There are certain moments in life you know exactly where you were when an important event happened.

For example, I’m sure people who were around in the late 60s will be able to tell you where they were when Neil Armstrong took his first few steps on the moon. 

When news came through that Princess Diana had died, I know that I was at The Fountain (opposite Zak’s in Mousehold) refereeing Norwich Busmen in the Norwich Sunday Football League. 

I’m sure there are many people, like myself, who would think of many Norwich games and relate them to certain games and moments. Usually, when I’m watching a game at Wembley on TV,  I look in the corner of the ground where I stood when City won the play-off final against Middlesbrough on that glorious, sunny day in May, 2015. 

During my refereeing days I did go through a stage where I missed home games. One Norwich game I missed was Middlesbrough at home in 2005. Whenever I hear talk of that last-gasp goal from Adam Drury, I can tell you that at the exact time I was at Norwich United’s Plantation Park. 

I have missed some massive England games. When Paul Gascoigne scored THAT goal against Scotland in 1996, I was refereeing a five-a-side tournament at what is now The Nest. Even worse, when England won 5-1 on German soil in 2001, I was on a train to Manchester. 

Today, many Norwich fans on their way back from Swansea will be listening to the radio - you never know, there may be a certain part of the M4 which fans in future will remember they were passing when England scored the winning goal tonight against France. 

I'm in a similar situation - I’ll be at my gym’s Christmas party tonight. I just hope there is a big TV nearby when dinner is served or I may just have to have my phone leaning on salt pots watching the game. 

One thing for sure, I won’t be trying to avoid knowing the score. I tried that for the first game against Iran, but fell at the final hurdle. 

The same readers who can remember when the first man landed on the moon can probably remember the comedy show The Likely Lads and the classic episode No Hiding Place! For those who have never seen or heard of the Likely Lads, I recommend you find this episode. It’s a classic comedy. The two main characters, Bob and Terry - played by Rodney Bewes and James Bolam respectively - were trying to avoid finding out the score of an England game, hoping to watch the highlights on TV. They avoided all TV and radio, only to turn on the TV at the end of the day to find the game had been called off, so all their hard work was a waste of time.

Well, I had my Likely Lads moment for the Iran game. I was at work and I set the TV to record the game, intending not to onow what had happened. My fellow work colleagues didn’t let on and I had my phone notifications turned off. I finished work and as I got in the car I immediately turned the radio off. I arrived home and set up the recording to the start. I knew the game was nearly finished and I was feeling rather happy with myself that I didn’t know anything. 

The final hurdle to be mastered was to avoid talking to anyone when I collected my daughter Amelia from school. I got to the school and I had still avoided knowing anything about the game. Then I saw Amelia and she ran out of her class and shouted "Daddy, England have scored five and the team in red have one!" I didn’t know they were showing the game at school!

With my head in my hands I didn’t know if I should’ve been proud that Amelia was so excited about football or feel gutted knowing the score. 

Hopefully, tonight will be another masterclass from Gareth Southgate and I will be singing and dancing at the Christmas party with a bit of Neil Diamond. 

Sweet Caroline...