The End was a Blessed Relief!

I’m talking about Have I got News For You? which is a perennial favourite tv programme of this blog. I wonder if there has ever been a poorer presenter of the show than tonight’s chairman Brian Blessed? The panelists spent most of the show with toes curled in embarrassment at the antics of the “larger [...]

The Specials Ghost Town

Looking forward to the programme described below on Radio Scotland on Monday.

11:30 Songlines
1/8. John Cavanagh uncovers the story behind Ghost Town, by The Specials. A song that’s been described as the most prescient number one in British chart history.

It was the anthem for early Thatcherite Britain. I think it articulated [...]

United States of Europe

The wee ditty I uploaded the other day was an attempt at a tongue-in-cheek look at how things might work out but with a few things thrown in which are already on the agenda (E.g. it is already illegal in certain circumstances to criticise the EU or leading figures within it, Sweden have already adopted [...]

Whisky Galore

One of my oldest friends Keith invited me along to his place last night. He’d recorded a Van Morrison gig (BBC thing at St Lukes in London) for me and suggested we watch it over a dram or two. Now to give you an idea of Keith’s interest in whisky, have a look at [...]

More Copyright Guff

The above 1980’s Sony radio cassette recorder is the sole entertainment device in my shop (except when I have a Basil Fawlty moment or Simon goes in a huff). How much do I pay to the Performing Rights Society for the right to have this machine playing at low level in the background in a [...]

American Politics? A Funny Old Game!

“OBAMACANS” (Republican Obama supporters) Julie Nixon-Eisenhower (left), daughter of Republican President Richard Nixon and wife of Republican President Dwight Eisenhower’s grandson Dwight David Eisenhower II, and her sister-in-law Susan Eisenhower (right), granddaughter of President Eisenhower, share an admiration for Democratic frontrunner Barack Obama. One might think that this is along the lines of Rangers [...]

Robert Service

I haven’t done anything about Robert Service since moving to WordPress. Let’s put that right here. This is one of Service’s best known poems and is one of those poems that I feel is definitely better heard than read. There is a great version on Youtube by an older man with a superb [...]

Football News

Rangers did just enough to keep Werder Bremen at bay tonight although it took some heroics from Allan McGregor to see them through to the quarter finals of the UEFA cup. Looking at the teams left in the tournament I wouldn’t be too surprised if Rangers emulate their rivals feat of a few years ago [...]

Really?

As if my reader doesn’t have enough to worry him/her. How about these:
 
1) Look at the picture above. Squares A and B are the SAME colour and shade! (If you have photoshop with colour ID you can verify this.
 2) Britney Spears is a perfect anagram of Presbyterians.
3) Hippopotomonstrosesquippedaliophobia is the fear of long words.
4) Butterflies [...]

Van Morrison - Keep It Simple

 

Van releases his first album of completely new material in three years on Saint Patricks Day (March 17th) I must admit that some of Van’s output of recent times  has been patchy (although his country inspired “Pay the Devil” was good) but listening to Johnnie Walker on Radio 2 on the way home from Edinburgh last night he [...]