I love man hugs. I never hugged my dad and he never hugged me, the most intimate it ever got was a handshake. I never hugged an uncle or any male family member. I’m pretty sure I might have never hugged an Englishman, or at maximum it is a handful of guys. Somehow its just not done. Or at least not done around me, maybe I’m just less ‘huggy’.

About the only place hugging happens between Englishmen is on the football and rugby terraces, which for me personally is one of the underlying reasons why I see football as so important.

My French room-mate opened my eyes about dad hugs. He had lots of photos with his arm around his dad. I was slightly jealous, but mostly just curious. Why was it so normal for him but not done around my family?

I learnt about how normal it is to hug men from my male European friends, French, Greek, Serbian, Polish, Belgian and Dutch mostly. Its one of the real sad things of Brexit is how much England can learn from mainland Europe, any barrier to that is a step backwards.

I complain about many things in Belgium, but the man huggers here are some of the greatest. You can be having a shit day and they come up to you and give you a massive hug whether you like it or not. It’s awesome, albeit still slightly awkward for me. Things are always better after a hug.

Putin probably just needs a big hug.