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The book trade has put plans in place to ensure its England fans can watch the crucial mid-afternoon World Cup qualifying match next week.
England kick off against Algeria later this evening [18th June], but face Slovenia on Wednesday afternoon at 3 p.m. After their disappointing draw with the USA at the weekend, England are hoping for a win to avoid a possible clash with the in-form Germans in the second round.
While no one has gone as far as issuing company-branded vuvuzelas, publishers, retailers and wholesalers have made provisions for staff to watch the game. The most hospitable companies are HarperCollins and Mills & Boon. Both are providing alcoholic drinks for staff, with HC showing the match on a big screen TV in its atrium.
A Random House spokesperson said the company would be screening the match live for employees, both at its Ealing and its Vauxhall Bridge Road sites, and in its distribution centre. A Penguin spokesperson said the England match would be shown in its staff canteen.
A Hachette spokesperson said: "We have issued some technical guidelines to make sure that watching the football does not interfere with our IT systems but, other than that, we are very relaxed about it."
Waterstone's and Gardners will have flexible rotas for staff who want to watch the game. However, Bertams m.d. Michael Neil said while he wanted England to win, there would be no provisions made for staff who want to watch the game.