Happy St Patrick’s Day to you. Until around twenty years ago there seemed to be plenty of places to get shamrock on St Patrick’s Day. In our part of West London there were a few Irish butchers that would always have a decent supply of the green stuff, along with their regular stocks of Barry’s… Continue reading Where to get shamrock in Central London
Many times in my life people have asked me a question and not waited long enough to listen to the answer, even when the answer was short and immediate. (I only use the option “Say the third thing that comes into your head” if I’m not sure which answer to give, or if the answer… Continue reading An answer for any question beginning “Why”
“Say the third thing that comes into your head.” This is advice I heard a year or two ago in a TV interview given by the comedian Reginald D Hunter. He is from the American South but has lived in the UK for many years. When he returns to America his English style of humour… Continue reading “Say the third thing that comes into your head” (contains rude words)
We had some very welcome house guests during half-term, Steve (an old work colleague and good friend), his wife and their two daughters. Steve and I worked together, on and off, for over seven years, until the middle of the last decade. We have seen many of the same things in the world of IT… Continue reading Flow Charts
Today is Ash Wednesday, the start of the season of Lent. It falls earlier this year than most. The New Moon began this week, taking us into the Chinese Year of the Monkey. Happy New Year to you. As it coincides with the start of Lent this (Chinese) New Year might be a better time… Continue reading Things to do in Lent
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
On the “Tracks of my years” segment of Ken Bruce’s Radio 2 show this morning Noel Gallagher selected U2’s “I still haven’t what I’m looking for”. He talked about how much he loves the band and how you can’t really trust anyone who says that they hate U2. How can anyone hate every song they’ve… Continue reading “Never trust a man who …”
The older I get the more I realize that there is very little Universal Knowledge. There are so many things (cultural references, song lyrics, basic facts) that I can safely assume my immediate family and oldest friends will recognize but outside of these groups I am constantly surprised by the things that people have never… Continue reading Universal Knowledge: “Make it easy on yourself”
The Compartments 