England came agonisingly close to adding the World Cup to last year’s European Championship, denied only by a fine Spain side and a solitary goal in the final.
Yet what defeat cannot calm is the winds of change blowing through the nation. Girls and boys watching their heroes take to the field, enjoying the drama and marvelling at the quality. It confirms what many knew: the Euros were no one-off. The Lionesses are the real deal.
It also makes those slow on the uptake — not least Nike, who declined to produce a replica kit for goalkeeper Mary Earps — look faintly ridiculous.
The team demonstrated extraordinary reserves of self-belief and mental strength to reach the final. When the disappointment of defeat lifts, the players can join the rest of us in being rightly proud of what they have achieved, and excited for the future.
Empower the inquiry
How could it have happened? How did serial killer Lucy Letby get away with her crimes for so long? These questions, and many more, will be examined in an inquiry. Yet already there are concerns about the process.
The chair of the Health Select Committee has joined calls for the inquiry into Letby, convicted on Friday of the murder of seven babies and the attempted murder of six more, to be led by a judge. At present, the Government has announced it will be a non-statutory independent inquiry, and therefore will not have the power to compel witnesses, suggesting it will be faster than otherwise.
But speed is not more important than getting to the truth. For this inquiry to have the confidence of the families impacted, and the wider public, it must have the capacity to call any witness, including those who might be unwilling to co-operate. Anything less is not good enough.
Menopause support
For one half of the population, menopause is a part of life. Yet research suggests many women have little understanding about it and what to expect. To change that, academics from University College London and leading health charities will design the UK’s first education and support programme for women experiencing menopause.
Their aim is to give women a better understanding of changes happening in their bodies, as well as peer support from others going through a similar experience.
Professor Joyce Harper, who is leading the programme, hopes this will help them “manage the changes they experience in this part of their life, in the best way possible”. A welcome and overdue development.
