Our last post was of course prior to the England vs Germany game, when there was still a slim chance that we might still be in with a chance of reaching the quarter finals. Without dredging through the detail of the disappointment (to put it mildly) that we all felt on Sunday, it is all over for England, but frankly, deservedly so. However, the quarter finals look set for some thrilling matches; Argentina vs Germany or Brazil vs The Netherlands should both be cracking games and it’s great to see the Ghanaians still flying the flag for Africa. Spain worked hard to reach the last 8 too and have turned on the style in this competition.

So there’s still plenty of reason to purchase a World Cup hamper to enjoy the final games with. By all means include a message of sympathy for all the broken hearted England fans out there, but it’s an excellent final 8 so there’s still every excuse to watch the next 11 days of football.

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It can never be said that English tournament football is not exciting. Quite how we have managed to engineer a situation where we have to beat a German side, to then (probably!) play an Argentinian side who are admittedly wobbly at the back, but otherwise in very good form, I will never know.

The pessimistic among you should order a hamper or gift before Sunday, as our free delivery offer is only valid whilst England remain in the World Cup. Mr Capello will obviously be waiting until well into July to order his World Cup Hamper, but I would exercise a little more caution and take advantage while you still can.

Of course, if you haven’t already ordered a personalised World Cup hamper to comfort you through Sunday’s game, I’m afraid that it’s too late for us to get one to you, but we’ll certainly be able to get you a hamper before England’s next game, maybe against Argentina…

If you’re doing all that you can to avoid the football, you probably aren’t interested in our personalised World Cup Hamper, but the weather is continuing to be kind to us at the moment, so you might be able to escape to the quiet of the countryside for a good old fashioned picnic. If the fitted picnic hamper is a little too pricey for you, then have a rummage around our selection of empty baskets for one of our traditional hampers and fill it with fresh food, wines and nibbles for a delicious, but football-free picnic.

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With just 4 hours to go before the kick off of this game, I’m certain that only the very pessimistic would have predicted that England would find themselves in a position where they had to win this game to qualify for the next round of the World Cup. However, that is now the reality, so it’s with crossed fingers, toes and anything else which can be crossed that we nervously await the end of this match.

Of course, if you haven’t already ordered a personalised World Cup hamper to comfort you through the game, I’m afraid that it’s too late for us to get one to you for today’s game, but we’ll certainly be able to get you a hamper before England’s next game, whether that’s the quarter finals or the qualifiers for Euro 2014…

If you’re doing all that you can to avoid the football today, you probably aren’t interested in our personalised World Cup Hamper, but the weather is continuing to be kind to us at the moment, so you might be able to escape to the quiet of the countryside for a good old fashioned picnic. If the fitted picnic hamper is a little too pricey for you, then have a rummage around our selection of empty baskets for one of our traditional hampers and fill it with fresh food, wines and nibbles for a delicious, but football-free picnic.

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According to the stats, yesterday was the most one sided day of the tournament so far and the joint highest in terms of the number of goals scored. With a total of 10 goals altogether (7 from the Portugese!), yesterday was also the first day of the competition that saw no goals at all from any of the 3 losing sides.

I’m sure that the official statisticians would have figured that out for themselves by now, but I’m quite pleased that I got there all by myself. Lets hope that tomorrow’s game gives us some equally nice stats, although I’m not the only person in the office who isn’t holding their breath on that score.

Our World Cup hamper is still available and delivery is still free. Filled with the official beer of the World Cup, tasty crisps, chilli bites and other nibbles, this is just the thing to have by your side as you settle into an armchair, full of nervous tension every time Wayne Rooney gets the ball with a clear run at goal. Lets just hope that we can give Slovenia  a better thrashing than Algeria!

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Yes, I’m afraid so. It seems that the one thing that everyone was able to agree upon on Friday night was that the England performance was second to none in terms of its sheer awfulness. If the French were poor against Mexico, it was nothing compared to the English display. However, we can still qualify, assuming that we can at least muster a win against a Slovenia side who top the group after beating the Algerians themselves.

On paper, it should be easy enough, but on paper we should have qualified from this group with 9 points. Still, it’s an England team in a major tournament; it was never going to be pleasant or easy.

On a brighter note though, you can still buy our World Cup Hamper, which is filled with tasty treats to get you through another England game and hopefully a few more after that as well…

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It was certainly Mexico’s night in Polokwane yesterday evening, as they punished a lacklustre and uninspired French team, trouncing the 2006 runners up with a 2-0 win. Coach Raymond Domenech looked on helplessly as his side cruised to defeat at the hands of a vibrant Mexican team.

But lets not break a staunch English tradition by shedding a tear for the French. With our own ‘must win and by a fair few goals’ game looming this evening, it’s time to drown out the drone of the (intensely irritating) vuvuzelas with vocal support for the team.

Unfortunately we can’t get a World Cup Hamper to you in time for kick off (although fingers crossed that one day we’ll be able to offer a same-day hamper delivery service), but we can still get it there in time for Father’s Day and certainly with time to spare before the Slovenia game.

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It’s the question on every football supporter’s mind this week. Should Fabio pick Rob Green for Friday night’s game, in spite of the howler on his World Cup debut, or should the Italian go with reserve keepers James or Hart? The bigger question might be up front, as Capello also needs to make a decision on Emile Heskey’s value to the team when more natural predators such as Jermaine Defoe are doing little more than occupying space on the bench.

They’re both tough calls and frankly, although everyone in the office has an opinion, it’s not a choice that any of us would relish. So we’ll stick to that which we know best – designing and packing gift hampers for every occasion. Of course there is the World Cup Hamper, for the avid football fan, but there does seem to be a quiet majority of people who care very little about all the fuss in South Africa.

If you’re buying for the quiet majority, you might like to consider something to suit the sunny summer days, like the Picnic Delights or Picnic Backpack, or maybe one of our Garden Gifts. There’s a great selection of hampers to suit every budget.

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These few days are the quiet times, so enjoy them while you can if you’re not an avid follower of football. The next England game isn’t until Friday night, which means that Saturday will either be spent in rapturous celebration of a big win over Algeria, or analysis of a little win over Algeria, or national mourning in the case of a loss or draw.

In any of these scenarios, if you’re doing all that you can to avoid the media frenzy that happens bi-annually with the World Cup and the Euro tournaments, you probably aren’t interested in our personalised World Cup Hamper, but the weather is being kind to us at the moment, so you might be able to escape to the quiet of the countryside for a good old fashioned picnic. If the fitted picnic hamper is a little too pricey for you, then have a rummage around our selection of empty baskets for one of our traditional hampers and fill it with fresh food, wines and nibbles for a delicious, but football-free picnic.

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This morning has seen just the type of furious debate that you might expect on a Monday morning, following the unexpected (or expected, depending on your level of cynicism!) events of Saturday night. The office appears to have divided into three quite distinct factions; those who lay the blame squarely at Rob Green’s feet, those who argue that Heskey’s missed sitter was just as (if not more so!) criminal as the mistake at the other end and finally, those who simply don’t care and have tried valiantly to steer the conversation towards the excellent British performance(s) in the Grand Prix.

As little more than the narrator in this piece, I’m doing my best to stay objective. We can still win the group and lets hope that we can avoid yet another game against the Germans. Penalties at Italia 90 and Euro 96 are still painful memories, although I doubt the Germans look back on Munich in 2002 with fondness.

That’s probably because they didn’t have our excellent World Cup Hamper to soften the blow of a crushing 5-1 defeat, where one of Emile Heskey’s rare goals was sighted.  For the first time ever, we’re able to print your gift message directly onto the lid of this sturdy hamper box. Simply enter your gift message where prompted when checking out and we’ll incorporate it into our footballing design and create a box that will be cherished long after England have lifted the trophy.

Filled with the official beer of the World Cup, tasty crisps, chilli bites and other nibbles, this is just the thing to have by your side as you settle into an armchair, full of nervous tension every time Wayne Rooney gets the ball with a clear run at goal. Lets just hope that we can give Slovenia and Algeria a better thrashing than Uncle Sam…

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Today will see the hosts, South Africa, kick off against Mexico so we thought we’d get into the spirit of the World Cup by finding out what our Brazil names are. Sounds odd? Well, yes it is, but it’s a lot of fun and you can find out yours here: http://tiny.cc/82j0t . I had no idea that the company would be known as Virginialdo, or that I worked with a Claudio Nelsson, Joneta Santos or O Briinho.

If you want to get into the spirit of the World Cup with your ‘Brazil Name’, please try the website – it’s very simple – but do let us know what your name is by posting it in the comments below.

You can also try our World Cup Hamper. It’s a first for us at Virginia Hayward, as not only is our World Cup Hamper full of delicious treats, but for the first time ever, we’re able to print your gift message directly onto the lid of this sturdy hamper box. Simply enter your gift message where prompted when checking out and we’ll incorporate it into our footballing design and create a box that will be cherished long after England have lifted the trophy…

Filled with the official beer of the World Cup, tasty crisps, chilli bites and other nibbles, this is just the thing to have by your side as you settle into an armchair, full of hope as England embark on yet another World Cup Campaign. There are balloons to celebrate with too if Fabio’s hopefuls do us proud.

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