The name Boaty McBoatface has been in the news for the last few days. I first read about it on Sunday, in this piece on the BBC website, and it made me laugh out loud. It still does. Typing “Boaty McBoatface” makes me laugh, saying it makes me laugh. In case you haven’t come across… Continue reading Boaty McBoatface
Narg: it’s an acronym, for “Not a real gentleman”. It’s also the reason I know the word “acronym”, which describes a word that’s formed from the initials of other words, like NATO or AIDS. (I like how in other languages the same letters are used in a different order for both terms – OTAN and… Continue reading Word of the week: Narg
“Wait till the hurry goes off you”. It’s an Irish expression, one that my mother used to use, for people who are unable to relax, for people who are in a hurry to be somewhere else or to do something else. Wait, till the hurry goes off you. There are probably plenty of things that… Continue reading “Wait till the hurry goes off you”
A few days ago I wrote a piece about “High Society”, intending to write about the importance of avoiding judgment, but instead digressed and wrote about musicals, and which ones are suitable for children. The main thing that stuck in my mind after watching the movie in 2014 was something said by the wealthy heiress… Continue reading Three Reflections on Judgment
Suspension of disbelief is a crucial part of reading fiction and watching movies. You can refuse to believe everything that is portrayed in any work of fiction because it is all, literally, made up. But we suspend disbelief. We get into the story and read on, as if it really happened, or could have happened.… Continue reading “A real Terminator wouldn’t do that”
“What’s the worst job you’ve ever had?” For anyone of my age and background that question will bring up memories of the “Derek & Clive” recordings, Dudley Moore and Peter Cook’s curse-laden comic sketches from the 1970s. I see that they’re even on Spotify, with “You Stupid C***” as the top-rated track. I feel rather… Continue reading Jam Boy
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
In 2014 I watched the movie “High Society” on DVD, the first time I’ve sat and watched it all the way through since the 1970s. As a family we have spent plenty of time and money on musicals and musical theatre in recent years, including theatre trips to “Mamma Mia” (twice), “Matilda” and “Charlie and… Continue reading Musicals for children, or not
An alternative title for this piece was “Time Management in 15 Minutes”. That might be true for some of you – maybe you could learn everything you need to know in the next 15 minutes – but for others it will be the starting point. I have read dozens of books and hundreds of articles… Continue reading Time Management: the first 15 Minutes
Homophones: words which sound the same but are spelt differently, like “their” and “there”, and indeed “they’re”. They formed part of my 9-year-old daughter’s homework again at the weekend and we have been discussing them on the way to school. Most commonly there are pairs of homophones, like “pail” and “pale” – the former was… Continue reading Word of the week: homophone
The Compartments 