During the life of this Blog I have referred many times to Pop Master, the mid-morning quiz on Ken Bruce’s BBC Radio 2 show, broadcast on weekdays. I have mentioned, more than once, that it is the most listened-to slot on UK radio, apart from breakfast shows. For nearly three years (since April 2017) I… Continue reading Pop Master analysed, again, and the death of a quizzer
As mentioned in this post from earlier today about “The Wheat Album” by the Rutles, here is a piece from “1000 Memories” containing brief childhood recollections of a BBC drama (“The Brothers”) and the LP released by the Beatles in 1968, usually known as “The White Album”. The Brothers There was a new programme on… Continue reading Memories of “The Brothers” and “The White Album”
The Rutles might have passed you by. They never had a hit single or album and they rarely performed live. They were a spoof band with origins in a mid-1970s TV comedy show here in the UK, “Rutland Weekend Television”, hence the first part of their name. As their nickname “The Prefab Four” suggests, they… Continue reading Album of the Week: #5 “The Wheat Album” (The Rutles) [And memories of Neil Innes RIP]
Here, for the eighth month in a row on this Blog, is a screenshot taken from the BBC website showing Leeds United leading the way in the Championship, the second tier of English football. As noted almost every month throughout the last two football seasons, I have followed Leeds since childhood. I did not expect… Continue reading 2 points per game revisited (March 2020)
Last month, through a family connection, my son and I were invited to a “Strictly Come Dancing” Live show at the O2 Arena. We were in a corporate box usually reserved for client entertainment, but for various reasons there were no clients being entertained at this particular weekend matinee. The other attendees in the box… Continue reading The price of things: Coca-Cola at £15 a pint
Wednesday is my day for choosing a new Album of the week. This new habit was prompted by the example of the current Master of Jesus College Cambridge, Sonita Alleyne, as noted in this piece from last month. Sometimes, with a new habit, or any change in behaviour, you can over-plan how you want it… Continue reading Album of the week: #4 “Rockferry” (Duffy)
For at least 20 years Monday has been Quiz Night. Since the start of this century, when there were far fewer quiz shows on TV than there are now, “University Challenge” on BBC2 was one weekly show that I never missed, either live or recorded. The recordings were always on video. There was no iPlayer,… Continue reading Monday Night really is Quiz Night
Over the weekend Watford beat Liverpool 3-0 in the Premier League. It lifted them out of the relegation places, to the undoubted delight of their fans. Liverpool remain 22 points clear at the top of the table, still on course for their first league title for 30 years. In a preview on Saturday one of… Continue reading Word of the week: Invincible
Following on from three previous pieces (listed below) here’s another set of photos showing what remains after a pint of beer and a packet of crisps have been dealt with. They were taken at various bars in London. The concept of “The 4-Ring Man” was originally covered in this piece from 2018. As before, many… Continue reading The 4-Ring Man, in pictures (Part 4, Dec 2019–Feb 2020)
Recently I finished reading Susan Hill’s “Howards End is on the landing”, her memoir about “a year-long voyage through her books, in order to get to know her own collection again”. I started it in April 2017, and quoted from it at the time in this piece about typefaces, serifs and readability. I put the… Continue reading FAC OR REJECT
The Compartments 