Category: General

Blinding flash

Sometimes (or is it often?) I despair at the ‘insights’ offfered us by journalists. Or am I missing something vital here? http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-21633960 – all about wars being unwinnable.

Ever since the Trojan Horse episode, clever tacticians have managed to thwart the efforts of mere generals by the use of informal methods of warfare. And of course that really gets up the generals’ disrespected noses. They of course always liked it to be predictable – in serried ranks with breaks for tea and unseasonal showers. A favourite tactic was to settle the whole thing with the help of Sir Knight and his trusty lance, while the cannon fodder waited in the wings with their Woodbines, cakes and ale (anachronistically speaking). In more modern times they have been particularly offended by human shields and enemies who refuse to wear uniforms and keep hiding in caves; downright un-British, what? Continue reading “Blinding flash”

Back to the Drawing Board – March Creative Writing Competition

The Royalist asked me to set the next Creative Writing Competition. I haven’t – because I’ve been very caught up with dealing with the problems of this little ‘beauty‘ or should I say, beastie!

Continue reading “Back to the Drawing Board – March Creative Writing Competition”

Pyromaniacs delight!

Sometimes, you really do get what you actually wish for!

I have spent ten years here in this house regarding the shack next door with great disfavour every time I set eyes on it.  It was built illegally, not up to code and has spent its life being rented by some pretty scrofulous peasantry with poor credit records, savage dogs and half witted female companions.  Some idiot judge allowed it to be grandfathered in to the irritation of the County who wanted it demolished.  But finally nature has had its way.  Condemned by the County, deemed unfit for human habitation due to leaking roofs, black mould, insufficient drains and God knows what else, it has finally had its day!

Image

Continue reading “Pyromaniacs delight!”

How to win friends …

French President Francois Hollande today spent about ten hours visiting the Salon de l’Agriculture – not in any sense a vote collecting exercise.  He is apparently not very popular with country people in France, but then he’s not really got a lot of  fans in any section of the population.

A few years ago we too visited this exhibition, which demonstrates the wide range of agriculture in France.  The weather was very cold and snowy in Paris then as now, so it was quite comforting to spend the day in the warmth.  Once you have paid your admission fee, you can actually eat and drink for free from all the samples that are waved in front of you.  There were all the different breeds of French cattle and sheep and pigs and also some foreign guests.  I had to go to greet the Highland cattle on display.  I never knew how many different varieties  of goat there are.  Visitors are not permitted to feed the animals on display, which may have accounted for the very unpleasant expression on the face of a rather large mule.  I’m sure he felt he deserved a carrot for standing there for so long with all these people streaming past him.

Different halls contained the produce of France’s overseas territories, the poultry and rabbits bred in farm yards, hunting dogs, horses and donkeys.  The whole exhibition covers a vast area but the cheese, wine, sausage and other samples keep the visitor going, especially the seafood nibbles from the Caribbean. From the Channel, Atlantic and Mediterranean coasts, the Alps and Pyrenees to the pastures of Normandy and other less well-known regions – I even discovered there is a Berry donkey – it was an impressive display of the wealth and variety of France’s produce.

Hollande and friend
Hollande anoints his successor, who quite frankly can’t do a worse job than he is doing.

Written by a Ghost

A friend recently told me that established fiction writers of thrillers and detective mysteries use other authors to pen for them. The famous authors have ghost-writers doing the chores for them while they have a break from writing. The reason for this is so that the publishers can carry on cashing in on a “big name”. The ghost writes in the same style as the previous books to give credence to the novel.

This diabolical invention has made me think twice before reading a book in case it is false. Just how long this shady practise has been going on is anybody’s guess. And it has spread to other literary outlets. It is now commonplace for blogs to be written by a ghost. Here again, the ghost apes the unique manners of the real blogger. You can never tell what is what in cyber space. For all you know, this blog could be the work of A.N. Other and not me. Doubt has now been formed, no doubt about it.

Bouncy friends

Has anyone else been receiving odd messages via the DT, presumably from Facebook?   I was told the other day that three people had “unfriended” me, which seems unlikely since I wouldn’t touch Facebook with a bargepole, however heavily disinfected.  Brother-in-law did join, for reasons best known to himself, and put everyone else’s name down.  Today, however, I am informed that two people want to “rebound” with me.   Are there some very bouncy Tiggers out there?  Who would want to deal with such a bunch of illiterates?  Is it American?   (Sorry, LW, nothing personal.)

‘si monumentum requiris, circumspice’ – Photo Competition (the longer way)

Please bear with me on this one or feel free to skip it and cut straight to the chase as you so wish. Tonight, I’m feeling just a tad backward-facing, as in the sinister profile of Janus. It does seem only yesterday when I was a student sitting in a caravan in deepest Colinton, straining every sinew to secure a Conservative win in the sincere certainty of thereby saving my country from the scourge of socialism. Continue reading “‘si monumentum requiris, circumspice’ – Photo Competition (the longer way)”