Sport is a dominant theme at the moment, obviously, because of the impending start of the Olympic Games in China. 

 Nevertheless I offer no apologies for selecting this picture by Darren Staples of Manchester United’s Patrice Evra and Juventus’ Mauro Camoranesi clashing in mid-air during their pre-season friendly soccer match at Old Trafford in Manchester on August 6. As I looked through the file of Reuters pictures it jumped out at me, and has everything a good soccer picture should have. Of course it’s sharp, tightly composed, is shot at the height of the action and, because the players appear to be so far off the ground, it conveys a sense of drama. Also, a very simple point, but one that is often missed - the ball is in the picture!

With the Olympics now only a month away the search for scene-setting images to tempt the visual palate has begun in earnest. From the Beijing file Henry Lee gives us this to kick start the week - Wei Shengchu, 58, a supporter of traditional Chinese medicine, poses for photos in front of Beijing Railway Station with his head covered with acupuncture needles depicting 205 national flags and an Olympic torch, 7, 2008. Local media reported that Wei wanted to express his good wishes for the upcoming Beijing Olympic Games as well as to promote traditional Chinese medicine. 

And it is all his own work, all 205 and something more substantial representing the Olympic flame, painstakingly inserted into his head to the obvious entertainment of passersby. 

Even in this low resolution the Stars and Stripes, the Swiss, French, Canadian, Brazilian and a host of other national flags, are fairly easily spotted but not the Union Jack. 

Maybe he just forgot it, or perhaps it occupies a place in the shade where the sun has finally set on the British Empire.