I’ve decided to take a break from writing andysglasses to prioritise my mental health. Which, you will have noticed whilst reading these postings, has been degenerating rapidly and catasrophically since… well, since I started posting them really. But its reached the point where it can no longer be ignored. The pressure of… the anxiety due to… the relentless… yeah, no, yeah, no, if my mental health declines any further I run the risk, yeah, no, of turning into a premiership footballer. Yeah, no…

I was inspired when Naomi Osaka withdrew from Wimbledon, and I gave up tennis in sympathy with her. Then Simone Biles, the world’s greatest gymnast, pulled out of the Olympics, so I made the monumental decision, the great personal sacrifice, and gave up gymnastics too. So when yesterday Ben Stokes publicly announced his break from cricket, because I suffer from terminal role model syndrome, I gave up cricket too. I had to. I phoned Essex cricket club and told them I could no longer be a supporter. They were so stunned the guy said: “sorry? Who the fuck are you???” And I put the cricket pages in the dustbin, along with the gymnastics and tennis ones already there.

So in solidarity with all these people, and with the others sure to follow, I have to take a break from everything, be as brave as they are, and just jump on that bandwagon as if my mental health depended upon it.

But before I go, just a mention of how great it is to be British during an Olympic finals. Not content with heading the less meaningful medal charts, basically because we aren’t, we have the distinguished honour of heading the only really important chart out there. Which is the most 4th places. Britain leads the world in the ‘so close but so far’ from a medal table. Anyone can win a gold medal, you just have to be the best. But 4th? That’s hard. You have to be better than 5th but just not quite as good as the geezer winning the bronze.

I’m loving these Olympics and probably won’t take my break from them to prioritise that bit of my mental health until they’ve finished.

Ok, that’s it. See you when I’m better.

Happy Saturday

A xxxx