The first thing to say is... it's bloody hot here! OK, so, what a suprprise, I hear you say. You go to Italy in July and discover it's hot, hardly a novel discovery I suppose. But this is really hot. I've been to the Sahara in southern Algeria, and that was hot, the South of France, and Marrakech... but this is as hot as I can remember ever having experienced... and it's fantastic.
This has been my first chance to catch up on the news from home, and the fact that Doug Ellis is not only still alive, but also still in control of Aston Villa, is a matter for deep dismay. What is more I see from today's Guardian that the decrepid old sod has managed to frighten away one lot of investors and the possibility of Martin O'Neill becoming manager (although I think a lot of O'Neill's credentials to date are in the heads of his media mates). I also see the spectre of Sven has been raised. When it was mentioned in the Screws scam last year everyone had a good cackle.. perhaps the fake sheikh knew more than the rest of us.
Ah, well, back to the pool....
