The Evil Diaries: A Major Advantage

The chairman was in a very good mood yesterday afternoon when remarking on Team GB’s stunning incidence of success in Rio. He sees that this indicates that we’ll do very well once freed of the EU’s shackles.

I do not know what is the cause and the effect considered in these remarks but there is no denying that Team GB’s successes put us all in a jolly good mood. And there is no harm in that.

One thing should be said: although Sir John Major cracked up during the Referendum campaign (do you remember his describing Leavers as squalid?), he must be thanked for having come up with the wheeze twenty-five years ago that lottery funding should be applied to stimulating British sporting achievement. This direction of central funds has clearly worked spectacularly.

It now requires a directive for potential GB mothers to breed more often so to increase the number of GB runners. (Just joking.)

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It has been here remarked before but there is no obvious reason why William Hill (WMH) languishes now down at 331p. After all Rank/888 can and will put up a plausible bid in excess of the current price and then there are all the other potential suitors.

(I remember encountering WMH’s chairman, Gareth Davis, perhaps fifteen years ago when he was boss of Imperial Tobacco. I thought he’d kill himself with his non-stop smoking. Evidently not.)

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Finally, my contribution last week from Porlock was adorned by a pic selected by the editor of the high street of Porlock itself. What does he do to follow up? [Note from editor: I got lucky with Shutterstock.]