It's 1974 and Europe is in turmoil - Luxembourg had won the Eurovision Song Contest the previous year but had declined to host the 1974 competition - what was to be done? Fortunately Britain came to the rescue of Europe in its hour of need and the BBC staged the event in Brighton, with Katie Boyle eventually announcing that a group from Sweden had won, singing a song called Waterloo.
Now ABBA were not singing about rush hour rail delays in South West London, no, they were singing about a battle just outside Brussels in 1815 when Britain and it's allies, led by the Duke of Wellington, rescued Europe (yet again) by defeating Napoleon. So today, let's see where this great battle actually took place. It's a short train ride from Brussels but note that if you are going to the battlefield site then the station at Braine l'Alleud one stop after Waterloo is actually the better place to get off.
Firstly there is the "Memorial 1815" a large underground visitor centre which because it's all very modern and hi-tech, I'm guessing, was all done for the 200th anniversary in 2015. It takes you through some of the history of the time, tells you a bit about the armies and alliances and when the timeline reaches 1815 you go into a cinema where a 3D film literally puts you in the middle of the battle.
From the visitor centre you move to the older exhibitions, firstly another of those panoramic paintings like I saw in The Hague.
And then you climb the "Lion's Mound" - a man made hill crowned with a large statue of a Lion with it's paw on a sphere.
And look out on the battlefield
I know - it's just a load of fields - but after you have spent some time in the Visitor Centre it actually starts to mean a lot more. And remember .......... WE WON!
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