SO I’m sat in a bar waiting for the England game - very subdued atmosphere - then again, I am in Scotland, nobody seems to want to talk to me - writes Brian Smedley, leader of Bridgwater Town Council.

Admittedly I’m stripped to the waist and have painted a red cross on my chest.

One guy mistakes me for a paramedic.

I don’t yet know the result of the big game. (That’s a pre-season friendly between Forfar Athletic and Livingston) (I presume).

So I browse some social media. There’s a whole section on the England v Spain game. “I couldn’t find an English flag so I bought a French one and painted a red cross on it!” 

Takes a few more lines to realise this history buff meant the French flag was white. Apparently because they surrender so much.

Hmm, they didn't at Dunkirk, they held the perimeter allowing the British French army to retreat. And thats before we even mention 'la Resistance'

This screeching attack on the French goes on for 300 or so comments until they run out of anti-French insults and one remembers the Italians “ere that’s the Italian flag as well”.

Cue the next 300 posts of tanks with just reverse gears before the keyboard Warriors of St George leave satiated.

What an odd place we’ve reached. Thank god Hitler didn’t have social media, who knows what he might have got up to!

We’ve just had a General Election.

The Scot next to me wearing a tee-shirt which isn’t terribly complimentary about the Tories doesn’t want to speak to me about it, so I Google the last few elections.

It doesn’t take a statistical analyst to notice that Labour didn’t win the election (our atrocious voting system did).

The Labour vote dropped to below the last two Corbyn results.

The Tory vote dropped by the similar rise of the Reform UK party to the right, and the Lib Dems to the centre and the Greens to the left, plus a few independents.

That Starmer won the election possibly means the people generally want a period of tedious stability is my guess.

Tough call, but he was the least hated politician on offer.

Meanwhile….on the far right there’s a monster coming and don’t say you haven’t been warned.

I try telling this to my Scottish tablemate. He gives me a lecture on Edward the

First, I accept it, I wonder what the score will be. The rest of Europe seem to want Spain to win.