Red-heads are taking over. It’s not a quick thing, it moves at glacial time, but ginger hair is increasing in frequency. I know how relieved everyone feels knowing that. Which is why a Harvard study spent umpteen fucking years and countless billions of dollars (not mine, fortunately; I’m neither a benefactor of Harvard nor a red-head) conducting DNA tests on as many dug-up human remains, going as far back as they could, and checking for the ‘ginger-gene’. Which also, apparently, makes you more prone to coeliac disease where you’re allergic to wheat germ.

So red hair, and its associated pale skin (same genome set), is evolving in humans. It is evolution, occurring over 40,000 years, so it’s not like everyone in the world is going to wake up next Tuesday with a ginger mane. But for a trait to increase over a significant time, that, my friend, is ‘evolution’ at work. That’s how it works.

So why would red hair be evolutionarily successful if it’s accompanied by an auto-immune disease? Traits are carried forward in reproduction and the more copies of the genome survive, the more successful it is. ‘Bad genes’ carrying diseases generally don’t ‘succeed’ in evolution because so many carriers die without reproducing. It’s all about reproducing. Nothing else. In coining: ‘Survival of the fittest’, Darwin was not talking about tattooed, pumped-up narcissists in the gym or ultra-marathon runners. He was talking about reproductive fitness and nothing else. The more copies of a gene that are made, the more successful it is. End of.

Evolutionary Theory is the Science of Shagging.

Therefore, ginger birds get shagged more than blondes, brunettes and mousys. It is proven, analysed, quantified and is statistically significant. I know, it’s hard to believe when you think of Ed Sheeran, Prince Harry or Fergie, but the numbers don’t lie. If all ginger-tops looked like Jessica Chastain I could understand it, but there ya go. Part of life’s rich tapestry. The red-heads are taking over.

Whilst over in Munich, last night, there was a football match. Bayern played Real Madrid. Champions League quarter final. And if there has ever been a better football match I don’t think I’ve seen it. Other than the 1970 World Cup final. It was simply brilliant. Both teams just outstanding. Harry Kane scored; nothing unusual there; it was his 50th goal this season. And however shitty the Bundesliga might be (and it is) that is still a massive achievement for ‘our’ Harry. Bayern won but… wow. Just… wow. So pleased I’m a lifelong fan of Bayern Munich rather than a wrist-slitter at Tottenham.

Happy Thursday

A xxxx