Somebody Has to Come Into the Nursery to Make Some Rules
This was said by Lord Justice Thorpe, when he trying to sort out a divorce between a warring husband and wife.
C always despaired that divorces like this that ended up in the papers with large fees all round never came her way. I think in some ways, when they first met her, she gave it to them straight and they decided that hatchet burying was the best thing to do.
The Queen Meets President Hollande Today
according to The Times, the Queen will meet President Hollande today for thirty minutes. They will meet without interpreters and it is expected that they will talk in French. Has there ever been a French queen, who spoke fluent English?
Later President Hollande will have a working lunch with David Cameron.
Note that Hollande’s name is always flagged up by the default spell check.
And Then There Were Five!
I passed New Bus for London, LT8, on the way back from the Angel this afternoon. So that means at least five; LT1, LT2, LT4, LT6 and LT8.
Wanted: Wife No. 4 for Cult Pinup
This is the headline in the Sunday Times today and it is about Tom Cruise.
I think any woman who thinks she might like the position needs her head examined, as a man who has been married three times must have something wrong with him. And then there’s his so-called religion! I wouldn’t insult the great religions of this world, by leaving out the so-called.
The Old Farts Get It Right
Wimbledon has shown that with a bit of planning, you can avoid the problems of the weather. In 1993, they unveiled a plan to create a venue fit for the 21st century. Now nearly twenty years later, they have completed that plan. Here’s a simplified version of the plan from Wikipedia.
Stage one (1994–1997) of the plan was completed for the 1997 championships and involved building in Aorangi Park the new No. 1 Court, a broadcast centre, two extra grass courts and a tunnel under the hill linking Church Road and Somerset Road.
Stage two (1997–2009) involved the removal of the old No. 1 Court complex to make way for the new Millennium Building, providing extensive facilities for the players, press, officials and members, and the extension of the West Stand of the Centre Court with 728 extra seats.
Stage three (2000–2011) has been completed with the construction of an entrance building, club staff housing, museum, bank and ticket office.
A new retractable roof was built in time for the 2009 championships, marking the first time in the tournament’s history that rain did not stop play for a lengthy time on Centre Court.
A new 4000-seat No. 2 Court was built on the site of the old No. 13 Court in time for the 2009 Championships.
A new 2000-seat No. 3 Court was built on the site of the old No. 2 Court and the old No. 3 Court.
It just shows if you take your care at the planning stage and get everyone on your side, you get a better outcome. The only mistake, they seem to have made was underestimate the success of the roof on Centre Court and not put in provision for a roof on No. 1 Court. I suspect though, that engineers are seeing No. 1 Court as their next challenge.
It is interesting to compare Wimbledon’s progress with the dithering the French have been through about expanding or relocating, the venue for the French Open.
Wimbledon have also had the last laugh, in that they will be hosting the tennis at the London Olympics. What odds can I get on a Federer-Murray final? After all one will be hoping to prolong a winning streak and the other will be looking for revenge.
You Can’t Legislate For Stupid
This little snippet from The Times today, hints at a major row in the state of Utah over gun ownership.
Clouds of smoke blanketed western states in America yesterday as firefighters blamed gun owners for scores of fires.
A furious row erupted after a fire official in Utah said that some gunmen using the forests for target practice “might as well just go up there and strike a match”.
Clark Aposhian, chairman of the Utah Shooting Sports Council, conceded that gun owners were responsible for some forest fires but, citing the Second Amendment and the right to bear arms, he added: “You start banning guns and you’re on a slippery slope.”
Coy Porter, Utah’s chief deputy fire marshal, said legislation for permanent bans might be introduced. “Unfortunately you can’t legislate for stupid,” he added.
Checking this page, which gives worldwide murder statistics, it doesn’t appear that the state has a high homicide rate.
Perhaps, they’re all bad shots, which explains the large amount of fires. But as the fire officer said, you can’t legislate for stupid.
The Great British Stand-By
Around ten this morning I received an e-mail saying that the local party in the square will be held provided the weather is not too bad. If it deteriorates, it will be held in the crypt of the church. How very British to use the church instead.
There is also a rumour going around that if the weather gets worse the Olympics will be held in St. Paul’s cathedral.
Why The Weather Is So Bad?
There is a detailed explanation here in the Daily Telegraph. The first paragraph says it all.
The reason the weather is so bad this month is that a so-called jet stream, which lowers air pressure and brings unsettled weather, has become stuck over southern England.
I think it is a case of up the anchors and tow the country south.
But then summers were like this in the 1950s and 1960s. And we survived!
On the other hand we didn’t get all this flooding. But that’s because idiots allowed houses to be built on flood plains.
Even the Olympic Park has been built on a drained swamp, but it has lots of rivers running through it.
French Target Foreign Property Owners
I’m so glad that C and I sold our house in Antibes in the South of France some fifteen years ago. I think I’d be paying a very large sum of French taxes now, if Francois Hollande gets his plans to tax foreign property owners implemented. It’s all here on the BBC.
I Tend To Live Life in the Wonderful World of my Head, Where Every Day the Sun Shines
The title of this post is from a leader in today’s copy of The Times and it was said by Eric Sykes, who died yesterday. His obituary was also felt by the paper to be worth two pages.
Has there ever been a comedian and scriptwriter, who succeeded so well, against all of the odds?
C and I once saw him in the theatre in the play, Run for your Wife, where he appeared in his eighties, despite being totally deaf and virtually blind. An absolute tour de farce!
The Anonymous Widower 