From 2014, on being an international jet-setter… Faraway Laughter “Far from home. Tell us about the farthest you’ve ever travelled from home.” There’s a website – of course there is: did you really think there wouldn’t be? – that will tell you the precisely opposite position on the globe to wherever you are in the world. Useful…
This week it’s time to celebrate a July birthday for Song Lyric Sunday. Looking down the list, one true A-lister stood out: (Sir) Michael Philip Jagger, born on 26 July 1943. So he’ll be 83 in a couple of weeks. Eighty three. I’ll just leave that with you for a moment…. Of course my first…
You having me on? What is a heptagon? A disappearing hept. What is a masquerade? A smash and grab attack on a jewellery store. What does the Greek word ‘monos’ mean? Only having one ear. What is a typhoon? A large storage facility for teabags. What is a ninny? Your nan’s sister. How would you…
From 2013, why I shouldn’t be allowed near sharp implements… Nothing to declare Today’s Daily Prompt asks whether I would thrive in a barter-based society. Ha! In a word, no. I have no transferable skills whatsoever, unless you would be willing to pay me to come round and load your dishwasher for you. No, I…
This week, Jim is looking for a tune from The Great American Songbook. Searching the list, there’s a predominance of what I’d categorise as Broadway show tunes: some good, some frankly awful and some that even a grumpy old trapped-in-the-seventies geezer like me absolutely love. And so it happens that this Jerome Kern classic is…
From 2015, a brief look behind the net curtains of suburbia… Too Much Information For one who has turned self-effacement into an art form, ‘doing’ this blog doesn’t come naturally, especially when – inevitably – little autobiographical details emerge from time to time. Nonetheless, today I’m going to lift the veil just a little bit more. Rest assured that absolutely…
This week, the theme for Song Lyric Sunday is about enjoying outdoors: that’s something I do from time to time but, in the opinion of some, not enough. Oddly, the first artiste that sprang to mind was John Denver, who certainly made a decent living singing of the great outdoors. However, I was never a…
Surely not….. Ricochet A failed first attempt at needlework. Paradox The National Ambulance Service. Influence The practice of sending a child up a chimney. Calculus The procedure followed in order to conduct the national census. Imminent ‘Yes, I work in television, don’t you know?’ Fluctuate Dyspeptic regret. Ramshackle A form of restraint required to keep…
From 2014, asking the question ‘Is the world a better place? O tempora! O mores! “21st century citizen. Do you belong in this day and age? If you do, explain why – and if you don’t, when in human history would you rather be?” A bit tricky this one, because there’s good and bad today,…
As soon as I saw that his week’s theme was ‘Dads and Grads’ I realised two things. The first was that it must be Fathers’ Day today. Secondly and more importantly that I knew exactly which song I wanted to feature. I knew I had posted about this before, but as it was over nine…
Pull the other one….. Who has a licence to kill? The chasse. Who had a perfect 10? Madame. Who said ‘I’ll be back’? Penny: she’s a very bad girl. Who wanted to be a ‘real boy’? Pete Townshend. Who had breakfast at Tiffany’s? Tiffany. What happened in Wall Street? Stayed in Wall Street. Where would…
From 2013. I’m not a poet – and boy, do I know it. Haiku: On the gift of poesy I always wantedTo write a haiku…Oh wait,I think I just have. (That’s enough poetry – Ed.) Fandango’s Flashback Friday 19 June 2026
If my contribution to SLS last week was pretty mainstream (and none the worse for that), this one’s a bit out there. The theme for this week is dependence and/or trustworthiness. I dismissed the idea of ‘He Ain’t Heavy, He’s My Brother’, good song though it is, because the first thing that came into my…
Something beginning with K perhaps?… Artichoke A following wind. Brass A pair of highly polished peaches. Criteria Sticker required to access low emission zones in France. Doppelganger A double agent who has infiltrated both the Crips and the Bloods. Effervescent The smell of a bubble bath. Frugal A female fruitarian. Gossamer Someone who goes to…
From 2014, another example of a grammar pedant at work… Laying Down The Law You may have seen that the State opening of Parliament took place last week. This is when Her Majesty blocks the traffic in central London to go to the House of Lords and deliver ‘the Queen’s Speech’. This homily – not written…
the only deadhead in the hameau 