Good morning from Durban and welcome to the 'Fan Fest' in the warmest place at the World Cup. We'll be here for the next 12 hours on South Beach bringing you all the fun and the matches from the third day of the World Cup in South Africa.
'Serbia v Ghana: Oh, it's a second yellow card and Serbia are going to have to play the last 15 minutes here with ten men.'
With that booming message I was made aware of what is going on here in the capital of Kwazulu-Natal. Durban is the biggest port in this country and, they say, the tenth biggest in the world - and who am I to argue.
Certainly there can be no argument with the assertion that this is the 'warmest place at the World Cup'. Durban is on the Indian Ocean and at 29.5 degrees south of the equator it has a climate similar to North Africa - except the other way around! It's winter and the temperature is only 25C during the day, dropping to 12-14C at night. Very pleasant and perfect for the match between Germany and Australia.
Ray Houghton, Colm Magee and I have flown from Johannesburg to Cape Town to Durban since last Thursday. That's the equivalent of flying from Dublin to Madrid and back. This is a very big country. The feature of this World Cup, so far, has been the friendliness of the people. No matter where we have been, the Rainbow Nation is determined to make us all feel welcome.
'The cross comes in and that's a handball. It's a penalty to Ghana... The responsibility rests on the shoulders of Asamoah Gyan... And he scores...'
This is Kwazulu Natal and you can feel how laid back things are here. Durban is a magnificent city, built around the sweeping natural bay on the Indian Ocean side of the Drakensberg Mountains.
The pace of life is slower, no doubt a product of the climate. (In their summer the temperature can go up to 35C). The spectacular Moses Mabhida stadium has been built especially for this tournament. With its Wembley-like arch it has added a new dimension to the city skyline away to the north.
On Sunday morning, I went for a walk down the boardwalk outside our hotel - the 25-story Garden Court. Thousands of people were strolling, jogging, running, cycling, surfing and generally taking the air in this most touristy of cities. We had been warned how dangerous it was to go out alone in this city.
The proliferation of police patrols and marked vehicles has certainly helped to reassure visitors like me. I had a chat with a policewoman in a very high tech satellite station. She claimed that this was nothing different from normal.
Somehow, I doubt that. With the billions that have been invested in this sporting carnival, the South African authorities can't afford to have any incident that might sully their good name.
And there it is, the first win by an African country in this the first World Cup hosted on the Dark Continent. How wonderful that is for the competition, for the people of Ghana and for all of Africa!
The World Cup is in its third day. The matches are coming thick and fast. Already, 14 teams have played their first game and the competition is beginning to take shape. Last night Colm, Ray and I went to Florida Road, a famous place in Durban for food and night life. We managed to get a table with a great view of the England game. Several times the power went off in the bar next door.
The noisy consternation of the clientele offered an amusing aside to England’s shambolic introduction. Fortunately, I am travelling with two eminently sensible men. For all of us the last week or so has been taxing - but up to last night the adrenaline kept us going. But not last night. As soon as England v United States was over we got a taxi back to the hotel. An early night was badly required. At an event like this you have to pace yourself. There are five games to be done in the next week. It's so easy to burn out.
Now we have Germany v Australia. It’s another inter-continental match-up that makes this tournament so unique. Enjoy it all, no matter where this finds you!
