out was done. And he was apologising for making a fuss! Does he get paid hundreds of thousands of pounds? Of course not. He was there for free today. Makes you think, eh?
July 4th, 2006 at 12:02 am
We lost to Italy. One of theirs tripped over one of ours. We was robbed.
Alan said, As a Scotsman I cant lie and say I wasnt cheering when England lost.
I’m an Australian of Scots and English heritage. I barrack for Australia first but when Scotland play England I don’t know if I’m coming or going.
July 4th, 2006 at 6:53 am
I don’t blame you for not working. My thoughts were with a paramedic friend of mine who was working that evening, ouch.
July 4th, 2006 at 11:37 am
Mark Myers said,
on July 3rd, 2006 at 5:24 pm
Alan: sounds like sour grapes to me. How many times have Scotland qualified for the world cup, eh?
Qualified 8 times compared to england 12. Not bad when you consider that scotland have to pick a team from a population of around 6 million compared to England having a population of around 50 Million to select a team from.
Scotland world beaters 1967 lol