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Well, it seems that spring has finally arrived in Germany. After the warmest winter on record then a week of freezing rain, the sun is out in Düsseldorf and young men’s minds turn to thoughts of… football. The local park is a wonderful place to practise the skills and as usual a number of the boys like to head outside and make the most of a sunny day off.

Rookie Steven Sowden showed the band boys he’s got some game. He joined them in a recreation of their pre-show ritual of keeping the ball alive. They can usually keep the ball off the ground for at least a hundred touches (or until Rupert catches them kicking the football inside). I suppose we should expect nothing less from highly-trained musicians who rely on a virtuosic level of eye hand co-ordination.

A good dose of healthy exercise also makes one feel a bit better about the other standard day off activities: eating, eating and eating.