CHANTILLY LACE WHAT A FACE, PONY TAIL HANGING DOWN, A WIGGLE.......

Whilst The Hepworth United Juniors and Open Age Football Club is still waiting for its new club house to be built and for the "other" pitch that turns into a river when it rains to be drained properly, the FA is cutting no corners in its attempt to win the Euro 2016, by spending large numbers of ££££s.

Flying off from Luton Airport was hardly salubrious and suggests a cheap deal with an airline but arriving in their base for the next few weeks at Chantilly (yes there is a song about "lace" and something about cream) investment has been thorough. Chantilly is twinned with Epsom. There is a race day on June 19, known as the Prix de Diane. It must be an omen and hopefully a "rest day" for our boys.

When England's plane drops into Chantilly airport, the Mayor and local schoolchildren will be on site to sing God Save the Queen as a greeting. After all, this few weeks will generate loads of money for the local economy. I wonder if the song will ever be mentioned?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4b-by5e4saI

Chantilly is a small town with a population of 11,000, it is 25 miles from Paris and half an hour from the main airport, Charles de Gaulle, whose feelings about the English were often made public and so might stir the loins of our players, if any of them have done a bit of GCSE History. The racing tradition came from the English too, who in the 1830s brought horseracing to the town and inhabited it to the tune of 2,000 English at its peak. Inevitably they formed the football team in 1902.

YOU SEE there's a link coming up here with Belper Town FC. (now my historic researcher in Ockbrook, Derbyshire told me more about the nails. He says that nail making lasted a bit longer than I suggested yesterday. Women and children worked in Strutt's Mill and men made nails in cottages nearby, a settlement made part of Derby's World Heritage Site. It's great innit.) The link? Oh yes, nails, horse shoes.....

There is a large racehorse community nearby and its famous race course, the Hippodrome, where Wayne is welcome to chat to the professionals about why his three race horses have underperformed so far. One of them apparently having psychological issues.

There are various tourist facilities in the small town, such as an Erotic shop, La Fromagerie which has made a cheese especially designed for the English, which looks like a football pitch-so it is "green".
The English Shop/Cafe selling English "ware", papers, digestives and serving English breakfast (not allowed), scones and tea (not allowed) will make the chaps feel at home (possibly). A French waitress, at the cafe, 29 year old Julie is hooked up to a local lad who likes Manchester United, so she wants to "do Wayne and Chris a few favours" during their stay. Steady...

Roy trusts his boys and wants his players to feel that there is a real world still outside the tournament, so they can relax without 24-7 football being shoved down their throats. The local golf course has hosted the French Open 10 times, the Chateau has the largest collection of Old Masters outside the Louvre, so with the youngest English squad in the area, maybe there is a hint of omen here too. I am snatching at straws I know and I dont' suppose for one moment the chaps will go visit the "gallery".

The Auberge du Jeu de Paume (Hotel) at £500 per night will provide Roy's delicate squad with even more of their needs. All 92 rooms have been booked by the FA for the "duration", so there is no excuse. A two star Michelin restaurant and spa forms a solid base from which to prepare for football, although of course, they won't be allowed anywhere near the spa prior to a game and it's ice baths afterwards, although a steam room might just be the ticket between matches.

The practice facilities at the Stade des Bourgognes, the ground of local amateur side, US Chantilly, have been upgraded. A new pitch has been laid to replicate the superb playing surfaces at their group venues, and two English groundsmen have been sent out to oversee preparation and repair. This of course rings bells of "legacy" as US Chantilly will inherit these improvement once the English head home.

Meanwhile, HUFC, old and young, male and female, play on dodgy surfaces with no changing facilities or refreshments. Not even a tap! We have got17 teams though.......

ps https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jeu_de_paume  Auberge means "inn". The Jeu de Paume is a "palm game". A tennis like game played with the hand (like "fives") and then adapted to a racket, similar to modern day racquets or even real tennis, originated in France.

More about food tomorrow.