Head Space Daily Words...

Following the national 'Giant Ant with Wings Day' on Saturday, Sunday was a jam packed corker. Our annual street party went by in a glorious sunshine haze. We officially close the street for the day and everyone brings a dish, some drink and hangs out together. Young and old. One guy on the street is 90 and has lived here for approaching 70 years, whilst other people have lived here for well over forty years. I think it is probably quite a rare thing nowadays to find people who have lived in the same area all their lives, let alone lived on the same street for the majority of that time. Two playlists provided by yours truly accompanied proceedings (see HSD Tune.)The annual snail race is always the centrepiece of the entertainment and causes tremendous excitement, (see HSD Image.) The greatest thing though is seeing the kids able to run free on their own doorstep, as if they were growing up in the 1970s (See HSD Image.) Next year we should peg pieces of card between the spokes of their wheels to get the full on 70s sound effect. Our youngest rarely gets to ride his bike, as it means driving to a park but he spent all of Sunday afternoon riding up and down the road with his friends, having races. Pure pleasure. Following the street party came the World Cup Final. What a tournament it was, packed with incident, a record number of goals and incredible football. Last night it all came to an end. For the first time in my life I wanted a German victory. After England lost in the 1990 World Cup semi-final to the Germans, I remember leaving the pub as a sixteen year old and seeing people openly damage German built cars. The song was "two world wars and one world cup," and there was a tangible mix in the air of hatred and jealousy. Looking back it was very unpleasant. I think that being the generation following the wartime generation of our parents, a sense of simmering fury and injustice towards Germany pervaded and manifested itself in football matches between the two countries. Today though, life has moved on, times have changed. The current generation doesn't feel the need to be consumed by anger. My boys have no ill feelings from what happened during the second world war. There is disbelief from them as to what took place and they learn about it as a vital part of our history which can never be forgotten; but for them, they love German football. They religiously watch Bundesliga highlights on ITV4. They know all the players. For them, Germany is a positive place where fantastic football is played. So on to last nights Final. I wanted Germany to win because they played the best football throughout the tournament. The game was thoroughly absorbing and if Argentina had put away their chances - that means you Higuain, Messi and Palacio - they could have won. How Messi was named player of the tournament, I do not understand. The resolve and spirit of the German team shone through once more and the goal scored by Mario Gotze was stupendous - the icing on the cake of a great tournament. Any team that beats Brazil 7-1 in its own back yard deserves to lift  the World Cup. So, congratulations to the German national football team...