STAND UP IF YOU'RE THREE NIL UP! Great work by England one-day squad in last week. Makes the sleep sacrifice so much easier. And good work by Kyle Edmund with the yellow ball in Aus Open too. England sportsmen on top Down Under. Happy Day ?

TURN BLUE TO YELLOW: Tomorrow, as the third Monday of the year, is supposedly the most miserable day of the year. Let's all do something thoughtful and simple and bring a bit of yellow brightness into someone's blue

WHAT'S LIGHTING MY FIRE? Literally these logs, which took me 75 minutes to move from Matchbox's parking space to the woodshed.

DISMAL & ABYSMAL: I've used that headline for England cricket losses many times over. Today, as Australia won back the little urn, it's an apt description again.

Seventeen years since the horrible accident that took Kirsty MacColl out of the world. While "Fairytale of New York" would be the seasonal choice, here's a different cynical song about love. (That also makes reference to an England sporting victory. Rather welcome today.)

DECEMBER IS NOT JUST FOR CHRISTMAS: OK, we're nine days into the month, but that leaves 22 for catch-up. Mostly simple, mostly free, all effective. Go for it ?

MYTH-BUSTING: After all of this, I'm not sure what there's left to believe in. My world might need recalibrating. Or I could knock back on the ouzo