18 months ago I wrote this piece reflecting on the cost of a new charger for a Mac Book Pro, and the price of phone calls to Ireland from a landline. Both charges were far higher than I expected. Returning to the theme of how much things cost, I would like to report on something… Continue reading The price of things (May 2019, motor insurance)
Here, for the fifth month in a row, is a screenshot taken from the BBC website showing the top seven teams in the Championship, the second tier of English football. The previous four screenshots all showed the team that I have followed since childhood, Leeds United, at the top of the table. As this image… Continue reading More twists and turns
Since late last year I have limited the number of pieces that mention Leeds United, the team that I have followed since childhood, to two or three per month. These pieces have been recording the team’s efforts to return to the top tier of English football for the first time since 2004. Based on how… Continue reading Twists and turns
A couple of months ago, in this piece, I wrote about the sitcom “Friends” and its regular place in our family viewing, even though the last episode of the show aired in 2004. As predicted, the weekday broadcasts on Channel 5 reached the last ever episode (the end of Series 10) before February was out.… Continue reading Word of the week: hibachi
Last summer, during the FIFA World Cup Finals in Russia, I wrote this piece about Lionel Messi, the Barcelona and Argentina footballer. I observed that in several hundreds of hours spent watching Messi and his rival Ronaldo playing for their respective clubs on TV I had never seen Messi score a goal in live play.… Continue reading Lionel Messi: the hoodoo is over
Just like emirp and plangonologist, here’s another word that hasn’t made it into the Oxford English Dictionary yet: plogging. A note from my son’s school tells me that this week he will be taking part in his first plogging session, during PE, and explains: “Plogging is a combination of jogging with picking up litter (Swedish:… Continue reading Word of the week: plogging
There was a brief news story on the radio last week about the sitcom “Friends”. It reported that the show has now become very popular with teenagers, many of whom weren’t even born when the final episode was originally broadcast in May 2004. That was nearly 15 years ago, but “Friends” has never really gone… Continue reading “Friends” and a catchphrase about a sandwich
