Only four years later did football become an official competition at the Games. At this stage it was, of course, for amateurs only.

Ironically, the first tournament was won by an amateur team from the northeast of England, who had been especially invited after the British Football Association refused to be associated with the competition.

The first international football match was played in 1872 between England and Scotland, when football was rarely played anywhere outside Great Britain.

As an alternative, Sir Thomas Lipton decided to organize an event for professionals. Often described as The First World Cup, it took place in Turin in 1909 and featured the most prestigious professional clubs from Italy, Germany and Switzerland.

However, as football increased in popularity, it was admitted to the Olympics”” in 1900 and 1904, but only as a sideshow and not in the competition for medals.

Between May and August 1783, two volcanic eruptions had occurred, one in Iceland and one in Japan. The northern hemisphere had been covered in a “great fog”.

A year earlier, a volcano had erupted in Indonesia, sending up vast quantities of fine volcanic dust into the atmosphere. Circling the Earth, the dust reflected sunlight back into space.

 This, of course, was an exlraordinary event. In fact, it is considered one of the most catastrophic global events in recorded history. But something like it had happened before, and within living memory.

The Earth literally darkened, temperatures dropped. Throughout western Europe and North America crops failed, and cattle died. A large portion of the world lay under a huge volcanic cloud.

In the spring of 1816, the weather suddenly changed. The unseasonably warm spring turned cold and people were forced indoors by continual rain. The skies darkened and there was no summer.

By 1817, trousers were shoe-length. Popular with the king, they became accepted as standard daywear by 1825, and were worn with a waistcoat and, by day, a frock coat, but with a tailcoat in the evening.

Jackets didn’t become fashionable for casual wear until the 1850s. The jacket was derived from the short jacket worn by boys and working men, and in the age of mass-production and ready-made suits, its simple style was easier to produce than the tailored coat.

It was George “Beau” Brummell, the champion of simple English style, who started a trend for wearing tight black trousers in the early 1800s.

The favorite patterns for trousers were strong plaids, stripes and checks. The loose straight cut came in about the 1860s, and front creases in the 1880s. By the turn of the century, they had become the common way to dress.