From 2014 – the signs of early-onset writers’ block… Must try harder “State of your year. Write up a mid-year ‘State of my Year’ post.” Still alive, still married, still solvent. The rest is detail. No news is good news, but it doesn’t provide much meat for a new post. Instead, let’s look at how…
When I saw that the subject for this week’s Song Lyric Sunday was sweet things, there was only one question that needed to be answered: had I used it before? Happily, the answer was ‘no’ – but I have now. From the seminal 1970 studio album ‘American Beauty, this is a particularly fine live version…
The things they ask…. Forty two “Granpa?” (yes, it’s that boy again), “What’s the meaning of existence?” I know my limitations. A question that has occupied the finest minds of Homo Sapiens – and, for all we know, other species as well (those dolphins are no slouches) – for thousands of years was hardly going to receive a definitive…
Pull the other one….. What is a faucet? A pair of matching twin-sets. What is a patella? A child who snitches on a sibling to their father. What is an elevator? It’s a lift. Not an elevator, a lift. What is a lancet? I don’t know. Just ask the office IT geek: he’ll fix it.…
I have to confess that when I saw that the theme for Song Lyric Sunday this week was ’empowerment’, my first, dread, thought was ‘I Will Survive’. Rest easy though, gentle reader, and be assured that this post is an entirely Gloria Gaynor-free zone. Instead, I remembered this song by Jimmy Cliff, the Jamaican reggae…
Say what now? What is a pinkie? An annoying piglet; the runt of the litter. What is a fortress? A fort, but with breastworks. What is a snapdragon? A short-tempered mythical lizard. What is a pantry? Someone attempting to cook for the first time. What is a windchime? Not exactly sure, but it rings a…
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,…
the only deadhead in the hameau 