Listening to the radio today I am enjoying the cricket. As i start typing Chris Woakes takes the final wicket. Australia all out for 317. Looks like England are in the lead, at least for now. But like therapy, we don't know what will happen. Will England batsmen score centuries, or will their be a collapse. Even if they bat well, will the weather hold? If it rains in Manchester, no days are added on. The weather is a mystery, and could scupper England's chances. The audience are buzzing, I can hear them through the radio.

I recently enjoyed reading Mike Brearley's latest book, Turning Over the Pebbles. He had a dual life as a philosopher, England captain, and then as a psychoanalyst. He approvingly refers to another analyst, saying that analysis is liking mining for rare metals. I like that idea. But I also think about the damage that mining invariably causes. I think about the cold war between China and the USA as they tussle over advanced microchips and rare minerals. But perhaps I am being too literal. Surely, what he is saying, psychologically speaking, if you keep digging, if you go beyond the surface, you will be rewarded with treasure. Rare minerals are esoteric. They are precious. We can behold their potency. We can put them to use. But first we have to find these psychic treasures. In the meantime I need to find the exact quote, and will need to keep manually scouting through the paper pages. I can't find it in the index. But there is a pleasure in digging through the book, that allows me to read half remembered pages....