How Not To Interview Mo Farah
This article from the Sun, talks about and shows one of worst interviews I’ve ever seen.
It does show what a mild-mannered guy, Mo Farah must be! I wouldn’t have kept so calm!
More Problems For Coal
I am not a great fan of coal as, I think it’s a dirty fuel, that is dangerous to mine and causes all sorts of problems like subsidence for the neighbours.
So this news of a large fire at Daw Mill Colliery in Warwickshire, that might spell the end of mining in the county, is just typical of the problems of this fuel.
I will not be sorry if this hastens the end of the UK coal industry. For everybody’s sake, we should have put together a comprehensive plan to shut the lot down perhaps half a century ago.
The Minestone Soup Is Back!
Carluccio’s amazing minestrone soup has returned as a special for this week. It used to be on the menu and I think the last time I had it, was the day Ipswich played at Brighton.
So there are no prizes for guessing, what I will be eating for lunch this week.
There are rumours that it might go back on the main menu. So let’s do a bit of research.
Feel free to vote.
Doing Her Mending On The Bus
I’ve seen women knitting on the Tube, but I haven’t ever seen anybody doing their mending on a bus before.
That is until today, when I saw a young lady sorting out some errant hem with a needle and thread at the front of the top deck of a number 30 bus.
It’s funny though, but I’ve never seen anybody doing serious embroidery on a bus or train!
Otters Will Be Otters
This story from the Metro, shows how we should co-operate a bit more, where wildlife are concerned. Here’s the first few paragraphs.
When Brian Dodson set up a carp fishery from scratch he had no idea the business would be quickly ruined – by otters.
The 60-year-old discovered the carnivores had eaten his entire £250,000 stock after a river haven for the animals was built nearby.
He is now seeking £2.5million from the Environment Agency, which he claims failed to tell him about the scheme and prevented him building protective fencing.
Surely there should have been a middle way.
But then as the story says otters are carnivores and will get their food no matter what. There was a story a couple of years ago, where otters were taking koi carp out of a pond in a suburban garden in Birmingham. No-one knew that there were otters in the nearby canal.
I’m reminded of the tale I heard when I shared the driver’s cab in a High Speed Diesel Train from Edinburgh to Inverness.
The owner of an hotel close to the line, built a lake, which he stocked with fish for his guests. But just down the road was Loch Garten, where ospreys have made a home. And as ospreys are wont to do, they found the hotel lake and decided it was a good place for dinner.
The hotel owner cut back on his fishing, but apparently, he now promotes the lake as a place to watch ospreys feed.
Balloons Over Luxor
I remember a few years ago, standing on the balcony of the Winter Palace Winter Palace hotel in Luxor with C watching the balloons in the early morning sun. Neither of us had any desire to go up, although she did say I could go if I wanted. The made a magnificent site, as they floated over the land beyond the Nile.
Today’s balloon tragedy sets that beauty on a different plane.
I’m not saying I’ll never go in a hot-air balloon. But I certainly wouldn’t unless there was only a couple of passengers and a pilot I knew personally. If you want to create any form of accident, lots of people who know nothing about it, is a good place to start.
Should We Ditch The Penny?
There is an article on the BBC web site discussing small coins and whether we need them.
It makes a very valid point, and although I’m a large cash user, I can’t think of the last time, I purposely used a coin smaller than a five pence. I don’t even chuck them in as tips.
I just looked and I found that I’ve only one two pence, amongst a load of ones bigger than ten pence, in my coin pocket and I can’t think how it got there! So it probably shows how rare it is for you to get them in change these days.
If I go back a few years, some purchases like newspapers, were definitely ones that needed pennies, but now I buy my daily paper on subscription to get vouchers and the Standard is a free sheet. Buses too, would have needed a few coins, but now I use a card to get them free. Even if you’re under sixty, I suspect buses don’t need pennies.
So just what do we need pennies for?
I suppose there is the pub game of shove two pence or whatever it is these days.
I certainly wouldn’t miss them, if they ceased to be legal tender.
How Long Can Spurs Keep Gareth Bale?
It’s some years since I’ve seen a more outstanding British footballer, as Gareth Bale. Last night, he helped to bring Spurs a victory at West Ham, and even stored the winning goal. The match and Bale’s influence on it is reported here on the BBC.
But then how long can the real money-bags clubs of the world, let this situation continue, before they make the player and Spurs an offer they can’t refuse?
I doubt, he’ll be playing for the club next year! But it will be the biggest transfer fee of recent times.
So just how good is Bale?
Although, I have a history of being a Spurs supporter until the 1970s and saw the great double side, I’m much more of an Ipswich supporter these days, as I have lived in the county for forty years.
But now, as I have Sky through my BT broadband, I generally make sure, that I see Spurs if I can. Partly because of my history, but also to see what sort of fireworks Bale will produce.
He has certainly delivered in recent weeks.
No other footballer has had such an effect on me. Let’s hope that kids these days, want to be the next Gareth Bale, as his style of play is very exciting.
He seems to combine the skill and thinking of a Blanchflower or a Beckham, with the speed of Cliff Jones and the power and ball skills of a Gascoigne or Puskas.
Let’s hope he behaves off the field like Bobby Moore, Bobby Charlton, Trevor Brooking or Gary Lineker.
The Anonymous Widower 