Actually, that's not strictly true, but it's an excuse to use a line I love from Alan Clarke's The Firm, a superb piece of 1980s British television drama. It centres around the exploits of Bexy, played by lovely Mr Gary Oldman. Bexy isn't lovely at all - he's a football psycho mentalist-cum-estate agent with a dream of making a national football thug 'firm', and ultimately, he reaps what he sows. I first watched this late 80s, under the influence of something otherworldly, which helped it stick in my psyche. The final scene is hilarious, still slightly menacing, mildly embarrassing (are organised hooligans really this thick?), and would be more believable if it didn't contain a host of British soap stars (admittedly before they were famous). Am not sure if I'd shit myself on the terraces when faced with the malevolent evil of Jim off Coronation Street or Benny from Grange Hill.
Returning to London after a week by Little Mum's side, I nipped off the North Circular into Brent Cross shopping centre to gather some last minute holiday essentials. A lot on my mind, I'd forgotten what time it was. As I headed down the main walkway to the shops, it tickled me to discover about a hundred men, standing heads tilted upwards, all watching the first Euro 2012 game on an absolutely enormous screen. Their womenfolk were nowhere to be seen. Men + football = happy. Women + shops = happy. Everyone's happy. Stroke of genius, Brent Cross.
They've put a big flatscreen in the corner of the bar of my local, which, and only under these football circumstances, I approve of. I'm not saying where this is, as I've managed to get a bar stool and an unencumbered view two evenings in a row and I don't want you plebs spoiling it for me. Spain v Italy was a thoroughly enjoyable game. (I have a soft spot for the Italians - they make great footwear, and bestowed the gift of Toto Schillaci upon me in 1990. Grazie mille.)
Amore.
(Postscript: a very sincere thank you to all who've asked after Little Mum, particularly those pals who've never actually met the woman. She's definitely on the mend, but I think it'll be a slow process. Rest assured - she's absolutely thrilled to know her fan club are rooting for a return to 'rude' good health. Rude being the operative word for the woman who coined the excellent phrase 'cock-happy', with reference to philandering politicians who couldn't keep it in their trousers.)
