A Lou Reed song and one of my favourite records…. And a song to be applied to…
September 19th 2015, a day that is etched into my life time memories for many reasons. I am going to share this day and story with you and let out a secret that could very much land me in big big trouble!
West Ham were playing Manchester City at the Eithad Stadium and frankly were expecting to get walloped by almost everyone. The season before I had for the first time travelled to the Eithad and watched West Ham get beat 2-0. Manager at the time Sam Allardyce pictured here captured perfectly how I felt.
So come to… September 19th 2015 Manchester City were riding high, unbeaten and frankly looking unbeatable and on course to go 6 points clear at the top of the Premier League. West Ham at this stage had beaten Arsenal and Liverpool to a great fanfare, but also suffered losses to Bournemouth and Leicester sending out at the time mixed messages as to their performances. The media, like West Ham fans were a little bit unsure as to the quality of the two stand out results and our less than favourite pundit Mark La-wrong-sen was unhappy with the Liverpool performance and believes that West Ham are not a ‘good’ team (apply expletive here!).
My best friend Dean also a Hammers fan and I were talking about the forthcoming match against City and both of us were hugely optimistic after all West Ham had turned over Arsenal and Liverpool, so we were looking forward to the game which was live on TV with a 5.30 kick off on Saturday 19th September. A date indelibly inscribed into my head.
The weather was also perfect certainly in London, dry and warmish with the sun showing its hat every now and then. So what could possibly get in the way of us watching the match on TV or in the pub?
Well a wedding was in the way for both my friend Dean and I. And what’s worse, the wedding was just like the match, a late kick off on the Saturday set at 5.30 how ruddy inconvenient!
What inconsiderate idiot would do this to me and have their wedding on this day at this specific same time?
Err… well me to be precise I was the architect of missing the game live in any way, shape or form. Three months earlier I had proposed to my then long term girlfriend Hilary and we set the date for the 19th September at Stoke Newington Town Hall. I was getting married, but not in the morning like most do, no I was getting married at 5.30 precise. Doh.
Weddings my god are one of the most stressful things to organise, surely a good reason not to get divorced is in order not to face the stress of getting married again!
The reception venue was still not complete on the Friday night before the wedding, the electrics had malfunctioned, the wine had gone missing in transit from the merchants and I ridiculously decided I didn’t like my suit on the morning of the wedding and much to everyone’s disdain decided to go to Charlie Allen’s a local tailor on the Saturday morning and get a new one. The TV programme ‘Don’t Tell the Bride’ had nothing on what was unfolding here in East and North London, and to cap the stress of organising a wedding I was going to miss the live game of Manchester City v West Ham.
What was needed was a Black Adder Baldrick type inspiration… Indeed a ‘cunning plan’. Dean had been appointed as Best Man. There was no way he was getting out of his duties, he was not going to call in sick with a hangover or saunter up later, we were in this together.
We figured it would probably not go down too well if I had my eyes glued to my iPhone or zip out my iPad to follow the game live during the service. Dean likewise would need to be discreet. Texting was out of the question. So Dean had his phone and mini headphone wired to one ear and we devised hand signals. Right hand up with finger pointing up meant West ham had scored, left hand finger pointing up meant City had scored. What could possibly go wrong?…
West Ham scoring is what could go wrong! Six minutes played and there was I holding hands with my bride to be gazing into her eyes and out of the corner of my eye I see best man Dean who could hardly contain his glee, giving out a secret hand signal like a professional bidder at a Sotheby’s Auction. 1-0. My reaction?… aargh I fluffed my lines and drew sniggers from all the audience in the Town Hall chambers!
Whoops… I regained my composure and the rest of the ceremony went smoothly and beautifully. My bride looked stunning in a dress she had designed (I have to mention this!) and I knew I had made the perfect decision to marry a wonderful woman and West Ham were winning 1-0! How could it possibly get better?
The ceremony finished at 6.00 some 30 minutes after the ceremony had begun. We then marched hand in hand out to the sunshine and our waiting guests (That’s me and my Bride/wife… not me and the Best Man). There were cheers, there were tears, there was joy, there was confetti and there was oddly bubbles randomly blown by some of the children and then there was this….
6.02 minutes and Dean approaches me and whispers in my ear ‘Sahko has put us two up!’ Set free of focusing on the registrar and the protocols of the marriage ceremony I could throw the shackles of restraint away.
I could write another thousand words to explain and capture the thoughts in my head at the time… but as they say a picture paints a thousand words. To many on that day these images captures some lovely moments…
Only the Best Man and I knew the other contributing factors to this image! I’d got the girl and the Hammers were also winners. Purr…fect.
This Saturday West Ham entertain Manchester City at the Boleyn Ground in what will be the last time City are likely to play at the ground in the return fixture. The game again is live on TV, I won’t be getting married this time and as perfect a day as it could be if West Ham win, it will never ever be as perfect as the 19th September 2015, for obvious reasons! COYI.