No doubt the less inhibited inmates at the Big House have already done this to death but here in the hushed corridors of the Colosseum I’ve seen no mention of THAT BOOK (or books to be exact) which now outsells Harry Potter and probably the Bible and will soon challenge Mrs Beeton. Continue reading “Only if you’ve read it”
Author: Janus
Hey! I'm back ...... and front
It’s how you do it that counts, allegedly
From those wonderful folks who gave you Pearl Harbor (thanks to Jerry Della Femina for the quote), it is now clear that the true spirit of the games has been revived at last. Their pommel-horse gymnast fell off. But after due consideration the judges decided he did it really nicely – so he could still help his team to the silver medal.
This is all because new events involving really nice falling are soon to be added to the Olympic corpus. They’ll do it from bikes, horses and pole-vault poles, into ditches, ponds and pits respectively.
Jolly good show, chaps! Continue reading “It’s how you do it that counts, allegedly”
Quote
“I could not tread these perilous paths in safety, if I did not keep a saving sense of humour.”
Not so bad, imho
You really have to see it in the flesh, so to speak, but Piper’s baptistry window in Coventry’s ‘new’ cathedral is a riot of colour and entirely in keeping with its environment.
Well done, London!
Love us or hate us, you can’t ignore us! And Danny Boyle’s extravaganza confirmed all we have always believed about ourselves. We’re inventive, self-effacing, humorous – and bloody good value! How marvellous to celebrate the real milestones in our history – the human race! Like the industrial revolution, votes for women, mass immigration, the NHS, the WWW and our musical heritage. And M (for Monarch of course) behind the whole thing – with a bit of help from 007.
There’ll be the usual post mortem, yes. No creative enterprise ever gets through with a perfect 10. But it’s satisfying to think that every 50 years or so Britain can make such a proud statement to the watching world.
One for Christina
Here are some of the Olympic medal contenders – all from Africa. Can you spot the odd-person-out?
And he said to HM the Queen….
Black economy
The DT is getting itself into a lather about hypocritical MPs who complain that employing people for cash is immoral – it robs the exchequer of tax income allegedly. But the paper seems to avoid the real issue – that it’s the tradesmen who are doing the cheating, if they don’t declare their earnings for tax purposes.
Cherished reader, there is an important principle at stake here. If a thief sells me the proceeds of his work, am I not an ‘accessory’ to the crime? So if I know that my plumber’s business is or should be tax-accountable, don’t I have the responsibilty to ask for a receipt for my payment, complete with VAT number and stuff? Where is the line between ‘legal’ and ‘moral’? The trader is clearly breaking the law; am I not morally obliged to stop him (if I can)?
Or is the ‘everybody does it’ defence ethically OK? I am not my brother’s (book-)keeper.
A pome by a real pro
For more rivetting details, see: http://www.ox.ac.uk/media/news_stories/2012/120723_1.html
Tour de force anglaise
While cherished cynics pooh-pooh the eighty-seven hour ride around the magnificent French campagne, there are those of us who will be pleased that three English riders have proved better than the rest. And although outspoken Daley Thompson believes that athletics are the superior discipline (his own claim to fame relies on his failure to be good enough at any one of his ten to be a world-beater like Steve Redgrave), I defy anyone to doubt the skill and dedication displayed by the Sky team in sealing first and second places overall for Bradley Wiggins and Chris Froome and two three* explosive stage wins for Mark Cavendish.
As a footnote, the spectacle was a welcome counterpoint to English fortunes at the Oval and Royal Lytham, where Soutie’s mates won all the laurels.
* mea maxima culpa, thanks, Soutie!
Boadicea's Chariot 
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