ELLSIO

With the weather today being better than that of an average summer day in England, I wandered down into Headingley to have lunch with my younger daughter and one of her friends. To find that, despite it being Sunday, virtually every shop was open for business. I'd quite forgotten about this aspect of British life and found the contrast with Spain something of a shock. In the latter, the only thing you're sure to be able to buy on Sunday is cakes. On balance, I favour the traditional quiet Sunday. But, then, being retired I can get anything I want on any of the other six days of the week. If I were working, I'd probably go for the British model.

Which reminds me . . . One aspect of British society which is happily not mirrored in Spain is the volume of litter one has to wade through from time to time. I doubt, for example, that there's a MacDonalds in Spain which could compete on this score with the one outside Leeds' ground yesterday.

Is it me or has Formula 1 racing become even less rivetting than it used to be? And has the skill of the drivers become even less relevant as Drag Reduction Systems, Rear Wing Activation and Kinetic Energy Recovery Systems have grown in importance? Not to mention the critical choice between the various types of tyres.

Anyway, here's why you should buy euros, even if you believe the euro(zone) in its current form is doomed. Perhaps Ambrose is right when he says that “The character of the European Project has changed utterly.”