In some of my books a child is one of the main characters. This is very much the case in Empty Hearts and I guess this happens because my life is very frequently taken over by grandchildren - never more than right now.
I am the non-sporty, non-competitive member of a very sporty and competitive family. Well I was until now. One week ago my 12 year old granddaughter, who lives in Singapore, came to stay for five weeks. We talk a lot over Zoom plus she has visited many times before, so she always settles in straight away and starts to tell me about her life, friends and latest interests. This time it is football. Nothing wrong with that. I know that nowadays girls play it almost as much as boys and that most primary schools have all girl teams as well as mixed teams, so I listened with interest tinged with just a little trepidation because I knew a great many countries were participating in the World Cup.
I hadn't taken much notice until now, leaving my husband to watch matches on the TV while I got on with my own life. Once my granddaughter arrived, however, that was all over! Within days I had learned the names of all the English players, what had happened at previous world cups, who was the best goalie, the best goal scorer, the best manager...even the best looking!
The next thing I learned was that because the 2026 World Cup was being hosted by America, Canada and Mexico, watching matches across different timelines meant some didn't start until 10 pm in the UK. This meant late nights (and fortunately late follow on mornings) as a keen, football playing 12 year old couldn't possibly be expected to go to bed when there was a match to watch, especially any match involving England.
Then I discovered another thing. Watching a World Cup match involves snacks. Apparently it is impossible to watch a match without popcorn and, more seriously, football themed cup-cakes. Making the cup-cakes, 2 separate batches as there were a lot of matches to watch, kept the 12 year old occupied between matches, and she did a good job. They were decorated variously with coloured icing depicting country flags, the numbers of individual players shirts, footballs and other somewhat indecipherable squiggles and stripes. Tasted good too.
Then an iPad had to be present at all times so that in the hydration breaks and half-time etc. she could text her friends to discuss, as they were all watching. Singapore is hot and humid all year. It is also a somewhere that families often live for a couple of years before moving on as jobs dictate. This means that many of her friends also have family elsewhere who they visit in the summer break, so there were texts coming in from France, other parts of the UK, Colombia, Thailand, Spain. I lost count. All I know is that across the world 12 year old children, boys and girls, were staying up late to watch the matches, some in even worse time frames than the UK.
So now I am a seasoned football watcher who was as disappointed as the rest of my family when England were knocked out in the semi-final by Argentina. I've also eaten too much cake! Whether my newly aroused enthusiasm, now backed by at least a little knowledge, will last, I don't know. Only time will tell. In the meantime we will be able to revert to a normal bedtime.
