England's week

Front page of a French newspaper honoring Bradley Wiggins

This is a historic week for England, and I thought of giving the British a tribute they deserve. The Olympic games start this week in England, and I'm sure the British are well prepared to host a magnificent spectacle. This weekend the British Open in Golf was played at Royal Lytham and St Anne's Golf course, with a British golfer, a South African, an Australian and two Americans in contention. (The South African Ernie Els eventually won.) But most of all, I salute today Bradley Wiggins, the first ever British cyclist to win the Tour de France in 99 years. In 1987, Ireland's Stephen Roche had won the only other title from the British Isles, but Wiggins is the first British to win. To make it even more special, another British cyclist, Chris Froome, from the same Sky Team came in second place. Another British cyclist, the sprinter Mark Cavendish won three stages, while yet another Brit, David Millar won another, making it a total of 7 stages won by the British cyclists, one third of all the stages!.

So today I say hail to the British. After all the British defended Malta during World War II and even gave us in 1942 the George Cross as the highest honor a country could receive, and which was then incorporated in the Maltese flag.