Author: Janus

Hey! I'm back ...... and front

Another British triumph or two

Andy Murray

Never one to make viewing easy, our cherished North Briton dragged us through his highs and lows with the skills of a Proms conductor. It was descant and bass in quick succession and we were poised to disown him again, as his friend Novak seemed to be taking charge. But no, his Caledonian courage saw him through.

Meanwhile, our other provincial hero, young Rory, gave another masterclass to his rivals and must soon decide where his allegiancies lie for Rio 2016. Will the green be his colour as well as his arena?

The next poetry competition – “Lost love”

He’s always referred to as ‘Alfred, Lord Tennyson’  – I don’t know why. (‘Sebastian, Lord Coe’? Naeh, it doesn’t sound right. But I digress. This is a post about pomes, not poetry in motion.) Alfred is an easy poet to enjoy, not just for his aphorisms, but for his metre too – like these: Continue reading “The next poetry competition – “Lost love””

The House

Disrepair: MPs and peers would be evacuated from the Palace of Westminster for the first time since World War Two

 

 

 

 

 

 

The trouble is, it’s falling down – I was wondering about a play on ‘house of cards’ but while the inmates get regularly shuffled, they are nothing to laff at. This is serious stuff; they’re even talking about moving Parliament and all its works out of town! Which got me thinking. What an opportunity to get something right – a first for them and a welcome successor to the Jubilee and London 2012!

Pugh on Parliament's refurbishment

Continue reading “The House”

A denial

I want to put it on record that I never had an affair with Audrey Hepburn (or even David Bowie). No, I have no idea where the rumours came from (if anywhere) but this denial is a necessary precursor to any sudden outburst of publicity about my private life. I might as well admit to having fancied Audrey something rotten. David Bowie on the other hand struck me (no, M’lud, not literally) as a man made for Jagger’s diverse attentions.

That’s cleared up then. Phew!

What price plastic Brits?

I only mention Greig, Lamb and Pietersen because they represent the latest example of sporting plasticity – in cricket, as it happens. But shouldn’t I include Strauss? At what age or after how long ‘on probation’ should an immigrant become eligible for national honours? This is a general question about all nationalities – although I don’t suppose many countries want former Brits to represent them (corrections please on high-value negotiable instruments).

Backside reckons under the age of ten would be about right. More than six years in a British school should remove any stubborn veneer of foreignness – you know, unsporting behaviour, a tendency to rat on mates, re-emigrating to the Antipodes – that kind of thing.

Such a rule would mean we could keep Mo Farah too – but have you noticed? We soon forget their roots when they really please us?

Degrees of usefulness

I’ve noticed that the underside of cherished colleagues’ collars heats up at the mention of certain ‘degree’ courses, with particular reference to more practical subjects formerly confined to apprenticeships and polytechnic curricula.

Personally I don’t get offended by conferring on them the title of ‘degree’, any more than I mind a crowd of cardinals calling themselves a ‘college’. Nobody is fooled into believing they have suddenly acquired much-sought-after academic status – which is after all reserved for many subjects which are practically useless, like my own field of classical languages, literature and history. Continue reading “Degrees of usefulness”