When we announced yesterday that we were embarking on a pilgramage to Lord's, a deathly hush fell upon the office.
Finally one of my colleagues finally broke the silence and asked "Are you or one of your family sick?"
Quite quickly I realised that being French, my colleagues had perhaps understandably thought I had meant Lourdes not Lord's.
Doubtless they reasoned that the stupid Englishman still hadn't learned not to pronounce the 's' in Lourdes even after six years in the land of fromage and vin.
When I explained that the Lord's I referred to was the mecca of cricket not healing, they were even more non-plussed.
"You're going all the way to London, to watch a cricket match?" the same colleague enquired. "Are England playing?" they added.
When I explained that England was not playing and I was actually watching a county Division 2 match between Middlesex and Essex - the cricketing equivalent of Nantes vs Le Mans in Ligue 2 of Le Championnat - they looked at me as though I was mad.
Despite my protestations that Lord's was the closest thing to heaven on earth and that watching county cricket was like sipping from a bottle of vintage Château Lafite from the Domaines Barons de Rothschild, these Frenchmen were not going to be convinced.
"Is it a big game?", "Will there be many people there?"
"About 300" I replied, "Oh and a couple of dogs".
"Merde, you English are crazy"
Perhaps we are.
Lord's here we come.
Where next?
The 'real' home of cricket? Not quite, as it turns out...
County XI of the week (Round 1)
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County Championship Previews - Division 2: Derbyshire, Essex, Glamorgan, Gloucestershire, Kent, Leicestershire, Middlesex, Northamptonshire, Surrey
County Championship Previews - Division 1: Yorkshire, Worcestershire, Warwickshire, Sussex, Somerset, Nottinghamshire, Lancashire, Hampshire, Durham
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Which day are you watching, TRS?
Posted by: Howe zat | Thursday, April 14, 2011 at 11:21
This afternoon - weather permitting!
Posted by: The Reverse Sweep | Thursday, April 14, 2011 at 11:37
Best of luck. I'm heading down on Saturday.
Posted by: Howe zat | Thursday, April 14, 2011 at 12:32
In fact I think there were nearly a thousand there, both Thursday and Friday. I don't suppose there'll be anyone there on Saturday now..
Posted by: dave heasman | Saturday, April 16, 2011 at 00:28
Finally one of my colleagues finally broke the silence and asked "Are you or one of your family sick?"
Posted by: cilt maskesi | Thursday, September 01, 2011 at 22:18