Have I Got News For You is celebrating its 30th year now and although it has its moments it really is showing its age now. I have watched it from the start and do still watch it, but that is at least partly through habit. A lot of the time the regular members do seem […]
Entries Tagged as 'Life'
Bikes don’t kill people, cyclists do
August 16th, 2020 · Comments Off on Bikes don’t kill people, cyclists do · Life
There are some things that are so obvious and ingrained that you don’t notice them until they are pointed out, after which you can’t not see them again. The difference between how accidents caused by bicycles and accidents caused by car drivers are reported is one of those things.
Thick as a brick
August 2nd, 2020 · 2 Comments · Life
This week came the news that Argos will no longer be producing their catalogue in paper form. The legendary ‘laminated book of dreams’ will be a thing of the past, but what a past! To be honest, its a surprise it has lasted this long, because it is out-of-date almost before the ink is dry. […]
Get on your bike!
July 27th, 2020 · Comments Off on Get on your bike! · Life
I see that the government want to encourage more people to take up cycling to improve health by reducing obesity. While it is easy to pick holes in this, the gist of it is very laudable. There shouldn’t be any doubt that reducing weight leads to improvements in health and that cycling can help to […]
Tags: Cycling·Medicine/Health
Its all a big conspiracy!
July 17th, 2020 · Comments Off on Its all a big conspiracy! · Life
I try to keep an open mind generally, but I don’t have a lot of time for conspiracy theories and usually dismiss them immediately because they are just so obviously preposterous. I’m sure there are conspiracies, in the sense that there are people conspiring in quite boring ways, but nobody talks about them. They are […]
Tags: Conspiracy Theories
A tedium of collective nouns
July 9th, 2020 · Comments Off on A tedium of collective nouns · Life
I am in a bit of a miserable ranting mood today so I’ll vent a bit about collective nouns. If there is one aspect of language that irritates me more than coy euphemisms it is collective nouns, and especially the newly-minted ones that always seem to be presented as mildly amusing and perhaps faintly satirical.
Tags: Language
It’s the end of the world as we know it (and I feel fine)
July 8th, 2020 · Comments Off on It’s the end of the world as we know it (and I feel fine) · Life, Politics
There is a lot of change coming. Some of it necessitated by the Covid-19 experience and some of it self-inflicted by Brexit. I do try to embrace change and welcome it because, like most people, I want things to keep improving and improvement implies change. Conversely, any change represents an opportunity to twist it into […]
In praise of… Burning Shed
July 3rd, 2020 · Comments Off on In praise of… Burning Shed · Life
Time for another quick unsolicited testimonial, this time for the wonderful Burning Shed online shop. Here are a few reasons to love the website: Specialising in stuff a bit outside the mainstream – like prog, Canterbury scene and electronica Carries a lot of special box sets, vinyl and collectibles Is the official store for some […]
Tags: Shopping
New research in from the department of the bleeding obvious
June 26th, 2020 · Comments Off on New research in from the department of the bleeding obvious · Life
I see the department of the bleeding obvious have been at it again, according to this story in today’s Times. It is a study about people’s attitudes to the lockdown. Apparently people with smaller cramped homes are less happy about being confined to their home than people with more space. Also people without mental health […]
In praise of Tim Burgess
June 26th, 2020 · Comments Off on In praise of Tim Burgess · Life, Music
When I listed the various people, mostly entertainers, who helped make the lockdown pass a bit more easily I missed a few people out. For example I forgot the always brilliant Jonathan Pie and his lockdown video diary. I also forgot Darren Maclaine and his little impressions of famous singers doing the thems to TV […]
Tags: Coronavirus·Twitter
