Where did I watch the 1966 World Cup Final? In a farmhouse in Bavaria.
Whilst at Bolton School from 1957 to 1965 I, together with my two great friends John & Arthur, each acquired a “pen-friend” at a girls boarding school somewhere in Bavaria. In the summer of 1966 we set off to visit each of them – which we did.
The last of the pen friends to be visited was Arthur’s – a girl named Resi (short for Theresa). Her family, named Fischer, lived on a farm in a tiny hamlet called Manndorf in eastern Bavaria, not far from the Danube River. We arrived on the Friday before “The Big Match”, and were made very welcome. To be honest, we had forgotten about the cup final until our new friends reminded us of the event. So Saturday the whole family, plus some neighbours, together with the three of us settled down in the spacious kitchen to watch “The Match” – accompanied by a crate of bottled beers.
The noise and tension in the room is still vivid in my memory to this day. There was a continual heated discussion, with predictions flying in all directions. Half-time saw another crate of beer appear from the cellar. None of us could believe it when the match went into extra time – so yet another crate of beer was called for!
When “that goal” was given, you can imagine the discussion that followed. Was it a goal – was it not a goal? Of course those were the days of black and white “telly” and there was no such thing as slow-motion video replays or camera shots from different angles, as there is today.
A meal followed the match and then we all piled into several cars and went off to the Volksfest in one of the nearby villages – think of small village country shows in England, but with the addition of a fairground and a beer tent where everyone sits at long tables, drinks steins of excellent beer, and sings a great deal. Of course, being a farming community the Fischer’s knew many of the people there, and every time they bumped into someone they knew we were introduced as their new English friends. “Ah, der Dritte Tör” – “The Third Goal” – the question was asked over and over again. What could one say?
Suffice it to say that we are still in contact to this day. Arthur is still in contact with Resi and I formed a great friendship with her brother, Hannes. We have met up many times since, both in Germany and in this country and visits have also extended to other family members and friends on both sides.
So, you can see that the 1966 World Cup Final has particularly powerful memories for me.
Steve Mellor
Memory added on July 28, 2016
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