I noted in this earlier piece that the word “spy” had been in the news a lot recently, and that the story still had some way to run. The same is true of the word “Windrush”. The Windrush was a ship that arrived in the UK (in Tilbury Essex, specifically) in June 1948 with the… Continue reading Word of the week: Windrush
Here’s a theory for you, if you’re a fan of modern music, and if you’re the kind of person who has favourite bands or artists. It works for me, see if it works for you. When you have a favourite artist or band (examples for me include Elvis Presley, Led Zeppelin and Bob Dylan) it… Continue reading Favourite songs and favourite artists, a theory
Manchester City are the new Premier League Champions. Thanks to West Brom’s win at Manchester United two weekends ago “the blue half of Manchester” can celebrate their team’s third league win in seven seasons. It also means that, for the fifth season in a row, the top team in English football wears blue kit. This… Continue reading Blue is the colour, five years in a row
Recently we dug out our old poster showing the flags of the world. It’s titled “World of Flags”. I bought it four years ago, ostensibly for the children (who were aged 7 and 9 at the time), but really for me, having realized that I could only recognize, with confidence, 20 or 30 of them.… Continue reading “World of Flags”
As you may have heard, there’s a new arrival in the royal family. Or maybe that should be: a New Arrival in the Royal Family. From what I heard on the radio yesterday some people are very excited (or, again, maybe that should read Very Excited) about this. A royal baby, on Saint George’s Day.… Continue reading “Prince Wayne … it must be worth a few quid”
Happy St George’s Day to you. If you are planning the kind of celebrations that people like me sometimes indulge in on St Patrick’s Day, have one for me, and have a good time. I will be unable to join you, but I have been reminiscing about a St George’s Day back in the 1980s… Continue reading Drunk for 8 shillings
On the BBC2 quiz show “Only Connect” at the start of the year there was a brief exchange between the host, Victoria Coren Mitchell, and one of the team captains about having a sense of purpose. The episode was broadcast on 1 January and it has played on my mind ever since, enough to make… Continue reading Trivia, quizzing and a sense of purpose
My mother’s funeral took place 21 years ago today, 18 April 1997, a Friday. In each of the last two years I have written about the anniversary of her death, 10 April, first in this piece, and then here, last year. I didn’t publish anything about this year’s anniversary and have instead drafted the thousand… Continue reading A funeral memory: knowing where the trouble will come from
Here’s one of my favourite pop trivia challenges. Try it, if you’re into such things. What do the songs “Virginia Plain” and “Up the Junction” have in common with each other, and with no other singles that have reached the UK Top 10? We’re dealing here, respectively, with Roxy Music’s debut hit, which reached #4… Continue reading More pop trivia: What do “Up the Junction” and “Virginia Plain” have in common?
Last month I recalled my childhood enthusiasm for London Transport and a week spent travelling to the outer reaches of the tube network, just before my 11th birthday. In recent weeks my 13-year-old son has also started taking an interest in London’s iconic tube map and the connections between the lines. Before his school holidays… Continue reading Holiday notes: the end of the line revisited
The Compartments 