You’re ‘aving me on… What was the original sport in ancient Rome? Calcio. What is a group of ravens called? The All Blacks. Which foodstuff never goes bad? Marmite. Because it already is. “Your mother is a hamster and your father smelt of elderberries” is a line from which 1975 film? Dog Day Afternoon. Which…
From October 2014, a post about clothes and my relationship with them… Not quite the style icon For someone who goes out of his way to disavow any interest in ‘fashion’, the subject of clothing does seem to crop up quite often, albeit randomly, in this collection of ramblings. So perhaps it’s time to give…
Jim’s prompt for this week is ‘unrealised potential’. It seems to me that there are two broad reasons why the potential of an artiste or artistes could remain unrealised. Thus a band can break up because of ‘artistic differences’, which can be a polite euphemism for a clash of egos, often leading to the disappointing…
Surely not…. What is a winklepicker? Just your average adolescent male. What is a pipsqueak? Someone with great expectations. What is a beatnik? Cool. Man. What is a sequin? A septet with two absent members. What is spiel? A kitchen utensil designed to prepare vegetables noiselessly. What is asphalt? A long, hard road. What is…
From 2013, a report on my first year of retirement… Another year older… My Countdown To An Event app – which is now functioning as a Countup – tells me that, as of 2 p.m. European Summer Time on September 27th, I have been retired for exactly one year. Not that I’d forgotten. It’s interesting…
I’ve been aware for some time that it’s been too long (last October, in fact) since I featured Leonard Cohen in my Song Lyric Sunday offerings, so when I saw that the prompt for this week was to feature a song from an album written entirely by the recording artiste(s), there was no question who…
From ten years ago, a stark warning of the dangers of leaving home for any length of time… The Unkindest Cut You may not even have noticed – and I wouldn’t pretend or presume that, in the great scheme of things, it makes any difference whether you have or not – but of late there’s not been…
Uh Oh…..oh oh oh Oxymoron Military intelligence Ooky The general mien of the Addams family. Oodleplex The state of being confused by many things at once. Obfuscate To (not) answer a simple question in the manner of a politician. Obstreporous Wot you looking at? Oddsock A truly irritating wardrobe affectation. Orzo Sorry, but I was…
I confess to having been a little bamboozled when I saw that the prompt for this week’s Song Lyric Sunday called for a song from a ‘Super Band’. That’s not an expression I’m familiar with. However, a little exploration showed that it’s an alternative (American?) description of what would be more commonly described over here…
Panto auditions: NB – responses are very UK-centric, but then so’s Panto (oh no it isn’t!). Widow Twanky Brendan O’Carroll Buttons Austin Reed Cinders Leslie Ash The Beast Mark Labbett Gru Donald Pleasence Cruella de Vil Suella Braverman The Fairy Godmother Julian Clary Abanazar The Great Soprendo Carabosse Lily Savage King Rat Nigel Farage Fibbing…
the only deadhead in the hameau 