As you may have noticed, Kazuo Ishiguro was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature last month. As you probably know, he wrote “Remains of the Day”, which won the Booker Prize in 1989. Back then it was called the Booker Prize, which is how I refer to it throughout this piece, although it’s known as… Continue reading Nobels and Bookers
Back in the 1970s we often heard the word nostalgia in the following one-liner: “Nostalgia isn’t what it used to be”. Etymologically that turns out to be true. The word is derived from the Greek “nostos” (return home) and “algos” (pain), so it used to mean homesickness (like “Heimweh” in German), or a longing for… Continue reading Word of the week: nostalgia
This month, while thinking about lyrics, I seem to be stuck in 1977. Last week it was “God Save the Queen” (the Sex Pistols version) and this week it’s something very different, “Yes sir I can boogie”, the global disco hit by Spanish duo Baccara. The song’s title featured in a recent edition of the… Continue reading “Yes sir I can boogie” and other self-referential lyrics
When drafting “1000 Memories” I wrote two pieces about the high jump. The first, about how my father made a pair of high jump stands one summer, when I was nine years old, made it into the Kindle edition. The second, about my Uncle Paddy’s visit that same summer, didn’t make it. Both pieces are… Continue reading Two memories from the 1970s about the high jump
The Ashes begin tonight. If those words mean nothing to you, let me try to explain. The England cricket team begin their series of five Test Matches against Australia, in Australia, at midnight tonight. The trophy that they are contesting is called The Ashes, also known as the urn. The first game is in Brisbane.… Continue reading The Ashes Conundrum
Back in September I wrote about the quiz show “Tenable” and set a challenge, to name the 10 items contained in various lists. For example: “Name the 10 elements in the Periodic Table that have fewer than 6 letters in their name.” The original piece containing those challenges is here, and the answers are here.… Continue reading “Tenable”, and people who could have made money using this Blog
Yesterday morning, in the few minutes between waking and getting up, Buckfast was on my mind: the word, the abbey, the tonic wine. The tonic wine was mentioned on BBC1’s “Question Time” last week, which is probably what started all this. (More about that later on.) Yesterday afternoon, on his “Sounds of the 70s” radio… Continue reading Word of the week: Buckfast
Many months ago, writing on my Lyrics Menu, I wrote: “I think about them all the time, have done for decades. Even so, over the years, when discussing lyrics, and when asked to name a great lyric I have often paused, unable to pick out anything specific from the tens of thousands of lines that… Continue reading “When there’s no future how can there be sin?”
At some point in the last 40 years the Casualty departments in UK hospitals were renamed as Accident and Emergency (or A&E). In the US A&E is known as ER (the Emergency Room). “Casualty” is a BBC1 series set in a hospital, broadcast on Saturday nights after “Strictly Come Dancing”. I have never seen a… Continue reading Urgent Care
Are you familiar with the song “Patches” by Clarence Carter? If not there’s a link later in this paragraph for you to follow, but before you do let me issue a “Mascara Warning”, even if you don’t wear mascara. “Patches” is right up there with “Honey” by Bobby Goldsboro as a song that is likely… Continue reading “Patches”
The Compartments 