Category: General

Weather or not

Sorry to be so utterly mundane but I just have to remark on the bizarre weather here.  Ten days ago it was still summer, 70s in the day and 50s at night.  Brilliant sunshine everyday.

And then it stopped.  First it rained a bit then it went cloudy and then it rained and rained and rained, it hasn’t stopped.

Now it has turned cold to nearly freezing, there is snow already in the passes and we are expecting 8″ tonight in the mountains and they are considering opening the skiing early! Autumn lasted exactly 10 days!!  Needless to say much scurrying around trying to shepherd all necessary plants into the greenhouse in the greatest haste.

Reminds me once in Memphis, Spring lasted exactly one week. The daffodils came out and were fried dead in seven days, talk about blink and you missed it!  I really hate seasons that do not go in an orderly and timely progression and flowers that you wait all year to see that are gone in the blink of an eye. I feel cheated! Anyone else had bizarre weather?

Apart from that everyone here is sick to death of that bloody election. Both left and right have got to the point that they no longer care who wins as long as the electioneering stops.  From the amount of money wasted on political ads down to those for town ratcatcher they could have paid for the national debt ‘n’ times over and paid for Obamacare out of the small change. What a ridiculous waste of money.

They’re still at it…

Big furry surprise:

‘Expenses scandal: 27 MPs let one home and claim for another.’

And we thought the ‘new intake’ was going to be less money-grabbing and more solicitous of the tax-payers’ hard-earned in their care… didn’t we?

Yeah, right. Is it any wonder that many of us* think that our lords and masters are more interested in lining their nests and lining themselves up for lucrative jobs in the private sector – either while still sitting in the Hhouse, or on ‘retirement,’ on top of their fat ‘redundancy’ packages and gold-plated pensions? (Or, equally lucrative sinecures in the EUSSR kleptocracy.)

*translation: ‘I’ 🙂

“Now there’s an actor!”

Thus spake Laurence Olivier on hearing In My Defence for the first time. “Now there’s an actor.” One of my favourite Queen quotes. The song was written by Dave Clark for the musical, Time, which featured a hologrammed Laurence Olivier!

Olivier, in most people’s eyes, the greatest British actor of all time heard the unique Mercury voice in full flow and could imagine our Fred making movies and treading the boards. Dismissively, Freddie ruled out acting as a career move. That’s a pity because his contemporary, David Bowie, made a lot of wooden appearances on celluloid and just as our Fred outshone the strange eyed one on Under Pressure he would have out-acted him on the silver screen as well.

Olivier, ’nuff said


For me, the best book ever written about Hollywood is William Goldman’s Adventures in the Screen Trade (1983). Goldman was a highly successful screenplay writer in the 60’s and 70’s. His book is full of anecdotes that are not found in most other publications or via the world wide web. Witness Goldman’s exasperation when director Bryan Forbes says on the casting of the sex bomb of The Stepford Wives– “I think Nannette might be rather good for the part of Carol, don’t you?” Read the book to find out why Goldman can’t argue with this, though he disagrees entirely with Forbes’ choice.

In Marathon Man (1976 movie) Goldman got to work with one of the most talented actors of all-time, Laurence Olivier. Larry, as Olivier was called in the business, was at the end of his career but he still knew how to read a scene. He gave the director of the film, John Schlesinger, a lesson in stagecraft. Continue reading “Olivier, ’nuff said”

Homes under the Hammer

The Conservative Chancellor of the coalition, George Osborne, has delighted the Tory Party faithful by ruling out wealth and mansion taxes. “This Party of home ownership will have no truck with it” he said. High value property owners that have never set foot in a truck breathed a sigh of relief. Mr Osborne is in charge of the purse strings of this country and he can play any melody he wants with them. This time it’s music to the ears of the wealthy.

Into the chamber enters the spectral figure that is the government’s Business Secretary, Vince Cable. This latter-day Robin Hood is promoting a petition for a fairer tax system. “I want a new ‘mansion tax’ on the most valuable properties – we propose 1% of the value of over £2million. This will be paid by the wealthiest 0.16% of property owners. If you agree, add your name to our campaign now.” This juggernaut statement struck a discord with the better off while those in the poor seats clapped approvingly. Continue reading “Homes under the Hammer”

‘You realise, of course, that this means War.’

I was at the shopping mall at Ocean Terminal in Embra yesterday afternoon for various mundane reasons. When necessity drives me there, I always try to lift my spirits by driving to the very top parking level and looking out north over the Firth of Forth. I defy anybody not to find that a lift to the spirits.

Anyhow, I cast a soothed eye over the Western Harbour of Leith docks and saw that two of our gallant allies were present and moored yards away from the most famous denizen of said harbour. Continue reading “‘You realise, of course, that this means War.’”