Category: General

It’s sad that so few charioteers have so little to say these days; only a couple of regular bloggers and a handful of comments if they’re lucky. Remember that critical mass and the downward spiral always take effect sooner than you think.

It is not that difficult. Declare a no fly zone, stick the drones up, I’m afraid that the use of chemical weapons has to be dealt with and dealt with severely.

Oh! Hang on, let’s wait for a directive from the UN

I’ll stand your sixpence, Ferret.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/politics/margaret-thatcher/10018982/Baroness-Thatchers-funeral-cost-us-6p-each.html

This one cost me a new keyboard

wot with the tea, coffee and curry that came down my snout.

OZ

I found mention of this new trend in Paris in the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung.

http://www.faz.net/aktuell/gesellschaft/umweltschutz-in-paris-tierische-rasenmaeher-erobern-paris-12157294.html

Sheep have been brought in to keep the grass short in public spaces in Paris, at the behest of the present socialist mayor, Bertrand Delanoe.  The original article on this in Le Figaro, now behind the paywall, mentions 170 of the fleecy lawnmowers.   FAZ  mentions four sheep dealing with 2000 square metres of grass in the 19th arrondissement.  What I have not discovered so far is what protection is provided for the sheep.  Fences to keep them out of the traffic?  Shepherds to prevent them disappearing to the nearest halal butcher?  Face masks to protect them from traffic fumes?  Seems a very trendy “green” idea, but not very healthy for the animals themselves.

To the bloody ludicrous carry on in Boston and the attendant collective denial of the American people-see my acidulous comment on the Boston bombing.

So as an antidote we fled to Canada yesterday to see a spring garden.  Nothing like a garden to calm the nerves and reduce the apoplectic blood pressure!

This is Dart’s Hill, about 15 miles North of us, but always seems a bit warmer than home.

Continue reading “An antidote”

I found this old video on Youtube by accident and thought a few might get a laugh out of it.

I realise this may be coals to Newcastle for many cherished colleagues, but for me my first visit to the Wallace Collection yesterday was a real eye-opener.  The venue was suggested by the friend I was meeting who recalled having been taken to see the collection at the age of nine.  Despite having taken her degree in art history, she had never visited it again.  Admission is free, though donations are gratefully received, and this makes it an ideal art gallery to visit if one is in central London with just an hour to spare.  The collection is in Hertford House on Manchester Square, just behind Selfridge’s.

http://www.wallacecollection.org/

This link gives an idea of some of the exhibits; not just paintings, but china, glassware, weaponry, and other objets d’art.  Continue reading “The Wallace Collection”