Tom Fordyce
Chief sports writer at Twickenham

"Shouty officials with megaphones. Helicopters overhead. Leery-eyed touts. Barbecue stalls set up in front gardens. Half-cut punters searching for lost pals. Crushed beer cans underfoot. Welcome to Twickenham. Welcome to the Rugby World Cup."

This is what happens when too many beans are consumed during lunch. Actually, it isn't. Of course it isn't. It's London Mayor Boris Johnson getting as excited as the rest of us about the Rugby World Cup and packing down with World Cup winner Jason Leonard, whose nickname I'm told is the 'Fun Bus'. 

Image source, PA

How can you keep abreast of which way the oval ball is swinging? Thankfully, I can answer that question. 

There's live coverage on this page, which hopefully you know about, while you can also get line-ups, scores and result alerts on your app. (For more details on that click here.)

And there's live coverage on BBC Radio 5 live, which you can listen to via this page from 18:30 BST. Mark Pougatch will be the presenter of ceremonies until he passes the reins over to the commentary team at 20:00 BST. 

Image source, BBC Sport

Buzz. Ha. Get it. Nice one, Tom. England fans will be hoping they won't get stung tonight... (what do you mean I've ruined all the fun?)

Talking of cups of tea (this isn't just put together on the hoof, you know... well, it is and it isn't...) 

Anyway... As I was saying, the National Grid expect demand for electricity to soar across the UK during half-time, predicting a surge of 500 megawatts - the equivalent of 200,000 kettles being turned on at once. Remarkable.

What's the biggest peak recorded during a Rugby World Cup? It'll come as no surprise to learn it was during half-time of England's 2003 final with Australia when demand reached 2110MW (the equivalent of two million kettles being turned on). 

That's a lot of water and a lot of tea bags and, presumably, numerous trips to the lavatory.

England, they're the hosts and once won the 2003 version of this tournament, kick-off proceedings against Fiji, the skillful yet unfancied underdogs from the Pacific Islands, at 20:00 BST. 

But that late(ish) start means we have oodles of time to chat about all things rugby, boil the kettle three or four times - just for fun - and take in the opening ceremony, too, which is set to start at 19:00 BST. 

Hop on board, let's lose ourselves in live sport along with the rest of the world.

Image source, AP

It's the Rugby World Cup! And it's starting today! Why are we so excited? Because the curtain raiser between England and Fiji is merely hours away and this is the biggest sporting mega-show to hit these islands since the, erm, last sporting mega-show. 

Image source, Getty Images

Four years of preparation; of sacrifice, of torturous training, of unwavering commitment, of aiming high and thinking big have been for this. 

Finally, the waiting is over and granite-jaw heroes from all over the world will soon showcase their talents: their speed, their power, their craft. 

How did we ever manage to wait so long for rugby union's latest super spectacle?

Image source, Getty Images