Wimbledon
For years no British man could get beyond the first round of Wimbledon, and this lead to the concept of the Wimbledonisation of the British economy.
We couldn’t make anything or compete internationally but we were really good at attracting lots of foreigners who could. A rather fragile economic policy you might think.
Because while Britain’s male tennis players have improved and the tournament is still a great success, the danger of Wimbledonisation for the British economy is increasingly obvious.
The UK is not the All England Club, people, unlike top tennis players, do not have to come here to compete, they can and do go elsewhere if the prospects are better.
The Wimbledon tournament was never going to collapse because of too few British players, so long as its reputation, facilities and prize money are good enough it will prosper.
But the UK economy also needs to maintain its reputation, its facilities and its wealth to make it an attractive place to work and produce.
It is increasingly failing to do that and it may be about to find out just how quickly Wimbledonisation can be reversed.
Economics, trade and Brexit, not necessarily in that order but the dog always comes first.
By Jonty Bloom Media