A car trip in the 1980s, a university friend driving me and another friend of his to a lunch party somewhere outside London. I had met the other chap, Richard, a few times, but didn’t know him well. The car radio was on, playing golden oldies. It might well have been Alan Freeman’s “Pick of… Continue reading “Do you know the words to every pop song?”
On the “Tracks of my years” segment of Ken Bruce’s Radio 2 show this morning Noel Gallagher selected U2’s “I still haven’t what I’m looking for”. He talked about how much he loves the band and how you can’t really trust anyone who says that they hate U2. How can anyone hate every song they’ve… Continue reading “Never trust a man who …”
The older I get the more I realize that there is very little Universal Knowledge. There are so many things (cultural references, song lyrics, basic facts) that I can safely assume my immediate family and oldest friends will recognize but outside of these groups I am constantly surprised by the things that people have never… Continue reading Universal Knowledge: “Make it easy on yourself”
There is no excerpt because this is a protected post.
Have you read “The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night Time” by Mark Haddon? There’s a strong chance that you have. It’s one of those books that you are likely to have read even if you only read occasionally. If you’re over 40 it’ll be up there with “Fever Pitch” (if you’re a… Continue reading “The Curious Incident”: the joke and the favourite book
I feel like a pre-op transsexual in PC World. Let me explain. Some years ago I was working on a large IT Project for a well-known public body here in London. It involved visiting staff in many departments across many locations. Early on in the project I was made aware by a colleague that someone… Continue reading The Pre-op Transsexual in PC World
There are two kinds of people in the world: those who know what “Astral Weeks” is, and those who don’t. For those in second category, it’s an album by Van Morrison, a legendary singer and songwriter whose career now spans over 50 years. For those who know what “Astral Weeks” is there are at least… Continue reading Conversation Recall: “Astral Weeks”
“Conflicted” was really my Word of the Year for 2012, the year that “The Iron Lady” was released in the UK. It features Meryl Streep’s Oscar-wining performance as Margaret Thatcher. I am a fan of Meryl Streep but was resolutely not a fan of Margaret Thatcher. I had to see the movie, like every other… Continue reading Word of the week: conflicted
Many years ago, before we had children (when we used to go out at night), my wife and I had dinner with friends who lived on the other side of London. They were discussing their recent experience of “flat-mates from hell” and they described one woman as “like Kathy Bates in Misery”. We smiled and… Continue reading “She’s just like Kathy Bates in Misery”
“The bunny boiler takes it to 11”. That phrase would have made no sense 30 years ago. It might not make much sense to you now. I’m interested in how new words and phrases make it into common usage. “Bunny boiler” has become a shorthand for the kind of person who seeks revenge after a… Continue reading “The bunny boiler takes it to 11”
The Compartments 