Flamin' June

And the month started so well...... it was my birthday and with parties, lunches, dinners,teas and treats, I have celebrated with friends and with family. And then came the second half of the month. Just this time last week, shock and disbelief and still reeling from the Brexit result - the start of ongoing uncertainty. Then my beloved Labour Party beginning to unravel. Then England's awful defeat to Iceland. And today Boris pulls out of the Tory leadership race - you couldn't make it up. At least I found time to watch Andy Murray winning at Queens and Wales are still in the Euros - until tomorrow night that is. Reading an interesting article from The Guardian on the impact of football on European culture, one does wonder whether, if the referendum had happened this week, after that England football result, the vote might have been even more in favour of Brexit? If you define football as an economic sector, then Europe is a winner using a financial and technical edge to draw players, audiences and investment from across the world and winning five of the seven World Cups since 1990. According to David Goldblatt "European football is technically brilliant and furiously competitive and benefits from the high level of specialised education, openness of labour markets and the ease and speed of knowledge and technology transfer". We would all do well to remember that, as much of the country looks to withdraw from European co-operation and yet still enjoys the thrill and wonder of European football played by our near neighbours, if not by our own countrymen.