Leather

This is not a sporty household. I have been relegated to the kitchen. In days gone by I guess I would have sloped off to the pub, but its wet, and indoors drinking isn't a thing yet. To be honest, watching any kind of sport, worst of all England in a major tournament, is no fun in a pub. I always get there far too late and end up standing by the toilets, craning my neck, trying to see. In the 2018 World Cup the boys and I managed to capture England vs Tunisia in an Italian restaurant, listening in Italian and eating squid.

The build up is inane. "What is captaincy?", the England Captain is asked. "Leadership", he stoically replies. But what else could he have said? Disrespecting or even making light of the England football captaincy is like pissing on the flag.

Still, he'll be done by 33 and retire before 40. I'm somewhat older, and I feel like I'm getting better at what I do. Unlikely I'll ever reach England Captaincy heights but there's something to look forward too. I wonder if David Beckham feels like there is meaning in his life. Wikipedia says he enjoys building lego, which is, I suspect, what I'd do if I was a squillionaire. I'd be llike Will Ferrell in the Lego movie. Ah, one can but dream.

Good job I don't have to retire at 37. DECC would never have had an "Evidence Framework" if I had, and then where would we be? Though I guess there is a parallel with football, in that I've gone from being a team member to a manager. And like football, there's no real correlation. I see myself as more Arsene Wenger than Tony Adams, though my team may disagree.  

Right. It's nearly time for kick-off. I should find a beer and a bottle opener, and sign off. covid, of course, has totally messed with football's circadian rhythm. The world is next year which means we'll barely have time to get over the disappointment of dull failure in this thing before we start the next. Though to be honest, I think K will cope.