The honeymoon period (From Times Series)
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Dennis Signy OBE was a former wartime cub reporter on the Hendon and Finchley Times at £4-a-week and became group editor for 17 years in the late Sixties. He was a national press football writer for five decades, is author of several football books and director of Barnet FC. |
The honeymoon period
9:50am Tuesday 20th May 2008
When we got married in 1966 I bought season tickets for my wife and I to "honeymoon" at Wembley Stadium watching England win the World Cup. I reckoned that I had bought a lifetime of marital good
will.
England stayed at Hendon Hall Hotel in the build-up and I spent time in the lounge with the London players I knew as a football writer, England captain Bobby Moore, hat-trick hero Geoff Hurst, Martin
Peters and Jimmy Greaves.
We lived in Great North Way, opposite the hotel, and England right back George Cohen popped in for coffee and built a friendship that has survived to this day.
Fast forward to 2008. The other week, when I announced that I was travelling to Grimsby for a midweek League 2 game in my capacity as PR consultant and associate director of Barnet FC, my wife coolly
reminded me that the date was our wedding anniversary.
Quick as a flash I invited her to travel with me and promised a Eurostar visit to Paris for lunch on the next anniversary.
And so we set off in driving rain on a bitterly cold Tuesday for the long trip to Cleethorpes, which is where Grimsby play.
I took the child bride to a seaside front cafe to enjoy a romantic fish and chip anniversary supper, before watching Barnet get thumped 4-1. The only plus was that Barnet scored their first goal
against Grimsby since getting back into the Football League - but that wasn't much of a talking point as we headed South quickly at the final whistle to avoid the heavy storm and gale
forecasts.
The legendary Liverpool manager Bill Shankly took his wife to a reserve match on their anniversary. At least I took Pat to a League 2 game.
I was recounting the tale when I was the guest speaker at the Barnet FC Supporters Association Player of the Year dinner and presentations.
All went well until I referred to our 41st wedding anniversary. "42nd", snapped my wife, sitting alongside, and the Durham Suite erupted with laughter.
After the speech one of the organisers of the evening came over. "Brilliant timing that", he said. "It's obviously well rehearsed". I hadn't the heart to admit my gaffe.
Snag now is that her birthday later this week is next on the agenda ..... and I have booked tickets for us at the League 1 play-off finals at Wembley.
Eurostar to Paris? Watch this space.
