Two half-moon sofas, overstuffed and cushy looking, wear ultrarich red wool upholstery and fill the two corners at the far end of the room, .one on either side of the entrance to the dining room beyond.

The help tended to be officious, the rules, if heeded, restrictive, and the management meddlesome.

What's eating him? I've never seen him this worked up over anything before.

They have established themselves as the greatest story of Euro 2016 and it feels almost like a trick of the imagination that it is only four years since they were ranked 133rd in the world. That, however, will not lessen the embarrassment for England, their departing manager and a set of players who chronically under-performed after Wayne Rooney’s early penalty.