13th August 2023

 Watching the Lionnesses overcome all odds to win their game against Columbia yesterday, I thought how young they all were.  Youth is such a fleeting thing. Tomorrow, a fitter plans to arrive chez nous to take up our small landing carpet and replace it with Karndean flooring. The carpet had been irretrievably stained by our old dogs and, despite my valiant efforts with a sure-fire mix of bicarb and white vinegar, the wet stains were now too ingrained to be removed. The fitter is an amazing 73, benefitting from decades of work experience, and still working. As a writer, it made me realise there was one topic that, in my previous 14 books, I hadn’t yet covered: a story from the perspective of someone very old.  I’m one chapter in so far, my old head buzzing with ideas.  So, to all you young people out there, remember the words of Charles Aznavour.  Yesterday When I Was Young, the taste of life was sweet as rain among my tongue. I treated life as if it were a game and never saw the emptiness beyond…… So, young footballers everywhere. Enjoy your successes while you can. Here today, gone tomorrow. Come On England!