Need any help with tourist information for the venues?

Brighton,
Leeds,
Leicester
Gloucester,
Manchester
Cardiff
London
Exeter
Newcastle,
Milton Keynes (MILTON KEYNES???)

Things may get a little fraught on here the next 6 weeks, as the temperature rises. England launch things today, against Fiji at Twickenham, and Scotland's campaign starts next Wednesday against Japan.

World in Union, guys. World in Union. I have goose pimples

I would like to get information about London travel..

I can help with Manchester and Leeds--where to stay and what to do outside of the matches.

RWC?

Thank you Ackislander.

Rugby fans can never get it into their heads that most people in Britain - never mind the other 99% of the planet - are utterly uninterested in their obsession.

Or for that matter that Milton Keynes isn't just equidistant between Oxford and Cambridge, but has had more queries on this forum this year about its most famous attraction (Bletchley Park, where we both defeated Nazism AND invented the computer) than Aberdeen. Wherever that is.

They've all got some kind of tournament going on. I think they call it a World Cup. The rest of the world finds this almost as presumptuous as that thing Americans call the World Series.

I thought Belgium had split between flanders and wallonia- TWC being Republique Wallonne Csomething.

Glad to hear it is rugby.
Will make sure to have a pint of beer in a pub when a gmae is being played - I love the atmosphere during a rugby match !

"The rest of the world finds this almost as presumptuous as that thing Americans call the World Series."

Not quite flanner, nigh on 100 nations started out on the road to the finals, whereas how many nations take part in the "World" series? Oh yes.....2.

And in a thrill-packed autumn of sport, there's only three weeks to go till:

http://www.worldconkerchampionships.com/

Ach, you're all a bunch of philistines. Especially you, Michael.

Oh, Patrick! That is hysterical! I'd definitely pay to see that. Heck, I'd buy a tee shirt.

I see there are two games at Olympic Park while we are there. Will there be any noticeable difference in London? Are they held daytime or nightime??

The World Series was apparently originally named for the newspaper that sponsored the games: The New York World. This is from a fairly reliable contemporary late 19th century source, although some historians dispute the fact. It was known as the World's Series, among other names.

The same newspaper definitely published the first World Almanac, which is likewise almost entirely national.

>>Will there be any noticeable difference in London? <<

You'll see gaggles of fans on the tube and maybe in bars that are showing matches. But otherwise they'll all be swallowed up in the mass of people. Of course, should England win, there may be assorted celebrations and unseemly scenes in Trafalgar Square. Or not.

I was involved in unseemly scenes in London in the summer of 1966 in Trafalgar Square, after the World Cup.

The arrival of fans for the Rugby World Cup may make little difference to London prices, but it was reported in the local Bristol paper that prices at one of the Holiday Inns were something like four times the usual rates during the cup games.

Not that there are any matches taking place in Bristol, but it is within easy reach by road or public transport of Cardiff, Gloucester and Exeter, where matches are scheduled.

The same thing happens every year during the Cheltenham Gold Cup (horse racing) and the Badminton Horse Trials, none of which probably register with visitors from outside the U.K. and Ireland. The Cheltenham Gold Cup is especially popular with the Irish.

Well, I knew about what used to be the Five Nations, which I think has grown to somewhat more, but I hadn't heard of the RWC, at least by that abbreviation.

Thank you for enlightening me.

I am also delighted to learn the origin of the North American "World Series" from bvlenci. I have now adopted this as being true, whether or not it really is. It is so much more satisfying than any other explanation that it should be true.

Like ChgoGal, I would buy a t-shirt for the World Conkers Championship or perhaps a bumper sticker to join my 0.0 sticker -- for those who do not run at all, much less a half marathon (13.1)much less a marathon (26.2)

I did play rugby very briefly in my 20's, Number Eight, actually, a position which was appropriate to my size. Mostly I did it for the beer. But I don't think there was an RWC back then.

The rest of the world finds this almost as presumptuous as that thing Americans call the World Series.>>

Uruguay, Japan, the USA, Romania, Tonga, Georgia, Namibia ....not to mention the more recognised rugby nations.

need I go on?

BTW, I started another thread about the RWC last night, tried to post it on other forums to get the best coverage, and got suspended for my pains.

Hence my new incarnation!

not wanting to spoil your thunder, Sheila, but here's the link:

http://www.fodors.com/community/euro...am-playing.cfm

In a tournament this big, there should be room for both of us!

Indeed. Your boys done good on Friday

Indeed. Your boys done good on Friday>>

@Sheila - thanks. In view of the SA v Japan result, very well indeed. Not to mention what we're watching between NZ and Argentina now. I never thought I'd hear myself say it, but "go Argentina".

Ah, well. That might be a step too far...