Ancient Wharfedale

Firstly, thanks so much for all the lovely feedback on the last few blips. You're very, very kind to me. I can only say how much I appreciate it when I'm not in any position to socialise here and return the compliment of viewing all your journals. Cheers everyone.

Other than my long run in the sun yesterday and a shorter run today, this has been a working weekend. The lead into Christmas always seems to be a very hard time for us. Everyone seems to want bits of work and projects completed by the end of the year. At least I've achieved a fair bit today. A week was allocated for the stuff I've been working on this weekend and I should have it sorted by tomorrow. That will be a bit of a bonus and also take some of the pressure off.

There wasn't much sun today and the few minutes where it did break through happened to coincide with the few minutes of rain I also got. You can just about make out a nascent rainbow here. It never quite became fully formed. I do love this view up Wharfedale, especially from this vantage point. I'm sure I've blipped from here before but I think it bears a little repetition. There is a feeling of timelessness to the landscape here.

I've been saved from a serious dilemma tonight by virtue of England's woeful display against Australia in the first Test Match. I'm feeling extremely weary right now but if the result of the game was still in the balance then I know I'd have been sorely tempted to stay up and watch at least some of the final day's play - or set the alarm for the early hours of the morning. I've not seen much of the match at all, not even any highlights, so my thoughts here are based on written reports. Anyone who knows their cricket will have understood that we're not as good a side as the 3-0 defeat of Australia in the summer suggested. Our bowlers often rescued our batsmen, and but for a bit of luck with the weather and winning just a couple of key sessions it could have been a very different story.

It was a very tough summer for me at work so it was hard to see much of the first Ashes contest. But, that lack of involvement aside, the series seemed to lack something. My sons tended to agree too. It didn't feel quite the same with England as strong favourites and tending to get the biggest slice of any luck that was going. It felt strange not to be the underdog. I think we English often sit quite uncomfortably with success at sport. We're so used to losing the really big competitions that we've never really learned how to embrace supremacy. We're at our best with our backs against the wall.

This first match of the series wasn't much of a contest at all. We were blown away by the pace of the pitch and the bowling. If we are at our best with our backs against the wall, then the Aussies are at their best when they're winning. They become bullies. And that's why our recent success has been savoured so much - because we were bullied for a whole decade. But this summer we were expected to roll over the Aussies and they became the underdog. The edge seemed to have gone out of the competition. Well, it's certainly back now. The Aussies are back to being bullies, waging psychological warfare both on and off the pitch. This has the makings of becoming a war of a cricket series. Provided we can regroup it could be utterly compelling to watch. I'd rather we hadn't lost this game quite so comprehensively but it has set things up to be an incredibly competitive contest. And I'm now desperate to see us fight back. It's far more satisfying to support England as the underdog. And that we certainly are right now.