Fine thanks and you?

'Hi, how are you?' is a phrase we hear on a daily basis and, being British, the response must ALWAYS be 'fine thanks, how are you'.

We could be terminally depressed, tragically ill, massively uncomfortable or in emotional turmoil. The answer however should and still will always be, 'fine thanks how are you?'.

This is a ritualistic verbal dance. it sits alongside discussing the weather as an ice breaker in awkward situations with new people. Nobody asking how we are expects e genuine response and to be honest would be terribly mortified to get one if we were to, perish the thought, 'open up to them'.

Why is this? Are we Brits still enamoured of the idea of the stiff upper lip so much that we mustn't ever complain. Well no. Actually we're just so socially inept that we need these language tools to open conversation.

So here's some open advice to visitors to our shores. If someone says 'How are you?', no matter how long you've known them, no matter how close you've become, the immediate response is always 'fine thanks, how are you?'

Glad we've cleared that up!

career colleges are a good idea.

A quote in today's 'i' newspaper was particularly attention grabbing. Lord Baker, former Conservative Education Secretary and introduced of the National Curriculum said this; 'We have one million young people unemployed and are issuing visas to people from overseas who have the skills we need- it is about time that we filled this gap with our own young people'.

It is unusual for me to agree with an oleaginous politician, particularly one from the right when my own views are moderately centrist. However, in this one has to say he is right. We need to educate young people in a more diverse way than touting academia and higher education, then casting them aside if they cannot make it.

Of course academia is right for some and e should encourage that. However that leaves plenty of 14 year olds who could be looking at a barren future with few prospects. 'Career colloeges' announced here could be a good remedy for this. they sill maintain a core of English, maths and science but put alongside this a more vocational approach. Of course this is a good idea. We, as a nation, should be encouraging the next generation of engineers, caterers, constructors and more.

I can only hope that this initiative isn't sidelined by lack of support or political will. It is nice to see for a change a positively constructed, well thought out idea that may offer wider educational/vocational choices to coming generations.

Something we should all endorse.

Is the NFL overreaching itslef (UK view)

Being an NFL fan these days is an unrecognisable experience from when it all started in the 80's. I jumped on the bandwagon in 1983 when the biggest stars were the likes of Marcus Allen, Dan Marino and co. This was a time when footy and rugby fans in the UK would laugh at you for supporting a sport full of 'girlie' types who need padding , 'not like our rugby players'.

Pointing out the difference between running head first at each other repeatedly and rugby tackling was pointless. Others complained about the pom and razzmatazz. if the game was so good why did it need cheerleaders they opined. Also why does it stop and start all the time? This latter was the refrain I heard the most from friends whenever I tried to watch the game. It didn't matter how often you tried to explain the intricacies they didn't listen.

Going to Wembley for the 'American Bowl' was an amazing otherworldly experience where something completely alien seemed to have touched down in the capital.

All of this is a far cry from today. Now we have excellent TV coverage, the Internet has made it possible to follow our teams on a previously unthought of daily basis. ( I should just do a quick referral here for Dolphins fans to the excellent news wire section of phins.com). No more listening to grainy sounding armed forces radio at obscure times or watching highlights of a show shunted around the schedule. The sport is much more widely respected and the players recognised more as athletes.

So why am I concerned?

Mainly because I'm worried the NFL will overreach itself. I don't believe a much mooted London franchise will work. People like the international series, once or twice a year as a day out. They may not want to pay 8 times or more to see what as an expansion/recently moved team is likely to be some very average (at best) play.

Football (soccer) is king here too. The loyalties and depth of emotional bond between footy fans and their teams is something different to a potentially mobile franchise like the NFL offers. From an American perspective the closest comparison is probably with the emotional bond people feel for their local college teams. the NFL will never supplant that and must bear that in mind.

Then there are the combined issues of the increasingly out sized nature of linemen, how concussions may affect the game long term and whether the teams actually care for their players properly when needed (see 49ers/DUI on Google recently).

I love the NFL, I really do. I've followed it for over 30 years now and cannot believe how accessible it is these days. For its own sake though I hope it doesn't overreach itself.