England, my England

This week: some half-formed thoughts on a half-formed identity, the case for more crowded cities, and finally, a new bit of tube.

So: did football come home? In the Baddiel/Skinner/Lightning Seeds song’s original sense, of an international tournament being largely played in England, yes. In the modern, colloquial one of “England actually winning”, very obviously not. Which is a shame – though not nearly as great a shame as the behaviour of some fans, or the tide of racist abuse th…