Many years ago a family friend, still in her 20s at the time, was bemoaning the behaviour of younger people and said, “Robbie Williams is so right: youth is wasted on the young”. I wasn’t aware that Robbie Williams had said it, or sung it, but had heard the quote. I thought that Oscar Wilde… Continue reading Quotes: The wisdom of Robbie Williams, or is it Oscar Wilde?
In previous pieces I have mentioned Universal Knowledge, with the understanding that there isn’t much of it, and that some people’s idea of what is universally known is very different from other people’s ideas. Porlock, Battleship Potemkin, Cargo Cult: I never assume that these terms are familiar to friends and family. And the same goes… Continue reading Usually I’m Anthony Trollope, but not this week
If I had been writing this Blog a year ago I would have written about the closure of the old 12 Bar Club in Denmark Street, in January 2015. I said my farewells the month before that in typical fashion: a drunken Saturday night watching punk-themed bands. The headliners were Banjoey Ramone, Ramones songs played… Continue reading Farewell to the 12 Bar Club, again
Yesterday morning, just after 7am, I finished reading “The Tempest”, Shakespeare’s last play. These days I get up early if I can. If I get to bed before 10.30pm (which was unthinkable until about five years ago) I generally get up before 6am the next day. If I could control my sleep cycle (which would… Continue reading On reading every Shakespeare play
I would like to have a Kindle (or other eReader) with all the books that I have ever read, for search purposes. Then I could search through the entire collection and know that I’ll find the reference I’m looking for. This option, to search through my entire collection, is available on my Kindle 1.0 (with… Continue reading Looking for things in books, and not quite remembering
“Nice wheels”: that’s a synecdoche, the one I use most. It’s when you use part of an object to describe the whole. I use “Nice wheels” to mean “Nice car”, or even “Nice bicycle” or “Nice scooter” when talking to children about their vehicles. You’re not commenting on the wheels themselves: you’re complimenting the whole… Continue reading Word of the week: synecdoche
There is no excerpt because this is a protected post.
Like many decisions, this one is based on a combination of personal experience and stories in the news. I hadn’t signed up for Uber (the cab hire App) before last Friday and, based on our night out in Ladbroke Grove, I won’t bother anytime soon. One of my friends is very happy with Uber, has… Continue reading Why I won’t be signing up for Uber anytime soon
You always have time to pee. This is a lesson I have tried to teach my children throughout their young lives (although I usually say “You always have time to do a wee”). Last year I told them two stories, one personal and one that was in the news, about people who didn’t think that… Continue reading You always have time to pee
Today I had a lengthy dental appointment, having an old crown replaced. On the way I pondered just how old the previous crown was. It was definitely from the 1980s. When it was fitted Margaret Thatcher was still prime minister, Ceaucescu was still president of Romania and the Berlin Wall was still standing. And I… Continue reading A newly acquired fear about injections
