During the summer I spent the weekend of Friday 30th June - Sunday 2nd July in London, it coincided with the quarter finals of the World Cup on the Friday and Saturday. I watched the Argentina V Germany game in the Town of Ramsgate pub in Wapping, an area that was home to both maternal and paternal great grandparents.
The match itself is probably best remembered for the punch-up that followed Germany winning on penalties. For me though the match will be remembered for standing at the bar in a pub full of Eastenders of all ages, plus one German family and a barmaid from Russia, with everybody cheering on the Germans. Forget the blitz, forget Stalingrad this was about Maradona in 86 and The Falklands in 82.
For two hours the Englishmen, the Russian and the Germans were united with one common enemy and went Lehman saved Cambiasso's penalty the pub went wild.
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The two Saturday quarter finals saw England play Portugal in the afternoon and the favourites Brazil play France in the evening.
I was staying at the Tower Hotel which hosts various functions and it just happened to hosting a muslim wedding on the Saturday afternoon, with the added twist that some of the guests were from guess where? Yep, Portugal. The upstairs bar was packed with English supporters, wedding guests who'd snuck out of the reception and bemused tourists.
When the match went to extra time the tension got to much for me and I went back to my room to watch Rooney get sent off and the normal disappointment of losing on penalties.
In the evening I sat in the bar with half a dozen weary English supporters, and a handful of wedding guests drinking their £125 a bottle champagne, and we all quietly contemplated life through the bottom of a glass as Brazil lost out to France - again.
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