Our anxiety turned out to be unfounded: rather than packed with hooligans, the bar we went to to watch the match was - almost empty. A possible hint at the English dislike for the Germans having transformed into indifference? Would be a start;)

It turned out volleyball teams, besides drinking, do also play volleyball (if only to justify the name of the society), so the team made its way up to the grim north to play Durham University. It turned out their supply of people taking an interest in volleyball was even worse than at Sheffield Uni, resulting in their team average height being around 5'9" and their 2-3 defeat by the Sheffield team.

Definition #5: volleyball: ball game for guys who lack the BALLS for real sports like mass punch-ups (aka rugby) or football (the national sanctuary) and are therefore to be regarded as girly or...

Insight #5: ...gay: apparently the worst fate that can befall a guy in England

Clarification (by way of anecdote): wearing a vest (see below for definitions) for the car ride to Durham, Nick was immediately confronted with the s-or-g question, and subsequently instructed never-ever-and-under-no-circumstances-whatsoever to wear a vest around the city centre as this was highly probable to get you beaten up. Surprised clothing was supposed to identify an individual as to their sexual orientation, and shocked one of these was likely to engage violent attention from English yobs, Nick went home to commit another lethal sin: as bike offers on ebay were rare, he darted for the first available bike, namely a Raleigh ladies' bike. While not uncommon in Germany, a bloke riding a ladies' bike in England seems to be a major offence to manhood - and therefore, according to Nick's housemate, another reason to get beaten up in the city centre.

Definition #6: vest: British term denoting a sleeveless shirt, tanktop

Definition #7: s-or-g question, the: asking someone whether they are straight or gay

Definition #8: yob: [chiefly British slang] A rowdy, aggressive, or violent young man

Still hoping for these predictions to be exaggerated, and the English not being as homophobic as assessed, the next sunny day is going to see Nick riding his ladies' bike around the city centre. Wearing a vest. Check this blog for a report and candid camera pics.

Not going to happen today, though. Ain't gonna waste tickets to see FRANZ FERDINAND perform at the O2 Academy tonight! It's gonna be legen- [wait for it and I hope you're not lactose-intolerant because the next word is] - da(i)ry!

Speaking of legendary, we have a visitor! Arriving last night, Krissi has joined the Sheffielders for the whole of one week! Awesome.

We'll see if, while introducing her to Sheffield's night life, we'll be confronted with further surprises of the kind we experienced last Monday. Entering "Sheffield's only superclub" (self promotion of the club) Embrace and expecting a roaring party, we were a little disappointed when still able to speak to each other without screaming at each other. It took us a couple of minutes to realise we'd entered a silent party.

Definition #9: silent party: party where guests wear headphones, no music being emitted via the speakers

We'd like to conclude today's entry with something we should have done a loooong time ago, namely immediately after our arrival:

we hereby thank all you guys who composed an entry into our superb friendship book!

We enjoyed reading your lovely messages and are very happy to always have our friends around! Thank you all a lot!

(Was wir auf einen Feenball mitnehmen würden, wissen wir allerdings immer noch nicht:-P )

It is only now that Nick realises how perfect an accessory this book is for his will-they-beat-me-up experiment. Riding around the pedestrian area, wearing a vest and holding a pink book in his hands - it's bound to attract the yobs:-D