Club Wembley? Mate, it's just Soho House for diehard footy fans

AT half-time, my friend Steve got talking to the couple sitting next to us. We four were sharing a table at the Laurent Perrier lounge at Wembley Stadium, a light-filled, open bar that feels like the parts of Heathrow Airport that get you hyped up to travel (Bloody Marys at Spuntino) rather than those that plunge you sordidly into a state of distress (any chaotic Spoons).

- Josh Barrie

Both were impeccably dressed estate agent chic, I'd say, though more Mayfair independent than Clapham Foxton's - and fairly quiet, even after a few glasses of vintage Champagne. Clearly both were big football fans, especially her: this was the FA cup final just gone, United against City, and when the red side of Manchester scored two in the first half, she was ecstatic.

This was my first foray into the corporate embrace of Club Wembley - which anyone can join - a transitory place where diehard fans mingle with offshore millionaires, bankers entertain clients, and people from Love Island sit nibbling olives.