Euro 2016: France kicks off tournament amid security, strike and weather fears

I’m tellin’ you, folks, it’s a laugh a minute in this country. No sooner had the flooding of the Seine subsided did a garbage strike start…in addition to the other strikes already in progress. And now the Euro 2016 kicks off tonight with all the attendant problems that will bring, namely the policing of the “fan zones” located in ten cities: Lille, Marseille, Bordeaux, Lens, St Etienne, Paris, Saint-Denis, Nice, Toulouse and Lyon. I don’t even need to watch the game on my TV (I’m not a big fan) because I’ll hear the reaction from the street. It’s warm, the windows are open and up and down my street cheers and hollers will begin drifting out windows when France and Romania kick off in about 20 minutes. I’ll know who won too; if Romania wins it’ll be quiet, if France wins it’ll be noisy and car horns will honk.

As for me, I’ve cracked open a chilled bottle of Sancerre and am about to make a mushroom stroganoff with crème fraîche for my dinner. It’s confirmed – my most favourite wines, red and white, come from the Loire region.

It’s chill time. Friday evening after a busy week at the office. Jazz on the radio. A DVD for later. God, I love weekends.