If you have spent any time here in London you will probably be familiar with blue plaques, like this one: You will find them on buildings connected with people and organizations of note. The example above is on a row of houses close to Barnes Bridge on the south side of the river. It’s very… Continue reading Blue plaques, and a life that spanned three centuries
If you have any quiz books that were printed in the first decade of this century, they may well contain questions that are no longer valid, answers that are no longer correct, or answers that used to be unique but no longer are. This piece looks at 12 examples of such questions and answers, and… Continue reading 12 quiz questions that need updating
Feel free to leave a comment. Occasionally people do. Comments await approval before they are displayed on this Blog, so it might be a day or two before they appear. My most diligent readers email me directly about pieces, and tens of thousands of words have been drafted and sent in private email conversations. All… Continue reading Comments, and a selection of recent Spam
The new Trivia Season has begun. The three TV quiz formats that will reach their conclusions next spring are back on our screens: “University Challenge” began in July, “Mastermind” in August and “Only Connect” a week ago, on the first Monday in September. Once again “Only Connect” precedes “University Challenge” in an hour’s worth of… Continue reading Word of the week: amanuensis
The 2016 UK #1 “I took a pill in Ibiza” by Mike Posner is a recent addition to my repertoire. It was unfamiliar to me until last week. It reminds me of Joe South’s classic 1969 release “The games people play” (which peaked at #6) so I mix the two songs together. Ibiza is one… Continue reading More pop trivia: UK #1s that feature places
The current Ashes series is tied at 1-1 with two games to play. England’s win in the Third Test at Headingley last month kept the series alive and has put cricket back on the front pages of all the papers here in the UK. If Australia had won, they would have retained the Ashes. Much… Continue reading More about cricketers’ surnames allowable in Scrabble
Following on from this piece at the start of the year, 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 West London, Spain and Ireland. The concept of “The 4-Ring Man” was originally covered in… Continue reading The 4-Ring Man, in pictures (Part 2)
We are back from our holiday in Spain, well looked after throughout our stay by my brother, who has lived there for most of his adult life. In fact, he has lived there for well over half of his entire life. It is nearly 36 years since he left London to set up home there.… Continue reading Word of the week: sunburn
Today is our 18th wedding anniversary. The temperature here in London has been even hotter than on the day we got married, and back in 2001 that was the hottest day of the year. Just like last year, we drove into town to have lunch at a branch of Wagamama. Unlike last year we didn’t… Continue reading Our wedding video, “Dad’s Army”, and an audio treat
47 years ago this month, “School’s Out” by Alice Cooper was #1 in the UK charts. It was followed by “You Wear it Well” (Rod Stewart) and “Mama Weer All Crazee Now” (Slade). You will not find many better three-in-a-row sequences of chart-toppers. If you can think of one, leave a comment below. Recently, “School’s… Continue reading “We can’t even think of a word that rhymes!”
The Compartments 