The cost of football

Posted on 27 April 2026 by pws

It’s football, right, not soccer.

We’re not big fans of sport, and every so often, there’s news to remind us why.

The latest thing is the World Cup, happening in Mexico, Canada and the USA later in the year.

We have seen articles and videos about the costs being charged for matches this year. It does seem like a ticket for the final in the gods could be $11,000 ish. Yes, that’s not a typo.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/articles/ce8lzj0rprpo

People have been reporting prices increasing as they looked at the sales sites.

There’s no way to know who will be in the final. If they are charging really high prices for the earlier matches with (sorry) obscure teams, we can see empty stadia.

Spectators are also getting ripped for hotel prices, and even public transport(ation) seems off the scale. A 30 minute train trip to a New York venue is $150.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/articles/c3r3yj9xgy2o

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Strikes

Posted on 22 April 2026 by pws

If you are in London right now on a holiday, or are coming very soon, you will know or should know that we are in a phase of tube (Underground) strikes.

These seem to typically start at 12 noon on one day and finish at 12 noon the next. This means that trains before the start will be affected, as they need to be moved to a correct place, and trains after the end will still be affected and will be slow to get back to normal.

Some stations may be closed, some lines or parts of lines too, and services may be reduced in frequency. First and last train times may also be affected. It may be at very short notice.

If you are here, avoiding the tube is advised, for several reasons. They may just not be running, and if they are, may be very crowded.

If you are in central London sightseeing, bus or walk (the weather is nice, if a little chilly) are better bets. Be aware that there are some bus strikes too at times.

Apps like CityMapper will give up-to-date information, and the TfL website will give a good overview of the whole disruption: https://tfl.gov.uk/campaign/strikes

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No travel

Posted on 20 April 2026 by pws

There has been a lot on the news about the difficulties of travelling to Europe.

New rules and procedures have been introduced, just like in the USA and UK.

At some point on your journey, you need to visit a booth. You scan your passport, do your fingerprints and a photo, answer a few questions and off you go. To the customs officer for an interview.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cn897e8280do

The queues in some places have been horrendous. Experts suggest the system is not working properly in some places. For example, we heard that the booths in St Pancras cannot connect to the French system, making it useless.

A person I know had been involved with this. She hadn’t missed her flight, but had had a long wait in a queue and was grumbling about it.

It’s a consequence of Brexit. If we’d remained, there would not be a problem.

I knew she had voted for leaving. In fact, she had told me at some length just why I should vote to leave.

“I didn’t vote for this,” she said. Yes, I said, you did. You voted to leave and this is one consequence of exactly that. This is what you voted for us. You can’t vote for something and then cherry pick the consequences.

“But nobody told us…”

We don’t know what to say to people who finally realised they have been lied to.

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