The shortest “Word of the Week” item so far on this Blog is this one about kakistocracy. I first heard the word on a quiz show back in March. As that earlier piece notes: “Some of these … pieces are about words that have come up in a few different contexts in the weeks beforehand… Continue reading Word of the week: taiga
This piece from the start of the year dealt with six different pubs called The Blue Posts, all within a mile of Piccadilly Circus here in London. I had just discovered that the one on Rupert Street, a regular haunt in the 1980s and 90s, had closed. A few times in the early months of… Continue reading A welcome return to the Blue Posts
Well, that didn’t last long, did it? In November I wrote this piece in anticipation of this winter’s Ashes series, planning my sleep patterns and my mornings to keep up with sporting events in Australia. Less than a week ago, as we approached the halfway point of the five Test Matches, I wrote this piece… Continue reading Final Ashes update
Earlier this year, on an episode of the ITV quiz show “The Chase”, Bradley Walsh told a brief anecdote about Winston Churchill and the orange-based liqueur Cointreau. The story, as I recall it, was that when Churchill was in his 70s his doctor told him that he wasn’t eating enough fruit and vegetables and needed… Continue reading Word of the week: Cointreau
Once again I am thinking of Trivia and quiz questions. All these years of watching quiz shows on TV, and occasionally attending quiz nights at schools and in bars, have taught me that you might as well have a guess. It’s worth having a guess as long as you’re not going to lose money or… Continue reading You might as well have a guess: 25 answers that are usually right
Following on from last month’s musings about The Ashes (which you can read here) we are now around the halfway point in this sporting series. If you have no interest in sport in general, or cricket in particular, you can stop reading now. Otherwise you will find a further 1200 words in the paragraphs that… Continue reading Ashes update: the halfway point
Today is International Mountain Day. That’s a new one on me. According to its website, here, “The United Nations General Assembly designated 11 December ‘International Mountain Day’. As of 2003, it has been observed every year to create awareness about the importance of mountains to life, to highlight the opportunities and constraints in mountain development… Continue reading Word of the week: Hope
Last month, in this piece about the Clarence Carter song “Patches”, I posted some links to it and gave you a “mascara warning”, noting that it “is right up there with “Honey” by Bobby Goldsboro as a song that is likely to make a grown man, or a grown woman, cry”. I was reminded of… Continue reading More about songs that make you cry
More than once on these pages I have referred to the “movies by post” service that helped me to catch up with scores of films. Many of them were part of my “Oscars Project”, to watch all the major Academy Award winners of my lifetime (Best Picture, Best Director and the four awards for acting).… Continue reading Farewell LoveFilm
We are often told that London is a global city. People come from all over the world, to visit and to set up home here. If you travel on our public transport system or walk our streets you will hear scores of languages being spoken. As a Londoner I am happy about all this. I… Continue reading “Reporting anything unusual won’t hurt you”
