Thatcher's grandson plays football ...

... American football, that is! A propos of nothing very much, but I thought it was interesting how fate and circumstance can affect a young person's life. Michael Thatcher is the grandson of former PM Margaret Thatcher whose son Mark and his wife spent most of their married life in South Africa, where Michael apparently played cricket and hockey.

Following on from the marital difficulties between his parents and some problems his father had with the South African authorities, Michael moved with his Texan mother, Diane (née Burgdorf), to the US where he now plays American football for his high school football team. Watch him in action here and read about his exploits in more detail here (the article tactfully omits the detail that his father is barred from entry to the US because of his nefarious activities in Africa - allegedly bankrolling insurrection in an African state).

Where would this young man be now, and what sports would he be playing, had his mother not been American, but for example Russian, French or Italian? No doubt if she had been Australian he'd currently be playing Australian rules football, I expect, and not the American version.
(thru Andrew Sullivan)