'THIS was a legalised beating up'' - an excited BBC sports commentator on Lennox Lewis's felling of Mike Tyson. And seeing the revolting Tyson flat on the deck, with blooded nose and eyes, it was highly tempting to say: "It couldn't have happened to a better fellow.''

But really... do we want to see one man batter another into submission? Isn't the concept of putting two men in a ring to fight each other, while others watch and cheer, something we should have left behind us long ago? How can we ever hope to put an end to fighting among ourselves - in other words to achieve world peace - when we can't even discard it as "sport"?

What was in the Queen's mind as she gazed down from the palace balcony at the milling million or so who filled the Mall at the climax of her Golden Jubilee celebrations? Gratification, no doubt, that so many had turned up, giving the monarchy, and herself, a much-needed boost.

But was the Queen proud of these most loyal and ardent subjects? Especially next morning, when the same view presented the sight of an estimated 250 tons of litter, which it required a small army to remove at a cost of £75,000?

What a filthy nation we are. And while I am not among Her Majesty's Union Jack-waving subjects, I trust she will be consoled to learn that at least I am not among the nation's many litter-throwers either.

A cafe which I often use in York's traffic-free city centre faces a square where parking is still allowed - by the disabled. From my observations, few of the drivers and their passengers show any obvious difficulty in getting out of their cars and walking away to do their shopping.

A welcome double-barrelled blast against the extensive abuse of disabled parking has come from, not able-bodied people like myself, but two pressure groups representing disabled drivers. And while what most concerns the Disabled Drivers' Motor Club is the use by non-disabled drivers of badges belonging to relatives, the Disabled Drivers' Association gets more to the heart of the matter. As its director, Douglas Campbell, frankly admits: "Too many badges are being issued and the abusers are depriving the genuinely disabled of places.''

Too true. But parallel with this abuse is another - the selfish parking by unencumbered supermarket customers in the slots reserved for drivers with young children. At my local supermarket, Safeway, in Stokesley, the reserved spaces are constantly used by drivers without children, who could easily park a few yards away.

I'm often amazed by the people I recognise using these spaces without even a shamefaced glance. Their selfishness is a manifestation of today's ME ME ME society, whose philosophy runs: "This is best for me, and I don't need any other justification.'' It's giving us the society we deserve - nasty.

Russia's newly-emergent soccer hooligans are said to model themselves on their long-established English counterparts. So, from Royal pageantry at one end of the scale to football hooliganism at the other, England still leads the world. Trouble is - the void in between.