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It's all downhill for our marriage (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. |
It's all downhill for our marriage
9:41am Thursday 23rd April 2009
The trouble began when I bought Mrs S a season ticket for the 1966 World Cup finals at Wembley. Her honeymoon treat included Geoff Hurst scoring a hat-trick and Bobby Moore lifting the Jules Rimet trophy. It's been downhill for both of us ever since.
Mrs S set off on married life with England right back George Cohen knocking on the front door off our home in Hendon and asking what time we served coffee.
Reg Drury, my pal at the News of the World, reported that manager Alf Ramsey had walked from Hendon Hall Hotel, where the team stayed, to his home in Finchley. When one of Reg's young twins opened the door, Alf said: "Tell your Dad that Alf Ramsey has come for a cup of tea."
Morris Keston, a fanatical Spurs supporter, used to live in the road opposite the hotel — and he had Jimmy Greaves knocking on his front door,although not looking for tea or coffee!
The England team walked round the streets of Hendon. They went to the old Odeon Cinema at The Quadrant and to various churches.
I watched England train at the old Wingate ground in Hall Lane and recall a young Bobby Charlton smashing a ball into an empty net, lift his arms in the air and run round screaming: "And Charlton hits the winner in the World Cup final."
We were part of that World Cup scene and I spent most evenings in the lounge at Hendon Hall Hotel chatting to the players. Mrs S is still friendly to this day with the likes of Sir Geoff Hurst, Sir Bobby Charlton and his brother Jack, Greavsie and George Cohen (and their wives).
Some 25 years of supporting Queen's Park Rangers has not brought her down to a more natural level in football society — once a World Cup winner, always a World Cup winner.
Which is why she refused to accept that my invitation to her to spend our 42nd wedding anniversary last year on a stormy evening journeying to Cleethorpes for a fish and chip supper on the front and then to watch Grimsby Town batter Barnet 4-1 — yes, pun intended — was romantic.
When I fell into a similar trap over this year's anniversary — I booked a ticket for her to Brentford — I promised a trip on the Eurostar to mark her birthday in May... if someone told me the actual date.
Well, Sod's Law, my old friends at the Football League sent me guest tickets for the play-off finals at Wembley this week and I blithely wrote Mrs S down as accompanying me.
"What are the dates?" she asked. Fancy that Football League computer arranging the championship final on her birthday.
As it happens, Mrs S is happy to revisit Wembley 43 years on, and I've already booked us on the Eurostar for a date in July to have lunch in Brussels and celebrate Barnet surviving in League 2 for next season.
You never know what delight the computer will throw up for our next anniversary.
