{"id":35,"date":"2010-02-09T08:37:00","date_gmt":"2010-02-09T08:37:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.katebailward.com\/drivinglikeamaniac\/?p=35"},"modified":"2011-04-01T12:32:58","modified_gmt":"2011-04-01T10:32:58","slug":"swing-low-sweet-chariot","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.katebailward.com\/drivinglikeamaniac\/2010\/02\/swing-low-sweet-chariot\/","title":{"rendered":"Swing Low, Sweet Chariot"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>(image by <\/em>Nicoze<\/em><\/a> on Flickr)<\/em><\/span>
\n
\n<\/span><\/p>\n

\n

I come from a rugby playing family. \u00a0Family lore (i.e. my ma) tells me that my parents had a long engagement, due to my dad being unwilling\/unable to get married in the rugby season. \u00a0This was the mid-70s and he was playing for Bedford at the time. \u00a0His dedication to the rugby cause paid off; in April 1975, Bedford won the Anglo-Welsh knockout cup (now called the LV Cup) at Twickenham. \u00a0My dad, a prop, scored a try, and then tied the knot with my ma in June. \u00a0Hurrah! \u00a0On the day I was born, my mum went into labour in the morning. \u00a0My dad, however, had rugby training. \u00a0This being far more important than the birth of his first child, off he went, leaving her to get on with it. \u00a0(Calm down: he was back by the time I arrived.) \u00a0When I was actually born and proved to be a girl, my godfather joked, “Never mind: there’ll be an England women’s rugby team by the time she’s 16”. \u00a0At 14, I wasn’t playing rugby, but my dad still was: at this point for England veterans. \u00a0My two youngest brothers, at the age of 12, were being coached by Brian Ashton, who later went on to coach England. \u00a0When Jonny Wilkinson kicked his winning drop goal against Australia in the World Cup, I cried. \u00a0(So did my Australian flatmate, for that matter, but for rather different reasons.) I kept the final score on my mobile phone for years, and was devastated when I upgraded and lost the text. I think, therefore, it’s fair to say that rugby has been a big part of my life thus far.<\/span>
\n
\n<\/span>
\nNow, I know Italy is a footballing country, but, given that they play in the Six Nations, I didn’t think I’d have a problem finding a channel showing it on TV here. \u00a0More fool me. \u00a0Maybe it’s just the channels that we get (or don’t get) here, but rugby was nowhere to be seen. \u00a0Loads of football commentary, a good few schlocky 80s films, an episode of Poirot\u00a0dubbed into Italian and\u00a0about 10 tacky game shows, but no rugby. \u00a0Aargh! <\/span>
\n
\n<\/span>
\nAt this point in time, if you’re not in the UK, you can’t access BBC iPlayer.I’m an English national who is domiciled in Italy. \u00a0I pay for a UK TV licence, despite rarely watching the BBC even when I am in England. \u00a0Why, therefore, am I not allowed to access BBC iPlayer here in Italy? \u00a0There must be some way of setting up a login service, linked to each person’s licence. \u00a0The Beeb really ought to get on that one. \u00a0Even if they set it up as a subscription service (\u00e0 la Spotify) it would be better than nowt. \u00a0However, that’s a pie-in-the-sky dream for another day, which doesn’t help with my current rugby-free state.<\/span>
\n
\n<\/span>
\nChannelling the temperament of my adopted country, I completely fly off the handle. \u00a0No English stiff-upper-lip for me. \u00a0Oh no. \u00a0I stamp. \u00a0I shout. \u00a0I even wail a little bit. \u00a0The power of the internet comes to help me, and friends recommend various streaming sites. \u00a0Nothing seems to work, though. \u00a0The BBC should be proud of their copyright nazis. \u00a0About 15 minutes into the Ireland-Italy game, to which I had just found a working link, it was taken offline from the site I was using. \u00a0Dammit! \u00a0LivePlayer doesn’t work on a Mac. \u00a0ATDHE isn’t showing the rugby. \u00a0Proxy sites look like they might help, but then iPlayer’s simultaneous transmission breaks down. \u00a0CatchupTV won’t let me log in. \u00a0It seems I am doomed to an afternoon of merely reading twitter updates; the beggar at the sporting feast. \u00a0Luckily, however, just as I am descending into a truly epic sulk, a friend recommends FilmOn, which works like an absolute dream. \u00a0It’s free, there aren’t any annoying pop-ups, it runs happily on the Mac, and the quality’s great. \u00a0Hooray! \u00a0I’m as happy as a clam, and fill my boots with rugby all weekend.<\/span>
\n
\n<\/span>
\nWatching the mid-game adverts, it suddenly hits me: England’s next game is against Italy. \u00a0In Rome. \u00a0On Sunday the 14th. \u00a0Valentine’s Day. \u00a0The perverse side of me loves the thought of going to Rome, alone, to watch rugby, on that day of all days. \u00a0It’s expensive, and I’d spend up to 20 hours travelling for 80 minutes of sport, but I’m definitely tempted. \u00a0Should I \u2026? <\/span>
\n
\n<\/span>
\nI’ll keep you posted.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

<\/div>