Thursday 21st June 2018

Midsummer.

And another day in which very little happened, other than the days got as long as they can get, and from now on its downhill until the end of December.

Work continues apace, with the tasks each day, the same.

I wish I could sound more positive about it, but sometimes the repetitiveness of it grinds you down.

As ever, there is a feast of football in the afternoon and evening, and plans are made which games to watch and to make sure the wall chart is filled in.

Jools leaves for work, I put the bins out and then make myself breakfast, ready for the first meeting of the day at eight.

Outside the sun shines, and looks tempting, I wish I could go out and enjoy it, but work is a hard taskmaster. Lunchtime comes at half ten, when it is in Denmark. It seems fair that I take my break when my colleagues do.

Denmark played at one in the afternoon, and oddly work went quiet I guess as people either went home early, or just stopped to watch. I watch the second half from the sofa with the laptop on my, er, lap, getting work done when the game fails to distract. Denmark were most disappointing to be honest.

I take the car back to the Eastern docks at half five, so Jools can collect me on her way home. In truth it hadn't moved since I came back on Tuesday night, so could have taken it back before, but we didn't, kidding myself I might go out in the late afternoon. But there was football.

I wait all of two minutes outside the terminal before Jools swings by, whisking us home at the end of a fine and sunny afternoon.

I cook more aubergine for dinner, served with yet more from the endless supply of pasta salad, all washed up and put away so I can watch Argentina play Croatia, in what should have been a straightforward game for Messi and co. Only it wasn't, Argentina played badly, sloppy at the back in the first half, giving a joke of a goal away early in the second. After which they really went to pieces, losing 3-0 and now needing a win in their last game and hoping the other result goes their way.

Still, got to laugh, especially when the camera pans the crowd to reveal and angry as hell Maradona.