Five games in the last week have included four finals, perhaps not surprising in May. The FA Trophy Final at Wembley had a crowd of over 40,000; the West End Sunday AM League Premier Division Challenge Shield Final attracted just 40 fans to Reynolds Field.

The first showpiece was Saturday’s Trophy Final. Ebbsfleet’s No.12 missed with a 41st-minute penalty, but four minutes later tapped in the goal that beat Torquay. The conditions were muggy in the second half, thunder rumbling round the stadium, but the Kent side looked determined to hold on to their slender lead. My guest at the game, Frida from Sweden, had actually predicteda 1-0 Ebbsfleet win.

Sunday morning’s West End League Final featured Lancaster Diamonds and the improbably named "Borussia Dawlish". The latter, playing in Borussia Dortmund’s colours of yellow shirts and black shorts, scored the only goal of the game near the end to spare us extra time. Then I travelled by tube from Perivale to Wembley Park, changing twice.

The FA Vase Final was contested by first-time entrants Kirkham & Wesham from the North West Counties League Division Two and Lowestoft Town from the Eastern Counties League’s Premier Division. The Lancashire side won it 2-1, a teenage substitute scoring twice in the last ten minutes, but I’ll also remember that game for the scorching conditions.

I had a great seat near the players’ tunnel, but there was no shade there in the first half and the heat was almost unbearable. I saw a game at Ramsgate in Kent about five years ago, when the temperature reached 98 degrees, and I’ve watched football in Florida and the Caribbean – but I’ve never experienced anything like that.

Everyone piled into the shaded refreshment area at half-time and clearly a few people had become quite distressed. Some ladies, even in their flimsy summer dresses, described being "soaked" or "dripping". In my section there were noticeably fewer people watching the second half, but I don’t blame them at all. The only thing that kept me going was the fact that the shade was gradually moving across the stadium as the afternoon wore on.

After the game, fortunately settled in normal time, I had the pleasure of chatting with Rod Haider. The former Hendon midfielder captained the England amateur team when I was secretary and we were both on the ’73 tour to Europe. That was when Charles Hughes’ charges played five internationals without conceding a goal.

The results were 1-0 v Austria, 1-0 v Greece, 0-0 v Italy, 2-0 v Turkey and 0-0 v Yugoslavia. Rod holds the record for the number of England amateur caps (65) and also played for the Great Olympic team that beat the Bulgarian World Cup side 1-0 at Wembley, surely one of the great giant-killing feats. Rod is still as friendly and easy-going as he was in those days.

The 175-capacity stand at Hanwell was pretty much full for last night’s "Champions’ Shield Final" between Lixus United and Arian. Lixus won 7-1 but Arian’s goal from a free-kick was the most spectacular. I’m now just four games short of 200 for the season.