We've all learned lessons and will move on

Specifically, my day-and-a-half away from Wolverhampton has taught me two things:
1. Never share a hotel room with a man who doesn't understand the difference between a twin and a double room. Additionally, don't volunteer to sleep on the floor out of sympathy for the third party who came along at the last minute.

2. Never trust the casual suggestions of a man who proposes a trip to Wales. He'll only reveal that his motivation was an encounter with a young lady he 'met' on Facebook. She will then vanish in a trice leaving us marooned in the worst bar this side of Pyongyang.

North Wales was, of course, heart-stoppingly beautiful. The sea was steely-grey, the mountains were shrouded in proper snow and the Travelodge had all the charm and facilities of a gulag. We visited my old Students' Union, an unlovely concrete shell due for demolition in a few weeks. The building's sickness had reached the hearts of its habitués. Gone was the packed, sweaty, thrilling Indie night. In its place, a soulless (and sparse) Athletics Union night, complete with mandatory rugby players wearing dresses.

I'm sorely disappointed with the young. We seem to be living through a cultural moment in which conformity is most highly prized - clothes and music were indistinguishable from the blandest of mainstream venues. I'm sure the pendulum will swing once again, but it's a depressing vision.

Still, another good result for Stoke City this week, given the referee's decision to turn out for Manchester City! And now, on to my global economics lecture. Under the weight of overwhelming popular demand, the Keynes/Hayek rap will make and appearance.