Not being a religious person but was brought up to go to Sunday School /Sunshine corner etc . Just listened to the FA anthem abide with me and without even thinking the hairs on the back of my neck stood on end . It’s a long biding memory of how I was in awe of the anthem from my very young days watching probably the only televised live game on TV . Everything about the FA cup used to enthral me from the band and players inspecting pitch etc to the Seventies Eighties when a full days programmes on TV were interlinked to the final . I must say for me anyway non of the excitement has diminished choose which teams get there . Would have been my dream come true to get to that final in 2008 win lose or draw. Imo
Used to love watching cup final day. Still do but not as much. Used to watch it in the 80’s and used to think to myself that I would love to see Barnsley play there. We finally made it in 2000 and we were one of the last league teams to play at the Wembley. Brilliant. Think England v Germany was the very last game just after us v Ipswich.
Lucky bugger, I had to go Monday to Friday n’all. On a serious note. Celebrity challenge quizzes. It’s a knockout. between fans Used to make a full day of it. Good old days. Like someone else said. I didn’t know it was today until yesterday.
My old man told me that his Dad was a hard man, almost three years of being wounded, gassed, blown up and shellshocked during the First World War. Remembrance Day was the most important day of the year for him and he, the hardest of hard men would start to cry the moment Abide with Me started.
One of the hymns played at my mums funeral, and not being religious it still meant a lot to me for this very reason. Likewise Jerusalem, we really managed to put in hymns that worked for the atheists in the family.
