"Picture this, freezing cold weather..."

TODAY may have brought this World Cup’s first taste of red-hot Chile, but the priority for many people was simply getting warm again.
Those who attended – or, poor sods, played – the previous night were spending the day defrosting, after a match that really put the Brrrr in Brazil, the parky in, well, Ellis Park.
It appears even Robinho can dazzle when freezing, after all.
Although the idea might affront all those who so self-satisfyingly live there, maybe it wasn’t so much the cold, but just Manchester he didn’t much like.
With some feverish forecasts even suggesting snow for Cape Town when England take on Algeria, one of our most cherished World Cup excuses is melting away.
That is, we can never go the whole hog because it’s just too hot.
Though after the shameless Steve Gerrard even tried to blame Rob Green’s US fumble on the new ball, perhaps we shouldn’t underestimate this team’s talent for deflection.
After all, it’s what Frank Lampard manages to achieve with almost every shot.
In fact, weather experts now say the Cape Town conditions could brighten to a mild enough 19C tomorrow, though frost and ice are expected to stick around elsewhere.
The hope of snow in only the fifth southern hemisphere World Cup remains enticing.
There hasn’t been any since the very first game of the very first tournament, in Uruguayan capital Montevideo - except, perhaps, when Chris Waddle’s Italia 90 penalty finally returned to earth.
If there will be snow in South Africa this summer time, the greatest thing we could get this year might be a return of the orange ball.
Unlikely, of course – though even a 99p plastic version from your local corner shop might prove less contentious than the much-maligned Jabulani.