So there I was, rummaging away in the past, doing a good number in the old self criticism gig, when it occurred to me that it was time for a change. A time to accentuate the positive and reduce the negative, and maybe someday eliminate it. The time had come to launch the entity known as The My Good Self Grateful List.

The idea is to take note of ordinary, everyday things which assist me in my daily travels with a view to a slight rewiring and reprogramming of the space between my ears which constitutes my brain. The list has twenty items on it to date and the plan is to add one or two every day. It’s a work in progress.

Over in the sporting world one of the more touching moments in recent times was the television interview given yesterday by the Liverpool goalkeeper Alisson after he had scored a dramatic late winning goal with a superb header. A man who recently lost his father in tragic circumstances, he spoke of the hand of God being placed on his head in that moment when he scored. There really is no other way to explain it.