Last week, during a particularly stressful moment, I did something rather unusual in an attempt to relax. Too hot for a calming bath and too early in the week for a glass of wine, I reached for my new latest obsession: my World Cup sticker album.
For an outgoing girl in her mid-twenties, this may seem like an unusual hobby. And I must confess, I have even surprised myself somewhat with how enthusiastically I’m collecting these small pieces of paper with male football players on to stick onto bigger pieces of paper. Then I remind myself that there are people into all manners of things – re-enacting historical battles, Korfball, listening to Coldplay – and this really pales in comparison.
I’ve always been a football fan and have even started a WhatsApp group for “gals and their pals” to watch matches in pubs together. This year, more so than previous years, I have caught World Cup fever and sticker collecting appears to be a symptom. Both my best friend and “work wife” were already collecting them. So, one evening in Sainsbury’s, I spotted some albums and sticker multipacks and decided to spend the small winnings of a scratch card on them. Now I’m hooked.
Shorts
It feels incredibly nostalgic. In the run-up to the 2006 World Cup, I remember being bought my first pack of Panini stickers aged six during a rainy caravan holiday to Norfolk by my dad. I had badgered him for days after spotting them in a shop; he finally relented after the inclement weather cancelled the outside activities we had planned – and he realised it would keep me occupied.
