A

You're listening to the Monocle Daily Voice broadcast on 17 July 2026 on Monaco Radio.

B

Ukraine tries to get its Defence Ministry and military on the same side. What did the UK's outgoing Prime Minister say about Argentina's tactless banner and is peanut butter art? I'm Andrew Muller. The Monocle Daily starts. Hello and welcome to the Monocle Daily. Coming to you from our studios here at Midori House in London. I'm Andrew Muller. Our in house guests Julia Jenn and Robert Bound will recap the week. Fernando Augusto Pacheco will meet the duo reinvigorating Italo Disco for this summer and we'll have our weekly wrap up of what we've learned. Stay tuned. All that and more coming up right here on the Monocle Daily. This is the Monocle Daily with me, Andrew Muller. Now, even by the standards of the last four years and change, it has been an eventful week in Ukraine. There have been protests in several cities against the decision by President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to sack the country's popular defence minister, which came a matter of days after the resignation of Ukraine's Prime Minister. I'm joined with more on all of this and more besides by Julia Gen, Monocle writer and resident Ukraine expert, indeed resident Ukrainian. Julia, I will put to you the admittedly unsophisticated question, have been trying to answer to my own satisfaction all this week. What on earth is going on?

A

So what we can see is this classic power struggle between two people very close to the kind of top, top, top layer of power. So here in this case we have the head general of the Ukrainian Army, Oleksandr Syrskyi. He was engaged in this power struggle that actually, you know, we could see some of it coming to the surface in the last few weeks, months with the Ukrainian minister of Khado Fedorov, or at least now he is the ex Ukrainian Minister of defense. So he was in his post for six months and to sketch a kind of picture of him. So he's a super young, dynamic reformer. He's very much of the kind of new generation of Ukrainians growing up, kind of maturing after the 2014 revolution. And so if we kind of create a very simplistic image for our listeners, yeah, you've got this young energetic guy and he's coming up against Syrsky who was very much of the kind of Soviet model of governing, commanding, looking after his troops, and Syrsky and Fedorov coming into conflict because Fedorov didn't want to just approve everything that Syrsky was asking for and he kind of wanted to create this digital drive. So Fedorov was before this the minister of digital affairs in Ukraine and he pushed through some incredible reforms that now has seen Ukraine in terms of the digital governance of the country and how easily people can show documents on their app, you know, book things through one government app and so on. We're now on par. Ukraine is now on par with the Baltic states in terms of this and cybersecurity and so on. Trying to bring this into the army brings a lot of criticism and a lot of pushback from Syrskyi, who wants to keep that kind of old bureaucratic Soviet top down model, not flattening out the kind of hierarchy of the army. And this just became too much for Zelenskyy. And yesterday in an explosive press briefing, I mean, really explosive, Fedorov really laid all his kind of cards on the table and really explained situation very honestly, in kind of raw honesty, I think surprising honesty to journalists said that, you know, Sydrsky asked the presidents to choose one or the other to choose either him or Fedorov. And that's what we're seeing here. So a classic kind of power struggle at the top and Zelenskyy being apparently made to choose between the two.

B

I mean, that's clearly what he's had to do. And obviously, I think if you're trying to look at this relatively sympathetically from Zelenskyy's point of view, it is. It would be difficult enough in peacetime to have a chief of your milit, a defence minister who weren't getting on, obviously in a country fighting a war for its survival, it's a completely unsustainable situation. So if Zelensky had to pick one, why did he pick Syrsky? Do we understand that?

A

I think this is one of the kind of mysteries of all of this. And interestingly, the protests that have sprung up in Ukrainian cities that you mentioned before yesterday and today, they've continued as well. They are the same cardboard protests as before. So to explain that in last summer when Zelenskyy really overreached on his power and there was a sense of kind of corruption really pervading to the top echelons of power in Ukraine. And you know, you had the EU officials kind of calling in saying we need to sort this out, the Ukrainian people came out, you know, even under martial law, when of course protest isn't actually technically allowed. They came out with cardboard signs. So this kind of last minute, very organic protest movement. And they've come out with these cardboard signs again. And so there's a link, I think, between the two. There's an idea and there's a feeling forming that perhaps Zelenskyy wants to onto power a little bit too much. And Fedorov as this dynamic young figure presenting this potential opponent, taking control away from certain individuals who really want to hold on to that power, that sense of being able to kind of control processes. Because of course, Fedorov's approach is to, you know, flatten the hierarchy, is to democratize the army, to ensure that there's a sense of fairness and control that ordinary citizens have over their lives within this whole army structure. So I think there's a very tricky conversation going on now in Ukrainian society. Why is this all happening and where are we left at the end of this? And there's a feeling that of course, you know, Zelenskyy is part of this problem, is the problem in this situation. And that's a really difficult conversation to be having when you can't have democratic elections, when no one wants to have those elections. Where is Ukraine left at the end of all of this?

B

Well, there's obviously plenty there to talk about, which we will doubtless talk about further next week. But just while we have you here, a story from the other side of the lines and with all due acknowledgement of the difficulties of soliciting the honest opinions of the Russian public. Because I'm not really sure how many people would give a completely unvarnished opinion to a total stranger knocking on the door with a clipboard in Russia. I mean, I wouldn't for a start. But nonetheless, there's some not terribly encouraging numbers for President Putin.

C

Yes.

A

So we have had an opinion poll coming in overnight. So Putin has had a 5 percentage point fall in his approval ratings. It's down now at 66%. And it's the kind of biggest fall that he's had in his popularity throughout the course of this whole full scale kind of, well, what they would call the special military operation in Ukraine, which has been dragging on for such a long time now.

B

The 72 hour lightning conquest now in its fifth year.

A

Exactly. So yeah, so he's received this terrible news about this 5% fall. I mean, I'm surprised it's not lower. And fingers are being pointed. Huge gas and diesel shortages within the country. Also, interestingly, actually this week Google Play removed the kind of Kremlin backed messenger off their sort of version of the App Store. So now Russian users of Google Play, their App Store as well as the iPhone. App store can no longer download the government backed messenger sort of platform again, another way in which they're being cut off from the outside world. So you know, you'll have an Android phone or you'll have an Apple phone and you can't even message even in the government backed messenger apps anymore, let alone just the normal ones, you know, Facebook, whatever Instagram point, you know, fingers are being pointed at basically Russian sort of lifestyle options are increasingly becoming limited.

B

Julia, Jen, thank you for joining us. You are listening to the Monocle Daily. I'm Andrew Muller and it is Friday and as is supposed to be customary but hasn't been the last couple of weeks because of reasons, but I am joined by my fellow contributing editor Rob Bowne for what is. Is it the daily weekly quiz or the weekly daily quiz?

D

It's the daily weekly quiz.

C

Okay.

D

I've been using the couple of weeks off to do intellectual press ups, push ups and Q and a squat jumps, Andrew, because I'm gonna, I'm gonna beat you today.

B

You think you're actually going, you think you are actually going to win this for what will be the first time in recorded history? Such is your confidence, Rob, I'm going to offer you the opportunity to. Let's assume you've won the toss.

D

Okay.

B

Do you want to kick or receive, as it were?

D

Shall I ask the first question?

B

Go right ahead. Do your worst.

D

Okay, here we go for the returning daily weekly quiz.

B

Hang on, we haven't done the annoying theme music.

D

Oh, the theme music.

B

Where's the annoying theme music? Terrible.

D

You took your thumb out of your, out of your denim loop there to play bass guitar.

B

I did. So anyway, now we've listened to the annoying theme music. What is your first question? Rob?

D

This week a new species of monkey was discovered in the deep forest of the Democratic Republic of Congo. Locally known as Liqueueli, Colobus Congo lingoensis is a smallish black primate with orange coloured lips, a white marking on its bottom and a distinctive call. Behaviour wise, with what slightly anthropomorphic couplet was it described? A quiet and cryptic, B noisy and bombastic, C patient and docile or D territorial and easily aroused?

B

I'm going to rule out territorial and easily aroused because I'm not even sure how.

D

Sounds scientific to me. I don't know what's wrong with you.

B

Any monkey discoverer would estimate that. Okay, noisy and bombastic I'm ruling out because I assume if it was that noisy and that bombastic, we'd have Heard about it before now, quiet and docile sounds. Not all that scientific. What was the first one?

D

Quiet and cryptic.

B

I'm going quiet and cryptic.

D

Oh, man.

B

He's still got it.

D

He's still got it. What have you been doing with your time off? Do you want to hear. Do you want to hear a little bit of the Liquelli's supposedly honking call?

B

I thought you'd never ask. That is. That is at the very least cryptic, if not necessarily quiet.

D

Silence is rubbish, isn't it? Because that's definitely him being territorial and easily aroused.

B

I'd have thought so. Anyway, before we get to my first question, I will warn you that I have been watching a lot of the World Cup.

E

Yeah.

B

And so they're all going to be

D

about the World cup from an Australian standpoint. You can watch it from in front of the sofa.

B

Well, indeed. Well, we once we lost on penalties to Egypt. But I have focused specifically in what is, to be honest, my favorite part of any World cup, which is not so much the football as the attendant controversies. I do enjoy a World cup controversy and there have been many. So my first question to you is this. What did Ghana's coach Carlos Cueros suggest that the video assistant referee had been doing instead of watching the England vs Ghana match after a challenge by England's ESRI concert on Ghana's Prince Adu failed to prompt either a penalty or a red card. Or if you will, nothing much about ado. I worked on that. Yes, I worked on that all afternoon. The options are A, A having A coffee, B sleeping and having watched that game, who could blame them? C doing wordle or D being distracted by a pigeon. What did Ghana's coach Carlos Queiros suggest that the video assistant referee had been doing instead of watching the football?

D

And I know about this and I can't remember the thing.

B

Drinking coffee, sleeping, doing wordle or looking

D

at a pigeon drinking coffee suggests he would be more caffeinated and awake. Let's discount that. Playing Wordle is too specific. I think the New York Times online crossword quiz is quite specific. Looking at a pigeon.

B

Looking at a pigeon, yeah.

C

Wrong.

B

Carlos Queiroz did in fact accuse them of having stopped for a coffee instead of watching the match.

D

It's hardly a diss, is it?

B

I do admire your reasoning, but I think, to be honest, my sympathies are with the video assistant referee. Myself and Monocle's head of radio, Tom Edwards watched that game together in Sweden where we happened to be after about 60 minutes. To be honest, we were booing both teams more or less constantly.

D

That was a grim encounter, wasn't it? It was, yeah. Yeah. Are you ready for question two?

B

I'm ready.

D

Earlier this week, Sotheby's sold a life and mission saving pen belonging to Buzz Aldrin, who jammed it into the gap left by a broken switch, thus enabling the ascent engine to lift Aldrin and Neil Armstrong off the moon during the Apollo 11 mission. What brand of pen was it? Was it A, a Montblanc Starwalker, Was it B, a Parker Galaxy? Was it C, an Edison Comet? Or was it D, a Duro rocket? And they are all genuine types of pen.

B

The only inside information I can bring to bear on this is that I did once attempt to conduct a telephone interview with Buzz Aldrin, which was an experience. Yeah, I will put it that way, in that as I recall, I was on the phone with the second man to walk on the moon for about an hour and a half, in which time I did.

D

Did you get to answer any questions?

B

In which time? I think I spoke about 23 words. It was quite something in my recollection. One of the few things he did not discuss was which make of pen he took to the moon.

D

The one topic he didn't expound on.

B

It was pretty much the only thing he got around to. Or possibly I like the video assistant referee during England versus Garner may have nipped out for a coffee at the crucial point. I really don't think he would have noticed if I had. I'm going to punt that Buzz Aldrin belted out on a Mont Blanc.

D

He it was the Duro rocket which saved. Which potentially saved his and Neil Armstrong's life. That sold at auction at Sotheby's this week for $850,000.

B

Question two for you. And to remind our listeners, I'm still one in front here, but you can equalize on this. What was the response of the office of UK Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer to Argentina's players? Brand after defeating England in the semi final, a banner reading Las Malvinas son Argentinas or the Falklands are Argentine. Did the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom's office respond? A if you don't like it, you should have fought harder B Come and have a go if you think you're hard enough C the Prime Minister wishes both teams well for the final, especially Spain or D if I see any banners about Gibraltar on Sunday, there'll be trouble. Which one of those was it?

D

The problem is all these have a mullerish excellence to them. I'm actually going to go with C, I think. I think that's kind of just pointed enough that diplomatic relations won't, won't be completely trashed.

B

Entirely correct.

D

I was quite tempted to come and have a go. If you're thinking hard enough, it, it

B

is a lovely line. The PM wishes both teams well for the final, especially Spain. I, I, I was reminded in its cadence of the famous statement attributed Englishman club manager Ron Atkinson, who I don't think ever managed the England team, but he did once reply retort after a game where there had been some questionable refereeing decisions. I never comment on the match officials and I'm not making an exception for that idiot.

D

Exactly.

B

Okay, we're all square. We're all square Questions.

D

Okay, Playful sudden death. Question 3. Last week in the Netherlands, a tribute was paid to the late conceptual artist Vim T. Shippers by recreating one of his large, better known works that naturally questioned the definition of art itself. What did the work consist of? Is it A, a clown jumping up and down in a white room shouting the word no for hours? Is it B, a taxidermied horse that appears to be jumping through a gallery wall? Is it C, half a ton of peanut butter spread on the gallery floor? Or D, 30 tins of human excrement arranged shop style and advertised at the price of gold?

B

Which, which, I mean, I think, I think the fact, Rob, that you have thought of three of those suggests wasted in this line of work and could be absolutely coining it as the next Damien Hirst. I'm saying peanut butter.

D

The other three are actual works of art.

B

Conceptually, of course they are, but. So you didn't think of them?

D

I didn't think of them.

B

So you're not the next Damien Hirst. You're stuck here, Rob.

D

I'm stuck here.

B

You are stuck here desperately trying to answer the last question correctly in order to at least come away with a draw.

D

Alright, hit me. Okay, let's do this.

B

Third and final question about World cup contrast controversies. What did Egyptian coach Hossam Hassan say after his team had a goal overturned against Argentina in the round of 16 by a ludicrous, nitpicking pettifogging VRA call? I am editorializing there slightly, but did he say, A, the last organization to rob Egypt this badly was the British Museum? Did he say, B, is this some sort of pyramid scheme? Is that anything? Is this thing working? C, this match was rigged and the whole whole world saw it? Or D, if Britain ever needs to retake the Falklands again, we're coming to.

D

I think you have generously teamed up to make it hopefully one all at the death. I mean, I love all these answers. God bless Hossam Hassan. For any of the other three, I'm going with C. Is it again?

B

This match was rigged and the whole world saw it. Yes, it was. And we did.

C

Wow.

B

So what was that? That was too all right.

D

That's too all to all.

B

Rob Bound. Well played.

D

Thank you very much, Andrew.

B

We shall see you next time.

D

I shall wish you a bon weekend.

B

You as well.

D

Thank you very much.

B

You are listening to the Daily on Monocle Radio. And if you tune into Monocle Radio across the summer, and why would you not, you'll likely find yourself bopping along to hits from Mind Enterprises, an Italian duo taking the world world by storm. Made up of two former post punk musicians, Andrea Taroni and Roberto Conigliaro. Mind Enterprise dabble in feel good Italo disco, a genre fitting for a global audience looking for a dash of Mediterranean escapism. Monocle Radio's Fernando Augusto Pacheco, an Italo disco enthusiast, can we shock you? Spoke with the duo during their visit to London.

E

We actually been kind of working together like since 2011. We met in Palermo, actually a festival called Ipsy Croc. We played with different bands and we just found out basically that we both like just about to move to London or I think we already just moved to London. So, you know, we swap number and then in London we like, of course we kept in touch also because like our English was like terrible and we had no friends so we actually needed each other. Of course, like we started, you know, hanging out, working like, I mean, he'll tell you more but like Andrea started the project as a solo and I joined like as a live musician to help to bring like, you know, the project, like of course, like on stage.

F

Question again for both of you. Your music of course is deeply inspired by Italo disco, which I love. And I try to understand why do I love Italo disco so much.

E

I mean, as a very human side, like as you said, like emotion. Like, of course, like it comes from disco music, like, which is play and sang. And the good thing, like of course, like it's a crossover because then you have the synth and the drum machine. But I think as you said, like just more like the emotional feel, like the human side. Like people like a lot into techno nowadays. Like I think like Italy kind of like defined a little bit like the counterparts like where at least on the electronic music sphere, again It's a bit of like feel good human touch, I would say.

G

How is I see it is because it's a bit silly as well. It's sort of like don't take yourself too seriously some, I mean it has like some sort of depth but the instinct is like, you know, let's just have fun at. Just don't think about it too much. And I think it's very linked with a proper party in my opinion. And dance music, you know, you're just there not to be the best looking, the coolest person is more about like having fun and don't take yourself too serious. So I guess this kind of music sort of helps, you know, help to create the vibe for a good party.

F

And that's how you both started as well. You know, online people saw, you know, your beautiful imagery there, it's very chilled. And then suddenly you're doing an international tour to the US as well. How was the reception in the. In fact? Because I wouldn't associate Italo disco in the us.

E

Yeah, exactly. It couldn't be better to be honest. Like it was pretty much a sold out tour like and they ended like at Coachella with the two weekends at Coachella, as you said. Like, you know, people like kind of like looked at us a little bit like, what is this? Because as you said like Italy was definitely more like as a European thing like in Germany, Belgium, like Netherlands. The fact like the Coachella that I decided to get us on one of actually asset liner like overstage like and kind of trust whatever like in this Italo disco thing. Like. Yeah, it's quite surprising at the end of the day we, you know, filled up the room so it was amazing.

F

Let's talk about Negroni. Love the album which is out today or tomorrow actually. That's amazing. First of all, is it true that I read one of your interviews that actually, actually Negroni is not necessarily your favorites, but it is cool. Do you like Negronis?

G

Negroni? Yeah, yeah, yeah, of course.

E

Well, to be fair, like we kind of switch between drinking Negroni and just Camparian soda. Okay. Because Negroni obviously is like quite like a tough drink if you.

F

You save comparison for the next album.

E

Yeah, exactly. Yeah, it's a bit strong. So you know, when we play live actually usually it's camparian solar below lighter. But definitely my favorite drink though.

G

Yeah, yeah, it's a bit more a treat, you know, when you just go out for real. But then, you know, Campari and so is more casual and more like, you know, it just, you can Drink it every day. So you know.

F

Well, I love Tuto sport. I mean who would like talk about this? And it's, it's based on a newspaper from Turing. A sports newspaper, Right, the name.

G

Yeah. But also like I have to say I use a lot of sort of like football references and sports references, but I don't know anything about, about it. I just like it as a cultural thing, anthropological perspective. I say. But I, I, I never play football. I don't know anything about it. And so from my knowledge this newspaper was like. I didn't even know it was from Turin, but I, I discovered it was. And it's very much linked with a specific football team. But you know as well I, I had to tell.

F

Are you a football fan?

E

No, no, no, not anymore. I used to like but it's been like they over, they had like an off stop. I'm into tennis though, so at least I got a sport I actually like. But yeah, football. Some reason just don't follow me anymore.

F

And I wrote it down here. My favorite song. I would like to know actually more or less where this come from. Rosanero. I love it. Yeah, I absolutely love the song.

G

Thank you.

E

Yeah.

G

There's another football reference. Rosanero. Yeah. He's trying to look like the, the most agreeable football team in Italy. Like because Palermo is not, you know,

E

huge thing not doing so well now

G

that they're controversial, you know, if you see Rosanero, everyone kind of likes them.

E

This one you wait to see. You're going to have al Italy like hating you. And same with like Inter, Milan and Milan. So Palermo is a small. Nobody hates Palermo. Come on. Apart the people from Catania, but it's not that many. You know, there's this beef line between like Catania and Palermo, then the main cities. Yeah, yeah, yeah.

F

And guys, I saw the list. You are performing so many gigs this year. You'll be in Brazil, which I'm very excited about in October. I'm from Brazil. There's a be a big market for you guys there. Do you like playing live? So tell us a bit more because we're here in London. It's a big venue, you have a packed schedule.

G

Yeah, even too much. I think we're taking a bit, a bit too much stuff. Yeah, that's why I say that's why I mean then you get tired because you know, of course, because we love it so much. So you know, when, when offer came, when the offer come to the table, it's hard to say no. And we say yes. Every time. Something that we love to.

E

I mean, especially the ones South America, Australia. America, like, of course, like, super exciting to bring our music abroad.

F

We have some Caipirinha, love, maybe.

E

Yeah, I love Kirinha. Yeah, yeah, yeah, absolutely. I get one. My many, not just one, for sure. Nice. Very exciting. Yeah.

B

That was Fernando Augusto Pacheco speaking to Mind Enterprise. You are listening to the Daily with me, Andrew Muller. And finally, on today's show, our weekly assessment of whether the last seven days have really been worth it. We learned this week of the precise date upon which British listeners who have invested any amount of their national identity in some sense of the United Kingdom as a serious dignified nation, should avert eyes and ears from all media.

A

I can't wait to see

E

where this goes.

B

We Learned officially that August 13th is the date upon which Reform UK leader and man from whom the prudent would not buy a used car. Still less a pitch for reordering relations with Europe, Nigel Farage will contest his seat of Clacton. If Farage is listening, it's in Essex. In a by election he occasioned in an attempt to forestall further scrutiny of his intriguing financial arrangements. We learned, or at least inferred, that Farage had not taken this decision lightly, given that his victory in Clacton in the general election of 2024 had been his eighth attempt to acquire a seat in the House of Commons. Not that we doubt for one single second Farage's profound commitment to and deep seated concern for the people of Clacton. Seriously, if Farage is listening, it's about an hour and a half by train from Liverpool street heading east. And as we had already learned, given that every other major British party had declined to participate in this nonsense, and to the delight bewilderment of foreign media, Farage's principal opponent will be white one Count Binface. He describes himself as an intergalactic space warrior. And behind this unusual character, you have John Harvey, who's a comedian, and he might well be, as you said, the only one standing against Nigel Farage in this by election. Because the other major parties are boycotting the election, calling it a sham, saying it's yet another political move by far. Yes, so we learned that on August 13, a tiresome attention seeking clown, the sort of witless, dreary novelty character embraced with wretched reliability by a perennial and pestilential cohort of tittering simpletons lurking among the English, paid far too much attention by a chronically trivial media, forever making a pest of himself on election days. We'll run against a man dressed as a bin. But. We had long since learned, of course, that electing celebrity buffoons to public office was not a malaise exclusive to this side of the Atlantic. Indeed, it is arguable that the United States gave everyone else the idea. Thanks, America. And we learned, as we recurrently do, that it was all going extremely normally. Treasury Secretary Scott Besant revealed the first

E

images of a $1 gold coin featuring President Donald Trump's face.

B

We learned at least that the honoree was appropriately humbled.

C

It's very cute. They gave me a coin that's very unusual from what I understand. A gold coin. Yeah, a gold coin and a silver coin. It was very unusual, but I was honored by it.

B

And while we fully expect to learn in due course that the Trump $1 coin will shortly do a roaring trade among Trump supporters at $4.99 per coin, or 3 for 26 for 50, etc. We did learn that if any seeker of good luck does fling any of said coins into, for example, the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool, when and if there is ever any water in it again, this is what the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool looks like. After much of the water has been drained for repair, it makes might not be easy to retrieve them.

D

Huh?

C

Because when a little water touches the magnets, it doesn't work anymore. And you're running. You. You're in the Atlantic Ocean with waves that are 60ft high and the Pacific Ocean with waves that are 70ft high, and they're talking about magnets. It makes you want to get sick.

B

We learned, yes, that magnets don't work underwater, despite what we may have been told over the years by divers, salvage workers, workers, submariners and scientists. But what would any of those doofuses know? Am I right? All clearly in the pocket of big magnet. And we learn from the same characteristically focused, learned, and above all, comprehensible presidential disquisition of the real reason for shortcomings in attempts by the previous U.S. administration to stimulate domestic semiconductor manufacturing.

C

And of course, the standards were so high, if you weren't transgender, as an example, you didn't qualify. So they get the money that hired. They'd look all over for transgender people to run the company. Large portions. They couldn't find them. They weren't into the chip making business, I guess, right?

B

Transgender transistor. Tomato, tomato. But we mostly learned, if we're really honest, how very annoying it is when the President schedules some dramatic announcement for Thursday evening DC Time.

C

And welcome back, everybody.

B

President Donald Trump says his Thursday primetime address will focus on free and fair elections when you're writing a news review to air Friday morning UK time. So if he says anything really untowardly bonkers, we will be pretty cross. But we think we cover ourselves pretty well if we just drop this in

C

last election, did we kick ass? We won. That means we won three times in a row, as you know.

B

But we learned that the thing of claiming victory under dubious pretexts appeared to be catching on. We learned that at least one England fan had failed to consider the prospect that football would not, in fact, at this time of asking, be coming home as such. We learned that a Sean Carrington of Wigan had spent a considerable sum getting tattooed on his right calf an image of the World cup trophy above the words England World cup winner 2026. Though scrutinising the image, we see that room is available for the prefix non before winner, so he might be able to style that out. But if we learned something about the incorrect optimism of the English, we learned much about the commendable pedantry of the Norwegians. We learned at least that one Norwegian fan, Emil Annes Lappen of Flurg, was disinclined to participate in his team's celebratory Viking Row because we learned this was just not how the Vikings propelled their longboats when they were sailing across the Atlantic. They sailed, sail.

G

They didn't grow.

B

I thought that the idea was stupid. If Norway is looking for someone to put on money, there he is. And that's all for this edition of the Monocle Daily. Today's show was produced by Thomas Waterhouse and researched by and Kaylee Martin. Our studio manager was Steph Chungu. I'm Andrew Muller here in London. The Daily is back at the same time on Monday. Thanks for listening listening and have a great weekend. Sam.