Retaining the Ashes

So, I’m a sports nut and can’t let today pass without celebrating England’s brilliant test victory in Melbourne. That happy band have made my day/month, along with several million other of my countrymen. It’s been a surreal time, partly down to the time difference between hemispheres, and in many ways for me it has managed to recapture the old spirit of Christmas; sneaking downstairs in the wee hours (literally, when it’s followed a visit to the bathroom!) to have a look at the text on the TV and finding that Father Christmas has delivered a wonderful present in the shape of an England century or an Australian batting collapse.  Given the nocturnal activity, I was going to include this entry in the ‘Night Shift’ category, until I was forced to acknowledge that my love of sport still falls under the heading of ‘Personal Disorder’ – anything that sends a tired, bleary-eyed man tip-toeing down the stairs at two in the morning to read teletext deserves that description.