Twickenham Previews a New Sport
It hasn’t actually been named yet, but at Twickenham today, there was a mix of rugby and fox chasing, as the fox on the pitch was so obvious, it didn’t need to hunted.
So if they pick the spots for their scrums with care, the players will come off the field more fragrant that usual.
London’s Bendy Buses Are a Dangerous Joke
Yesterday on my way to Kings Cross, I was nearly run down because of a 73 bendy bus. In fact, if it hadn’t been for the fact that I’d just got off it, it might have been closer. It blocked the junction by Kings Cross, because it was just too long to get round the corner and then everybody jumped the lights to get through. I was crossing on the green in all this mayhem, but pulled back to safety well out of the way. As I wasn’t in a hurry, I decided to be safe rather than sorry.
Thinking about it afterwards, the bus might have been blocking drivers views of the lights, so they thought it safe to carry on. A standard double-ecker with a smaller footprint would have been able to get round the corner and allow the lights to be clearly seen.
And then today, as I was coming back from the Angel, another 73 bendy was causing a traffic jam as it struggled to pass another of its ilk at Essex Road station.
They are just too long for London’s streets. If you don’t believe me read this from the Evening Standard.
I just can’t wait until the 3rd September this year, when according to Wikipedia, they will be replaced by a mixture of hybrid and diesel buses. The seventy-free will only be missed by fare dodgers.
Giving ITV A Chance
Just turned over to ITV to watch the football. But although it’s after two o’clock, I was too early for the football break.
The commentary actually started first on Radio 5!
Another Reason Why It’s Dumb to Have a Smart Phone!
I picked this up in the Sunday Times, but it’s reported here in detail on the BBC. Basically use your smart phone abroad in some countries and you’ll get a bill bigger than the holiday you’re having.
I’ll stick to my Nokia 6310i.
Jane Russell Quotes
The Times had a nice piece on Jane Russell in the magazine.
Bob Hope once said of her, “the two and only Jane Russell”
A film of hers called The French Line, was shot in 3-D and was advertised with the tagline of “J. R. in 3-D! It’ll knock both your eyes out!”
She did have the last laugh though in that she once said. “Publicity can be terrible. But only if you don’t have any.”
Dumb she was not!
Subway
I’ve never eaten in a subway, although I once ate a home-made gluten-free sandwich under an underpass on the way to football in the rain, as it was the only shelter I could find.
Apparently, they’ve just overtaken McDonalds in size. So who cares? I don’t, as I don’t usually eat in gluten-rich, American fast food joints. I might have the odd chip and orange juice in a McDonalds, as these are probably safe for me, but after reading Lisa Markwell‘s piece in yesterday’s Independent, I’ll give Subway a wide berth.
It ends with.
Subway has 1,400 branches across Britain. The experience reminds me of that old joke, “Waiter, waiter, this food is terrible … and there’s not enough of it’. To use the damning verdict of the critic: avoid.
I will bow to her better judgement as a respected food critic.
The Independent Hints Fred the Shred Can’t Spell
This was in Christina Patterson ‘s piece in yesterday’s Independent.
Our rich may not be really, really rich, but they are such sweethearts. Just think of Bob Diamond, who went out of his way to explain to the rest of us the rules about banking and remorse. Or Fred the Shred. Who has, by the way, just got a superinjunction to stop him being called a banker. But perhaps he can’t spell.
What can she have been hinting at?
Incidentally, to my eyes any resemblance between Fred Goodwin and my image of the perfect banker is purely coincidental.
Life Follows Art
The Great Wave off Kanagawa is an iconic Japanese painting and as Ben Macintyre said in The TImes yesterday, it offers a grim reflection of reality.
Twibel
The papers are talking about the problems of libel associated with Twitter. Here’s the Daily Mail, on what happens when it all goes wrong.
It all looks to me like a nice new area for lawyers to earn a few pounds, dollars or euros.
But then it’s not the first tweet, it’s the repeating of that tweet to everybody else. So are we all guilty?
Why We’re Losing Interest in the FA Cup
I like the FA Cup, but many are losing interest as one match today is on ITV and the other is on the US cable channel, ESPN. The former justs shows adverts interrupted by football and the second is not much better and anyway I don’t have a subscription.
I shall be listening to both matches on the radio and watching the rugby on BBC 1.
The Anonymous Widower 
