Mourning Down Under

On Saturday, having watched England win against Australia, a match they thoroughly deserved to win, I went merrily on my way to Peterborough to do an auction for Sue Ryder Care at Thorpe Hall. While trying to slip in and out of the room to watch France play New Zealand, I managed the first half, then was called in to do the auction. I told the assembled gathering that New Zealand were 13-3 up at half time, and it looked to me very one-sided. When I stepped off the podium, £15,000 later, I was greeted with the words, France beat New Zealand 20-18. I refused to be a sucker twice in one week, so I burst out laughing - only to see it confirmed on the tv a moment later. So that's the good news. The difficult news is that on Saturday, when England play France in Paris at 8pm, I will be attending Alan Pascoe's 60th birthday party, and I bet he didn't anticipate us being in the semi-final. I wonder how he'll handle it?