Big events I learnt last night that the Football Association was formed in 1863 in The Freemason’s Arms on Great Queen Street, near Covent Garden. And there’s a pub, just south of Fleet Street, that claims to be the place where the good-deeding Amnesty organisation was established in 1961.
Whilst I find all this of some interest, it doesn’t increase my enjoyment to drink in a pub with a claim to historical fame. In fact, I find it a bit depressing. There’s too much pressure – what are the chances of you coming up with something to top that? I can’t imagine wandering into a pub in 2020 to be greeted by a gilded sign saying “In This Pub In 2002, John McGhee Took Part In The Greatest Ever Conversation About The Smiths”.