Another eventful few days, including the extension of my 100 per cent record against England stars in sporting duels, as well as the extension of my 100 per cent record of booking trains that are either delayed or cancelled.
First, the latter. It felt too good to be true, a train that ran direct from our base in Erfurt to here in Dortmund. I havenāt picked up too much German in a month here, but my ears prick and body shudders when I hear āunfortunatelyā and āunforeseenā.
Yes, halfway up the track and in the middle of the countryside, that familiar announcement from the train manager, consistently met with a comical sigh of resignation from the natives. The line ahead was closed and we were getting tipped off at the next stop.
Stranded in Kassel, and with no way of getting by train to Dortmund (100 miles away) to speak to Gareth Southgate and Harry Kane, we approached the next cab off the rank. The driver thought he had won the lottery. By the time we were on the autobahn, myself and Mail Sport sidekick Sami Mokbel certainly thought our number was up.
A charming German with an Irish accent (courtesy of his father), the only problem was he drove like Eddie Irvine. We repeatedly reminded him we werenāt in a rush (we were in a rush) but better to get there five minutes late than not at all.
Mail Sportās Craig Hope scored a modest 41 as he took on Phil āThe Powerā Foden at dartsĀ

Yet Foden, unbeaten beforehand, could only score 10 as he slipped to defeat against HopeĀ
Incidentally, the Netherlands team were affected by the same track closure, and they took a flight to Dortmund instead. We didnāt have an aeroplane, but it felt like we had a pilot, and the autobahn was his runway.
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Anyway, we got here safely, just in time for the electric storm that illuminated the skies over Dortmund. Never has thunder and lightning felt so calming.
Itās just as well I played my game of darts against Phil Foden before that taxi journey and not after, because my hands still havenāt fully settled. It was at the England media base a couple of days ago that Phil āThe Powerā Foden challenged a couple of reporters to a game. Unbeaten in camp so far, he was the overwhelming favourite.
I got us started and somehow landed a pair of 20s with my first two darts before arrowing the wrong side of the wire and finishing with a modest score of 41. Had the first two darts unsettled Foden and got inside his head? They must have done, because he missed the board with his first dart before posting a score of just 10 in reply.
After beating Jordan Pickford in a three-putt challenge last month, the goalkeeper has been Englandās best player at these Euros. Let us hope the ignominy of losing a sporting contest to a no-Hoper is just as inspirational for Fodenā¦
Auf wiedersehen, Craig.