War is brutal. Bloody. Gruesome. Nasty. So when Putin offers a serious warning, verging on an outright threat, it must be stressed most strongly that he is NOT talking about Arsenal playing Spurs tomorrow. He’s talking about that other conflict, the lesser one, over in Ukraine (currently). And although many might see comparisons between these two massive issues of truly global concern as somewhat trite, possibly in no way a comparison of equivalents, I’d just like to say that Putin invaded Ukraine 2 years ago whereas the Arsenal Spurs thing goes back, in my memory alone, over 63 years.

I’m allowing for being a fully fledged North London soldier at age 5. Because Joey’s now 5 and he fucking hates everything Arsenal. He can spot a red scarf at 90 yards. Even the blue away kit raises his hackles. Though our new green away one doesn’t do much for me, it must be said.

Here’s the wierd thing; the Arsenal Spurs ‘thing’ is not really about football. That’s just the medium through which two disparate groups of predominantly north Londoners choose to vilify each other. And insult each others mothers. Yet the football gives one side a moral victory, justifying all their venom for the past… the past ‘since we last played them’. Making tomorrow’s match at White Hart Lane so very much more than ‘just football’. It’s not ‘just football’ at all. It is fucking life, as we know it, Jim. At least in north London it is. So that’s where we’re now focussed.

Whilst some others, seemingly oblivious to The Derby Match, concern themselves with Vladimir Putin and Volodimir Zelensky and what might happen if NATO enables the missiles Ukraine already has, to let them rain terror on ‘Russia proper’. Which, Putin has now stated, will produce ‘reprisals’. But as it will be seen as coming from NATO rather than Ukraine, he will (in his fucking warped and warlike mind) seek his vengeance on any NATO country he chooses. Be it America!!, or France, Germany or even, apparently, ENGLAND!!!! He could nuke White Hart Lane during the match! Holy shit!.

Except it’s not really funny. We are on the verge of ‘attacking Russia’, at least in the mind of the only (nutter) person who really matters at such times. And that’s heavy shit.

Off to Greece in the morning. Early. Will keep you posted.

A xxxx