Cod Almighty | Diary

Is a low block the same as parking the bus?

6 July 2026

Miss Guest Diary writes: Brazil, eh? In the words of Sam Matterface: beaten by the striking Viking. I wonder how long he's had that bon mot in his back pocket?

For logistical reasons I am writing this on Sunday evening, so I have no idea what happened in the England v Mexico game. The decisions to be made by fans at home were: stay up or wake up, followed by watch on iPlayer with the opportunity to fast forward through stoppages in play, or watch a re-broadcast of the game 'as live' on BBC2 at 7.10am?

It's a no-brainer for me. Staying up till 1am at my age is virtually impossible, some evenings I can barely make it to 10pm before dozing in front of the TV. In fact, the only time I have been awake at that hour for many a year was on the day of the first play-off game in May. A scheduled mid-evening pick-up of the Irish Mariners, through a chapter of events which would have seemed far-fetched in a episode of Father Ted, turned into a midnight vigil at East Midlands Airport. I was light-headed for the next three days, so I'm not risking that again.

The quandary will be whether or not to sneak a peek at the score when I wake up, always a temptation when watching a recording of anything involving English teams. Since test match cricket disappeared from terrestrial TV, I make a point of checking the score before watching any highlights – it takes away some of the excitement when we win but it's well worth it to mitigate the pain and disappointment of losing. Not that I will be that surprised, or even disappointed, if England lose to Mexico. The odds are stacked against them and it would be no disgrace; and international tournaments are always more fun when you no longer have any skin in the game.

Things are still very quiet on the Town front, though we are probably all hopeful there will be news of signings before the first pre-season game at Cleethorpes Town next weekend. I was in Cleethorpes on Saturday and popped into the club shop on an errand. The new home shirt does look lovely, and it was pleasing to see quite a few being worn by people out and about in the area. I bumped into an acquaintance who has recently set up as a tattooist and who has done business with quite a few Town players. I won't say much more as it seems like trespassing on their privacy, but she did reveal she was unable to persuade Turi into taking the plunge. Sensible chap.

My favourite summer sporting event started on Saturday – the Tour de France. It looks once again as if there are only two contenders for the overall title: Jonas Vingegaard and Tadej Pogacar. I am team Jonas, so I was pleased that he won the opening time trial stage. According to the commentator Pogacar slept for nine hours the night before, giving him a 92% sleep score. I'm willing to bet that the sleep score of the England team in Mexico was probably in single figures!

Sub-editor's epilogue: No idea how Ingerland went on? She does now! English goals and English defending as England play English football and win away and win away and win away and the three Lions will sleep well tonight. Cor! Now let's sign a goalie and really make our day.