How fickle the emotional charge of the nation - yet how re-assuringly British.

At a weekend gathering we numbered ten. A small group of would-be Promenaders at a private party to mark the Last Night of the Proms.

A big screen had been erected in the garden, there was a barbecue and plenty of wine and we all applauded appreciatively when conductor Paul Daniel took to the podium - and sang lustily to the words of Jerusalem.

It was all good soul-stirring stuff. The kind of event that makes you amused to be British and able to share this wonderful - albeit sometimes frustrating -- country of ours.

All in all, it was a good weekend. We also had the benefit of a "result" in cricket. The nation seemed to be glued to its televisions, either for the action from The Oval or the festivities from the Royal Albert Hall.

All of this was something of a change from the previous days when the country, it seemed, had been obsessed by England's lacklustre performance on the football field. We seem, in the past few days, to have gone from jeers to joy,

largely governed by the pictures on our TV screens.

With the Ashes in the bag, the nation feels good about itself.

But at the moment whilst we are all feeling good about ourselves the nay-sayers are

already predicting dark days ahead. I think we should bounce less between the emotional extremes - hold an even level, keep feet firmly on the ground.

That way we are best equipped to take the good with the bad, and to deal with the troughs as well as lifeIs peaks.

Look at the mood on the other side of the Atlantic where Katrina wreaked havoc not only in the communities she swept through but in the White House and Washington as well. The US can hardly be feeling good about itself. In the words of most commentators, and now the President himself, its response to the devastation has been inadequate. This mighty nation became, overnight, a scene of Third World despair.

Having a positive attitude to our nation, to our family, friends, business colleagues - is fundamental but enormously difficult to achieve, but easier when we maintain our resolve and level-headedness.

It is easy to celebrate success, more difficult to come to terms and accept failure. And yet failure - whether on the football field or in the political arena - can be followed swiftly by success and managed accordingly.

Over in the US, I would hope that even their low morale will be raised as the flood waters are lowered.

Here in England, our uplifted spirits will enhance the feelgood factor, and extend summer just a little bit further.

The fuel situation is a concern, yet a more measured response would have been better all round.

As Michael Vaughan's team showed, resolve and surety of purpose in the face of adversity can achieve wonderful things. Without jumping up and down.

* Diane Benussi is senior partner of Benussi & Co, matrimonial lawyers.