Last month, sorting through a large plastic storage box full of cards, invitations, old paperwork and newspapers from significant dates, I found this: It’s a notebook dating back to 1947 containing my father’s handwritten records of his athletics achievements: distances and times in the events he competed in at various meetings all over Ireland. He… Continue reading My family’s 74-year span of athletics times
“I want to be a tomato.” Does this phrase mean anything to you? If not, how about saying it with the voice of a child, sounding really miserable, about to burst into tears? If it rings any bells, then you probably remember an advert for Prudential financial services from the late 1980s. I have been… Continue reading “I want to be a tomato”
It took nearly four years, but last month I finally tasted my first negroni, the cocktail that featured in the Weekend magazine in Saturday’s edition of The Guardian. It was described as “a serious drink for serious times … the cocktail for 2021”. For connoisseurs, it was probably the cocktail for several years ago. My brother was telling me about… Continue reading Word of the week: negroni
Rest in peace Amy Winehouse. As you probably know, she died 10 years ago yesterday, Saturday 23 July 2011, aged 27. The anniversary has been marked by a documentary featuring new interviews with her parents, and plenty of tributes which continue throughout this weekend. I remember the day of her death well. That night I played… Continue reading And just like that, they were gone: Amy Winehouse, a short-lived band, the 12 Bar Club
Anyone who has spent time here in London will know that the city’s public transport system is divided into Zones. Zone 1 is central London, covering the area bounded by the Circle Line and a little bit beyond. Or rather the Circle Line as it was until the beginning of this century, when, as its… Continue reading No free parking in Zones 1, 2 or 3
Back in 2017, in this piece, I wrote about “Countdown”, the game show that was the first programme broadcast when Channel 4 launched in 1982. It continues to be aired most weekdays at 2.10pm, with repeats at 6am. The show has been in the news recently because it has a new host, Anne Robinson. She took over from Nick Hewer in the episode broadcast… Continue reading “Countdown” July 2021
Over the weekend here in London, there was victory for the England international team and an Italian defeat in a final. Unfortunately for all of us who wanted England to win the rescheduled Euro 2020 football tournament, the Italian defeat came in a tennis final (Matteo Berrettini lost to Novak Djokovic in the men’s singles… Continue reading The weekend’s sport: an Italian defeat in a final, an England win, and my choice of beer
If you are old enough, and into your football, you will remember the 1990 World Cup, hosted by Italy. The first World Cup I was old enough to follow was Mexico 1970, still the best football tournament I can remember. 20 years later “Italia Noventa” came close to matching it. There was so much to… Continue reading The final we wanted, exactly 31 years later
Last autumn, in among the millions of words written and broadcast after the US Presidential Election, there was a quote about green bananas. I searched for it a week or two later but couldn’t find it. Now, several months after the event, I have tried again and found it on this Newsweek page from 7… Continue reading Green Bananas
This piece is about the 4-letter word that begins with “C” and rhymes with “hunt”. In the thousand or so pieces published so far on this Blog I have referred to this word a few times but never spelt it out, and will not do so here. Over the last ten days I have watched… Continue reading Word of the week: The C Word
The Compartments 