Eh?

Woah, Polly put the kettle on... A jubilant nation makes a fresh pot of tea! The national grid's stress test is ON.

I don't really follow or even understand football much, but to be knocked out of the World Cup in a penalty shootout, ideally by Germany, is an essential and compulsory exercise in national humiliation. It keeps us honest (unlike those ungentlemanly Colombians this evening, grr). But, somewhere, somehow, something profound seems to have changed in the complex whirring gears of Fate, and ... We won. What? Oh well, there's always Sweden on Saturday.

Looks like all those St. George flags will be staying up a bit longer. They always make me nervous, walking through town, as if whole streets have suddenly gone bully-boy white nationalist, but I suppose they mean no real harm. After all, as Billy Bragg says, it's our flag and we'd like it back, please.