When I took on this column toward the end of last season, I remember being quite guarded about the idea of keeping it going all summer.

I wondered how I could possibly find the content to sustain it. Little did I know that there would be endless ways to fill the column inches, from updates on work around the ground and events in the Cross Bar to thanking our volunteer army and poking fun at fellow directors.

This week, while I’m still not exactly struggling for subjects to discuss, I thought we might try something a little different and look beyond the Furness peninsula to the wider world of sport.

It’s certainly a good week for it. The weekend has been filled with sporting drama.

Lewis Hamilton has won a record sixth British Grand Prix, England have won the Cricket World Cup on home soil, and I, along with a peak audience of nine million others, was playing every point of my hero Roger Federer’s Wimbledon final – the longest in history at four hours and 57 minutes.

Not a bad Sunday at all, though I’m sure wives (and indeed husbands) up and down the country have bemoaned the lack of progress on various home improvement projects.

Sport is, at its best, theatre. We can all appreciate the skill of a Messi or a Ronaldo, but it’s the fact that rivalry exists between them that makes it so much more compelling.

Likewise, tennis has been dominated for a decade by arguably the three greatest to ever pick up a racquet. I could write an essay on the joy of watching Roger Federer (don’t panic, I won’t), but to the wider audience it’s the subplot of who will retire with the most Grand Slam titles between himself, Nadal and Djokovic that makes those showpiece events so exciting. Often the narrative in sport is every bit as exciting as the event itself.

This summer has been one to remember. Phil Neville’s women have captured the imagination of a nation and, while it’s still too recent to be sure, one can only imagine that cricket is about to receive a similar shot in the arm.

And in the end, if we can inspire kids to put down the Playstation controller and venture out into the great open spaces, that should be what it’s all about.

And for those worrying that the summer has almost passed us by, don’t panic; The Open starts on Thursday.

*We may be straying for a week from the wonderful world of Barrow AFC, but football is never far from anyone’s mind, even if you’re in holiday mode.

For those who like to read, there’s some great books about football for when you settle down on that sun lounger.

At the time, a ground-breaking book was ‘Football Against the Enemy’ by Simon Kuper. It really captures how much football means globally, as the author criss-crosses, meeting all kinds of different football people, players and fans.

If you prefer an insight into the genius (or indeed madness) of great management, ‘Provided you don’t Kiss Me’ is a brilliant book about Brian Clough from the local journalist who knew him best.

If you want a real sense of the life of a journalist at a World Cup, ‘Deadlines and Darts with Dele’ by Jonathan Northcroft gives you the chance to relive England’s World Cup campaign of 2018.

For anyone who has ever dreamed of buying their local non-League Club, Ian Ridley’s account of his time at Weymouth, ‘Floodlit Dreams,’ is a great record of the trials and tribulations of a football chairman in an fairly isolated coastal town. One I’m sure any Barrow fan past and present would relate to.

*If reading’s not your thing, there’s always the radio to buzz away informatively in the background. Sport has some great programming to offer.

For the true obsessive, BBC World Service has ‘World Football’ where you can ponder upon Egypt’s woes or track the progress of Madagascar.

For general sporting chat and indeed real life in general, ‘Flintoff, Savage and the Ping Pong Guy’ is a great podcast listen on Radio Five.

One of the best set of podcasts I have listened to in recent years are from Barcelona-based journalist Graham Hunter, called ‘The Big Interview’.

Unmissable is Benni McCarthy’s account of his journey from a South African township, via Blackburn, to an unlikely Champions League with a young Mourinho-led Porto.

There's also Michael Carrick’s breakdown of how he approached Manchester United training sessions to prove he had what it takes to win a place in their star studded midfield.

‘I had Trials Once’, ‘Under the Cosh’ and ‘Quickly Kevin’ all come highly recommended from the more discerning members of the Barrow support.

For cricket aficionados, ‘Test Match Special’ is the sound of any summer, as is the equally excellent ‘Broad and Fry’.

So whatever your pleasure, there are ways to keep us occupied until the big kick off. See you by the pool.