England this is Lille Calling - The Time is Now.

Here we are, in a lovely Air BnB in Lille, France. We are eagerly waiting to go to Stade Pierre Mauroy for the England vs Chile game this afternoon. I promise that we shall wave if you see us on the TV. We'll be the ones in the white England supporters shirts.

I had convinced myself that England would be playing dead rubbers by the time we got out here. I didn't predict a win in their first game against Argentina, which they did, but they could have done more convincingly. They had another scrappy game against Japan a week later. Both sides would have gone into this World Cup expecting more points from their games, considering England's form of late. So, England will go into Today's game knowing that a win will almost certainly secure them a place in the quarter-finals. We must have faith.

France is a place where I spent little time during my career in the Royal Marines Band Service. I did have a gig once at the British Embassy in Paris. It was a rather memorable day, as it turned out. It was the day that the Prime Minister, John Major, pulled the UK out of the ERM. The pound was crashing, and there was an air of panic among the Politicians and the Civil Servants at the Garden Party for which we were playing. I remember it being a rather sunny afternoon. Afterwards, we spent the evening on the Champs Elysées. This was part of a trip where we stayed at SHAPE (Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe) in Mons, Belgium, a legacy from WW2.

Our first evening here in Lille could have been more French, as we found a very nice Italian restaurant around the corner from our apartment. I had the Plat du Jour, which turned out to be an Aubergine Risotto that was very tasty. Risotto is my favourite.

Our first morning here was showery, so we had a slow start. Our breakfast was scrambled eggs on toast rather than Pain au Chocolat and Coffee. Our first plan was to take the Tram into Lille to the Tourist Information Centre to get a 72-hour pass and ensure the route out to Stade Pierre Mauroy. That evolution completed, we went for the obligatory beer, where we decided not to eat but wait until a little later. Schoolboy error: all but one of the eateries close at 3 p.m. for a few hour's rest. The one remaining open was, you guessed it, Maccy Dees.

So, in a few hours, we will get on the Tram for the Stade Pierre Mauroy. I'm sure there will be many English Ladies and Gentlemen to cheer on the team, and I hope we can meet up with a few Chileans to show some true rugby camaraderie.