Boadicea's Chariot

Billy Fury – Halfway to Paradise

This recording of an early hit was made 4 days before he died in 1983.

It’s late Fall, and the Indians on the reservation in Sisseton, South Dakota asked their new chief if the coming winter was going to be cold or mild. Since he was a chief in a modern society, he had never been taught the old secrets. When he looked at the sky, he couldn’t tell what the winter was going to be like.

Nevertheless, to be on the safe side, he told his tribe that the winter was indeed going to be cold and that the members of the village should collect firewood to be prepared. But, being a practical leader, after several days, he got an idea.

He went to the phone booth, called the National Weather Service and asked, ‘Is the coming winter going to be cold?’ ‘It looks like this winter is going to be quite cold,’ the meteorologist at the weather service responded.

The chief went back to his people and told them to collect even more firewood in order to be prepared.

A week later, he called the National Weather Service again. ‘Does it still look like it is going to be a very cold winter?’ ‘Yes,’ the man at National Weather Service again replied, ‘it’s going to be a very cold winter.’

The chief again went back to his people and ordered them to collect every scrap of firewood they could find.

Two weeks later, the chief called the National Weather Service again. ‘Are you absolutely sure that the winter is going to be very cold?’ ‘Absolutely,’ the man replied. ‘It’s looking more and more like it is going to be one of the coldest winters we’ve ever seen.’

‘How can you be so sure?’ the chief asked.

The weatherman replied, ‘The Indians are collecting a shitload of firewood.’

A friend who is staying with us for a couple of nights has told me a tale that I find incredible. Some time ago he decided to apply for a credit card, his first ever. He eventually received a rejection, and telephoned the company to ask why he had been refused. He was told that they had checked his credit rating and found he didn’t have one, so he was classified as a ‘bad risk’. He explained that he wouldn’t have a rating because he never went into debt. Like me, John believes that if he hasn’t got the money, don’t buy.

The company persisted in seeing him as a bad risk, even when he told them that he owned two houses, a hotel and doesn’t owe anyone a penny. Eventually, he was offered a solution. Go out and buy something on credit, pay it off, and obtain a credit rating. He declined to accept their advice.

We have played so well that the guys have really made my job fairly easy.
Ricky Ponting

Goodnight everyone, sleep well.

Paco de Lucía, Concierto de Aranjuez Part2

I was standing in the Marche (sorry for lack of accents) Forville in Cannes today gazing at a collection of this season’s truffles. Prices started at 200 euro per kilo and proceeded through 350 euro, 400 euro, 750 euro to 2,200 euro. I couldn’t help wondering how the sellers can tell the difference between the quality of one small, knobbly, earth-covered bit of  fungus and another. It struck me that the Irish government should really be rooting round underneath the country’s oak trees to see if there isn’t a way of raising some much-needed cash lying buried there.

 

I see that Eric Cantona has been called irresponsible for his call for people to punish banks by taking their money out. The accusation came from an EU finance minister. Pots and kettles come to mind.

I’ve had three wives and three guitars. I still play the guitars.
Andres Segovia

Goodnight everyone, sleep well.