LONDON TONIGHT

England are not yet good enough to go home - the theory goes like this - we always start the World Cup badly - get worse before we get better then maintain an upward trajectory until we exit in noble and brilliant failure. And so on that basis we have another round to improve before we gallantly go out - Please don't put any money on it but I think Germany the old foe will come off second best on Sunday. Here is praying!
Donal

Good evening,


We've got a new clothes line at home (yes, I lead a very tiny life). It was on special offer -better than half price, actually- & it came with an array of extras & easy to follow instructions which made it impossible to resist.

It turned out that although the financial cost of this piece of domestic kit was relatively modest, the emotional cost of installing it was huge. I am appalling at any form of DIY so a job like this is always fraut with the fear of failure but, at the same time, underpinned by the desire for an instant & successful result.

As you know the weather's been very dry for quite a while & as we're on clay the ground is like rock, making the digging part of the job exquisitely unpleasant. Watering the area only served to turn the top 2" of soil into a thick muddy soup which sat on top of the unchanging hard core.

After what felt like hours of digging, swearing & ultimately hammering the task was accomplished. Of course I hadn't used a spirit level & of course the post is at a slight angle & of course I won't pay any heed to the instructions which declare that any rotary drier not at a precise 90 degree angle to the ground should be removed & installed again correctly.

Conditions for the weekend look great. Hot, dry & sunny; perefct for a few loads of washing, in fact....

Hope to see you later,


Robin.

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LONDON TONIGHT TONIGHT

Good Afternoon to you -

So - hands up if you're going to the cinema this evening... or going out to dinner... or off to Scottish country dancing lessons. Thought as much - not many hands up, are there?

This evening is England's chance to 'make amends'. I'm not pointing any fingers as to how and why we're not sitting on three points already (we've had enough of that) but now's the time to draw the line in the South African sand and start our bid for the World Cup all over again. (What do you reckon - stick on the Italian accent and I could be Mr Capello, couldn't I?)

Our programme's a little shorter tonight to allow for more on the build-up to the big game (suck it all up on ITV1 - programme starts at 6.30pm, with kick-off at 7.30pm) but in our 11 news-packed minutes, we'll be looking at:

Plans to revamp Brent Cross Shopping Centre... the Cops who caught up with the bad guys in a classic 27 year old car... and all the day's other headlines.

Oh, and a bit of footy. Well, we had to, didn't we?

See you at six,

Ben

LONDON TONIGHT

Good Afternoon to you...

And what an afternoon it is. As I sit here right now, it's half-time in the first game of the World Cup. That's 'yay' if you love football - because it's finally underway - and 'double yay' if you hate the game - because the end is in sight. It could (hopefully) be six weeks off, but it is in sight*.

So, we're obviously going to be taking a long hard look at how the World Cup is playing out in London town - there's a huge party going on right now in Trafalgar Square, actually. People are going football crazy across the capital. We'll also take a look at a junior football club which can boast some fairly successful old boys. Have you heard of Ledley King? Or John Terry?

If you were watching yesterday, you'll have seen that Jess Nangle from Chesham won the London Tonight World Cup song competition. Not bad, considering she's only 15. There's no prize to speak of, just the glory of, well, saying that she's, er, just won the London Tonight World Cup song competition. Anyway, Jess is coming in to tell us why she wrote the song.

And we're going to have another singer cast his professional eye, make that ear, over the song. Ricky Astley - he of 'Never Gonna Give You Up' fame (it was number one for 5 weeks) - is coming in to talk about his new song 'Lights Out'. He's a lovely man - so we're looking forward to that.

Before I leave you, I thought I'd share our Friday Chocolates competition (usual warning: they've all gone). We had Lonnie Donnegan Jnr on the programme yesterday to help choose our World Cup Song. His Dad, of course, wrote the very first World Cup Song, World Cup Willie. So, in honour of the great man, there were choccies on offer today for anyone who could complete the following Lonnie lyric:
"Oh, my old man's a dustmanHe wears a dustman's hatHe wears XXXXXXXAnd he lives in a council flat."
Is it:
a) a little off-the-shoulder number?
b) cor blimey trousers?
c) people down with his silly songs?

I should point out at this stage that we'll also have some serious news in the programme, some of it very serious.

See you with the full picture at six,

Ben & Lucy

*Seriously, put a chart up on the wall and count down the days. It'll help pass the time, I promise.

Good evening,


Until yesterday I'd forgotten how pervasive brick dust can be.

We're having a new window put in at home & this required cutting out a small section of wall. Despite there being very little breeze & a heavy duty dust sheet being hung in front of the opening, clouds of volcanic ash style powder were soon billowing around the room settling on every available surface.

Inevitably this warranted a hospital deep clean at the end of the day which gave the appearance of cleanliness & order, but beneath this cunning veneer the brick dust still lurked. Inside drawers, at the back of cupboards & (worst of all) in a large bucket of elderflower cordial in the making which I had left uncovered. It won't be wasted, however, I can't allow it. Anyone being offered a refreshing glass will simply be advised to let it stand before drinking in order to allow the dust to settle.

Weekend weather looks good. Dry with sunny spells & reasonable temperatures. Enjoy....

Hope to see you later,


Robin.
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Any views or opinions are solely those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of Independent Television News Limited unless specifically stated. This email and any files attached are confidential and intended solely for the use of the individual or entity to which they are addressed. If you have received this email in error, please notify postmaster@itn.co.uk

Please note that to ensure regulatory compliance and for the protection of our clients and business, we may monitor and read messages sent to and from our systems.

Thank You.

LONDON TONIGHT TONIGHT

Good Afternoon to you...

So, it's Friday. And, as it's Friday, we've had our usual quiz. I decided to make it 'sort of' news related.
It's emerged that the Olympic stadium is not going to have its wind turbine, after all. So, there were chocolates on the desk (not anymore, I'm afraid) for anyone who could complete the following well-known saying:
"It's an ill wind that....."
Is it:
a) "...blows nobody any good"
b) "...tells you to cut down on the onions"
c) "...tells you to tell Auntie Flo to cut down on the onions"
Well, would you believe that at least two younger members of the team confessed to never having heard the phrase before. Seriously, I know I'm getting on, but it's not that unusual a phrase, is it? Or is it? Have I lost my readership here? Let's move on.
Here's what we have for you:
A man who killed his wife and dumped her body in a wheelie bin... A man who moved from Romford to Thailand where his 5 month old son was abducted... The Greenwich bid to become the port of choice for the world's biggest cruise ships... Piers Morgan talking about the runners and riders in this weekend's 'Britain's Got Talent' grand final... and Robin's getting down and dirty in a pond.
Oh, and we'll have more entrants in our competition to find London Tonight's world cup footy song.
Okay, I'm going to stop now because the news has just broken that England's captain Rio Ferdinand is, er, out of the world cup. I'm going to have a lie down. And a bit of a cry.

See you at six,
Ben & Lucy
Please Note:

Any views or opinions are solely those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of Independent Television News Limited unless specifically stated. This email and any files attached are confidential and intended solely for the use of the individual or entity to which they are addressed. If you have received this email in error, please notify postmaster@itn.co.uk

Please note that to ensure regulatory compliance and for the protection of our clients and business, we may monitor and read messages sent to and from our systems.

Thank You.