As Britain swelters, and with the swallow and swifts overhead reminding us that summer finally is here, my mind is turning to … winter.

Not that I’m wishing the lovely weather away – far from it – it’s just that in a couple of weeks I’m flying from the sunny UK to usually-sunny South Africa for the group games of England’s World Cup Campaign.

- Read more, and have your say, in Nigel Pickover’s World Cup blog. Follow the link on the right of this page.