Author: janus

I'm back......and front - in sunny Sussex-by-the-sea

Time for others

By coincidence, after I’d seen many reports of people going the extra mile during the latest terrorist outrages, I saw an article in the Beeb’s travel pages about a Greek word nobody, even Greeks, can translate satisfactorily. It’s ‘philotimo’ (from the ancient Greek φιλοτιμία which appears in Homer and Pindar). Down the centuries the meaning segued from ‘ambition to impress’ to ‘altruism’ and ‘doing the right thing’ and these days seems to hover somewhere in between those apparently contradictory concepts.

Did the ancients see a connection there, I wonder. Did they reckon acts of kindness might be motivated, perhaps subconsciously, by a desire to appear virtuous, a wish to deserve praise?

Anyway, see what you think! Just askin’.

http://www.bbc.com/travel/story/20170605-the-greek-word-that-cant-be-translated

Theresa was right

TV debates between political party leaders are meeja ambushes. The organisers, including the so-called impartial BBC, make the most of the opportunity to rig the audiences and ask questions from the ‘when did you stop beating your wife’ school of interviewing. The aim is to evoke scandalous replies, crowd pleasing and maximum embarrassment for the debaters.

Theresa is not a street-fighter. Maybe 200 years ago (had women participated)she would have acquired such skills for the hustings or remained in the shadows. Bojo is, but he cannot be trusted to behave. So should a PM be pilloried for refusing to take part? Not in my book – horses for courses, I say.

The election result will turn on other issues. The size of the turn-out, especially among the youngest voters; the actions of former UKIP supporters; the strength of feeling about security and defence; the reliability of the leadership. So stick to your guns, MS May – it’s one of your strengths.

Local news

Petite but perfectly formed, she is blushing at the antics of some anti-whaling types who object to an annual bloodfest on the Faroes. The Mail proclaims she first appeared in 1913 and is now 94, a survivor of many cowardly attacks down the years. Still a Danish territory, the Faroes tried to succeed (per the Mail) in 1940 but settled for more home-rule. It might make more sense for the protesters to do their thing on the islands but they would get short shrift, if not a thick ear.

Foiled again *

I have a soft spot for Kit Kat, having cut my marketing teeth in the Rowntree KK team in York in the ’60s. It was already a veteran, 30 years old and making its first £1 million contribution to profits while I was there. The trademark battle then was about the tag line, ‘have a break’, which Cadbury and others were trying to dilute with their own snacks promotion. They lost. And now, another 50 years on, the ‘four-finger shape mark’ is the focus and in the UK (but not everywhere) Cadbury are successfully opposing it. I can’t guess what profits the old guy makes now but Nestlè clearly intends to protect them.

  • headline courtesy the Grauniad

Theresa’s blind spot

‘Right, Gran. I’m takin’ a year off to look after you
– bring us a cuppa tea will you?’ (Mac in the Mail)

The Onslow* generation will welcome the idea, mine will not. I’ll ask the clan next time I’m over there but I can’t see it catching on, even among Ms May’s homogeneous ‘workers’. What is she thinking?

*you may need to research this

A handbag?

There’s a plan to honour Maggie with a statue in Parliament Square. And why not? The Iron Lady was responsible for so much that needed to be done in the ’80s. Even the Poll Tax, her downfall, was well-intentioned. Is there a fairer, less discriminatory way to tax a population? Scargill and his ilk were bankrupting British industry. And Argentina needed a good slap, even when the Americas couldn’t work up the enthusiasm to agree.

Her daughter, Carol wants her image to carry her iconic handbag, but this new work omits it. It certainly epitomises Maggie’s approach to Europe.

http://www.standard.co.uk/news/london/plans-lodged-for-10ft-statue-of-margaret-thatcher-handbag-not-included-a3537761.html

Please explain

At my advanced age, I reserve the right to shout, ‘Silly B*ggers!’, when I spot conspicuous consumption. It’s not puritanism or Uriah Heapishness on my part – I like a treat with the best of them – I just think they are deluded and daft.

This time it is the wedding of the sister of the wife of a Prince. The family is clearly extended and we hope not overstretched. They must be impressing somebody – but I suspect it’s only themselves.

http://www.standard.co.uk/lifestyle/london-life/pippa-middleton-s-wedding-is-expected-to-cost-250000-a3535806.html

Shooting from the lip

A nice phrase from the Beeb today, asking if it’s snobbishness that makes us hate Don the One. http://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-39849073

So I’ve asked myself the question. Do I react against him because he can hardly string three words together? And when he does, the words often fly in the face of the facts? Yes and yes.

No, I don’t expect heads of state to be academic icons, intellectual leaders; but I do expect them to have some grasp of their language, some awareness of the key issues facing them and some respect (yes, respect) for their peers’ qualities as heads of state. A quick jibe and a quick u-turn won’t do.

What’s your take on the soon-to-be-lame Donald duck?