Disaster! Near disaster anyway. Yesterday evening, working on the new novel, it suddenly disappeared from my screen never to be found again, all 5501 words, all but one (’) alone on the screen. God alone and this bloody machine know what happened. Computers are not compatible with chubby fingers that sometimes miss keys when travelling at the rate of knots endeavouring to keep up with the brain and the flow of ideas because that basically was the problem. The train having finally left the station and picking up a fair rate of speed hit an oncoming goods head on and was derailed. Fortunately Douglas had saved 3500 words elsewhere so it wasn’t the complete disaster it might have been. I will now have to go back and read from the beginning to fill in all those later addition within those 3500 words and then continue. And I do declare it was such good writing. Will I be able to do it again? We’ll see.

There cannot be a Spaniard or Spanish speaking person in the world this morning who does not know the name of Fernando Torres even if they weren’t particularly interested in football or the European Championship.

The Germans are very bad losers. Okay, so you didn’t win but at least you made it to number two and, heavy though the disappointment was, a smile or two both from your team and your fans and your president wouldn’t exactly have come amiss. Looking like a mass array of zombies doesn’t help in the popularity stakes. Better luck next time. Just think of the English. They didn’t even make the competition and last time winners, Greece, were out first round.