There’s a well-known scene in the first “Home Alone” movie that has stayed with me since I first saw it in the 1990s. It’s when Kevin (played by Macaulay Culkin) is at the supermarket on his own. It includes him saying to the woman at the check-out, “Ma’am, I’m 8 years old. Do you think… Continue reading Another Ash Wednesday
After last week’s featured word (Superbowl) here’s another with a sporting theme, prompted by the start of the Winter Olympics from Pyeongchang in South Korea. “Luge” is defined by the Oxford Dictionaries website as a noun (“A light toboggan for one or two people, ridden in a sitting or supine position”), a mass noun (“A… Continue reading Word of the week: Luge
We live in an era of Big Data. More information is being recorded and stored in more ways than ever before. I am reminded of a phrase that a friend uses, light-heartedly, about the super-rich: they have “more money than a million people could count in a million years”. That phrase, and the way he… Continue reading Big Data and small data
I didn’t get enough sleep last night. Like many other sports fans here in the UK I stayed up late to watch the Superbowl, Philadelphia Eagles winning their first title against defending champions the New England Patriots. Unlike most other sports fans I hadn’t planned to spend the early hours of Monday morning this way,… Continue reading Word of the week: Superbowl
My Uncle Jimmy has been on my mind recently. I mentioned him in this piece about “The Gambler”. He died nearly 11 years ago, early in 2007. He was my mother’s brother, four years older than her, and had joined the Merchant Navy here in the UK after leaving Dublin. Our relationship was different from… Continue reading Uncle Jimmy and a trip to The Emperor
“Egregious” is a word that I have never heard in day-to-day conversation, or on the radio or on TV. I have seen it in print and didn’t know what it meant until looking it up last Friday. It came up in this Guardian piece about racism by the always excellent Gary Younge, in the following… Continue reading Word of the week: egregious
“The Gambler” is the title of an 1867 novel by Russian writer Fyodor Dostoyevsky, and a song written in the 1970s by Don Schlitz. “Gambler” (without the definite article) was a 1985 hit by Madonna. This piece is about the Don Schlitz song, made famous by country music superstar Kenny Rogers. Here in the UK… Continue reading “The Gambler”
The FA Cup 4th Round takes place this weekend. For the first time in all the years that my wife and I have been together neither of us is interested. Her team (Arsenal) and mine (Leeds United) were both knocked out three weekends ago in the 3rd Round, by teams from lower leagues (Nottingham Forest… Continue reading When your team is knocked out of the FA Cup
This earlier piece set the following challenge: How many countries can you think of which have the same number of letters as their capital cities? If you haven’t tried it yet, take a look at that earlier piece and give it a go. You’ll find some background information and a few tips. A reasonable level… Continue reading Countries and capital cities with the same number of letters (the answers)
Here’s a trivia challenge for you regarding countries and their capitals. How many countries can you think of which have the same number of letters as their capital cities? There’s a link to the answers at the end of this page, but first some tips and some background information. This is a different mental challenge… Continue reading Countries and capital cities with the same number of letters
The Compartments 