Although I’m obviously a keen golfer, the fact is that I’m a bit of a sports nut. I still play (with my boys) cricket and hockey and follow professional cricket, football and rugby union. When it comes to football, my team is, and has been since I was a boy, Tottenham Hotspur. My eldest son was born in Watford and is a huge Watford fan and we have spent many happy days going to watch the Hornets (normally with a significant journey thrown in) but Spurs remain my first footballing love. I was, therefore, pleased to find a bar in Sydney which remains open 24 hours and shows multiple sporting events, including, crucially, Premier League and Champions League football. In particular, they would, this morning, be showing the Spurs vs Bayer Leverkusen tie, albeit at 6.45am Sydney time.
I set my alarm for 6.15 and, when I woke, showered quickly and set off for what would be a 15 minute walk. I hoped to get a coffee and maybe breakfast at the bar. As it happened, and rather oddly, whilst they were open and people were watching the game, no drinks or food were being served. As it happened that didn’t matter because, as I left the house and headed down Stanley Street, I realised that virtually all the local coffee shops and restaurants were open and serving coffee. At 6.30am. Not only that, but they were all doing decent business, too. Sadly, the coffee shop I chose to get a latte from served me the first less than excellent coffee I have had in Sydney but at least I had a warm drink.
There were only three of us in the bar. A Pole, with little English who paced the floor and acted out every minute of the Legia Warsaw vs Real Madrid game (given the drama of that game, with Madrid taking an early 2 goal lead, Warsaw coming back to lead 3-2 late in the game before an even later Madrid equaliser, I was, frankly, worried for his health), me, and a Leicester City fan who had also set his alarm early, only to discover that the Leicester game was not available. Spurs haven’t been good at Wembley in the ECL and despite dominating possession were very much second best in this game. Leverkusen took the lead after 72 minutes and an Eric Dier free kick which shook the crossbar was as close as Spurs got to an equaliser. 2 played at Wembley, 2 1-0 reverses suffered. Not a great start to the day.
Now, do I go back at 11pm on Sunday for the North London derby?
A Golfing Sabbatical in Australia 