I'm glad I'm not writing this message during or after the big game this evening. There are such hopes and expectations for England after what's been a rather bumpy ride getting to this point.
It will be interesting to see how we, as a nation, respond to the result. We're used to losing, so we should be able to deal with that(!). But how might we behave if we win?
There's already been news of offices, businesses and retail outlets, even schools, allowing people to arrive late or even to take the day off tomorrow to recover from what might be a late night, and all that that will entail. And there have been (rather premature?) calls for a Bank Holiday should the team be victorious.
Hopefully there will be some dignity and respect if we do perform well tonight. It would be a welcome trend to continue after the speeches in Parliament this week. The Prime Minister and the Leader of the Opposition spoke very magnanimously of each other. This behaviour, of 'disagreeing agreeably' feels long overdue.
It's also been rather lovely listening to the post-match interviews at Wimbledon. Such eloquent and intelligent comments by the competitors about their own performances and those of their opposition.
We met a formidable athlete in Woodbridge this week as Iwan Thomas spoke fluently and candidly about his life and career, introducing us to his brilliant autobiography 'Brutal'.
He gave us a remarkable insight into the psychology of an elite athlete obsessed with their performance on the track, determined above all else to be the best, the first. It's easy to see how it can be difficult to be gracious in defeat when you live and breathe your sport. But Iwan is certainly eager to share the lessons he's learnt looking back on his career presenting a warm, generous, entertaining perspective both in his time with us and in his book.
So for now I'll leave you with the match in Germany and wonder what we'll be saying about the outcome and the performance next week?!
Thank you for reading.