Part of the Champagne Odyssey
November 9, 1989: West Germans waited at the Brandenburg Gate with flowers and champagne. At 9:03 PM, the first person climbed the wall. "Complete strangers fell into each other's arms." February 11, 1990: After 46 months of protest outside the South African Embassy, Mandela was released - a champagne cork nearly hit Tony Benn. This chapter traces freedom through bubbles: Berlin's Wall, Mandela's release, Wimbledon's 150,000 glasses, Henley's Pimm's and champagne, and the Channel Tunnel that ended Britain's island isolation.
