Euro 2008

My Euro 2008 adventure will finally begin on Wednesday when I fly to Basle. Naturally, with my lengthy absence in mind, I have been spending some quality time with my wife.

That involved avoiding all hints we should go to the cinema at the weekend to watch Sex and the City, abandoning my usual tactic of insisting we watch sport for "professional reasons", and, instead, pulling out weeds and planting potatoes at our allotment. I did, however, manage to see England's final match of the season, their friendly against Trinidad & Tobago on Sunday night.

Halfway through the rather meaningless encounter in Port of Spain, the thought did cross my mind that there had been some tension in the air a few hours earlier as I tried to remove some bindweed without upsetting the fledging marrow shoots.

Given my impending work commitments, I would have much preferred to spend my Sunday afternoon watching the offering from Rotterdam as the Netherlands continued their Euro 2008 preparations with victory over Wales.

From the five minutes or so that I covertly managed to see, it seemed the Dutch fans were brimming with the kind of excitement and sense of anticipation that only a looming major tournament can generate. Looking at Marco van Basten's line-up, it's pretty clear that their prime assets are up front, and I wonder whether they will be defensively strong enough to survive a group that also includes France and Italy.

Nonetheless, with all of their group games in Berne, I expect the Swiss capital to turn orange for a couple of weeks. One recent estimate suggested that there as many as 40,000 Oranje fans will descend on the city. With that in mind, 3,500 locals have been sent on a course that will teach them how to be polite to the Dutch masses.

I haven't been sent on any courses ahead of the tournament, though being an employee of the BBC you can rest assured I have done my fair share of paperwork. Foreign correspondents travelling to remote, unstable republics must complete a lengthy risk assessment form before they depart, but I struggled to think of any kind of threat I might face in either Austria or Switzerland.

All that remains now is a last-minute dash to the shops to buy undoubted essentials. I might even engage in a rare bout of meteorological optimism and purchase some suntan cream in addition to toothpaste and shampoo.

The washing machine is currently whirring away at home so I can fulfil my mother's wish that I always have clean underwear. I have never quite understood what difference the cleanliness of my pants would make to my welfare if I was run over by a car, but my mum always seemed to attach the greatest of importance to the issue when I was growing up.

I'll be in Basel for the first few days of my trip as the countdown to the opening game on Saturday continues, so any suggestions of things I really must see or do in or around the city will be greatly appreciated.

I thought it might be interesting to meet up with FC Basel coach Christian Gross - once of Tottenham - to find out what his "dream ticket" looks like these days, though I have no idea where to find him.