We forget so easily. But on long, charmed days like this one it seems only right that we should spare an idle thought from deckchairs and sun-dappled parks for British Sundays past.
The equivalent Sunday in 2012, for example, when Britain had not only been beached at the end of the wettest June for a century – Ascot had been a washout, the Olympic torch had been extinguished in a monsoon, festival-goers on the Isle of Man were creatures of mud – but also the England football team had just exited the European Championships on penalties (again). Only Ukraine, Ireland and Greece had managed fewer shots on target per game, the Observer reported. Or take 2016. In the month of the Brexit vote, precipitation records had again been threatened, with flash floods throughout the month, and the south-east under water on referendum polling day. As David Cameron’s resignation initiated a week of chaotic political storms, England’s football team did nothing to lift the gloom. Roy Hodgson’s team exited another tournament it had done nothing to enhance by losing 2-1 to Iceland (though Wales fared rather better).
Cut to this year. The political turbulence initiated two years ago has not gone away, but for a day or two at least it might have seemed a little less overwhelming. For a couple of weeks we have grown used to sunny afternoons and long outdoor evenings. And Gareth Southgate’s youthful England side has so far illuminated a surprisingly bright World Cup. We have experienced enough British summers to know that the hope is likely to be extinguished long before the end of Wimbledon fortnight – “golden lads and girls all must, as chimney sweepers, come to dust” and all that – but even if it only lasts until a penalty shootout on Tuesday, it’s surely worth celebrating for at least a couple of days more.
