England qualifying for the last 16 in the World Cup after those two very mediocre displays.

I was travelling on a train in Stockholm today when a man walked through the carriage selling something. Unlike London, he wasn’t flogging copies of the ‘Big Issue’ to feed his dog or demanding money with menaces. Instead, this gentleman simply proceeded to place small cards on each vacant seat. He did this very quietly and politely and then returned to his original position. Despite craning my neck and desperately trying to look at the cards while simultaneously trying to look completely disinterested, I couldn’t actually discern what was on offer. ...

Full length version (3 mins) of the Carlsberg advert featuring some older England players with some nice touches.

I am one of those 40-50 year olds who disagree with Stowe Boyd who predicts the death of newspapers ‘in the not too distant future’. I like newspapers. You can take them in the garden. You can take them on the train, bus and plane. Newspapers are ubiquitous, relatively cheap and convenient. Yes I could pay to download selected stories to my mobile device but I’ve tried that and it simply doesn’t work. My eyes aren’t good enough to squint at a minuscule screen. ...

For the most part, unsung and largely unnoticed at Chelsea. Simply outstanding for Ghana against high quality opposition (Italy) yesterday. Continually in the action, absolutely everywhere, superb fitness levels, great tackler, decent passer, suspect temperament. Essien is the tailor-made replacement for Roy Keane. United fans can only hope Ballack’s arrival puts Essien on the bench or in the reserves and that he won’t just sit there and take the money (cf. SWP).