A Memorial to those who Fought and Died in the International Brigade
The International Brigade who fought against the fascists in the Spanish Civil War contained about 32,000 from 53 nations.
As I walked along the river to Craven Cottage, I came across this memorial to those from Hammersmith and Fulham who died in the brigade.
International Brigade Memorial in Bishop's Park
Considering that a few thousand people from the United Kingdom were in the brigade, it is surprising I’d not seen a memorial before.
A Plug For BBC Radio Five Live
I may not have had my e-mail about Belarus read out, but this one was used to finish the Silverton programme on the channel this morning.
In hospital in Hong Kong after a stroke, the only news on the TV was CNN. But I was allowed my laptop and Five Live coming through the Internet kept me sane.
As the late great Brian Redhead once said, “If television had been invented first, then radio would be the dominant media, as the pictures are better!” They certainly were when he painted them with his words.
Thinking about Brian and others like him, where are the great female radio broadcasters to rival Ed Morrow, John Snagg, Bryan Johnstone, Peter Jones, Peter Allen and John Arlott?
Who’d Go on Holiday to Libya?
Out of curiosity I typed Lybia holidays into Google and found that I could book one with several reputable countries.
Even without the current troubles, you wouldn’t find me going to Libya, as I don’t give dictators any money and wish them the bad luck they deserve. Also included on my list are any countries without proper democracy, those that have cruel dictators and those that still use the death penalty.
On the other hand if say the United States wanted to give me a large sum of money for something I’d created, I would go to collect it. I’m not that stupid, but they’d hear my views on the death penalty in no uncertain terms.
Tony Hancock and Guy the Gorilla
I’ve just watched a documentary on BBC2 called The Unknown Hancock. Note that they used just Hancock, as he is one of the few people known by just his surname to most people.
One thing that he used to do was visit Guy the Gorilla in his cage in the London Zoo. At the time Guy was kept by himself in an iron cage, which today would be considered unsuitable for great apes. Despite this he was considered to be a gentle soul and not in the least bit dangerous.
I mention this because the documentary would have been watched intently by C, who was one of Tony Hancock‘s biggest fans.
By now she would be telling me this tale of one of her clients.
He was obviously not a nice man, as regularly he was sent to jail for a couple of years. On release, he would go straight round to the London Zoo and visit Guy in his cage and say something like.
Hello Guy! I’m back out now. But you’re still inside!
There probably has never been such an iconic animal in the London Zoo as Guy.
Are the Arab States Going the Way of the Soviet Block?
One by one, the Soviet Union and its satellites, which were all controlled by a matched set of hideous dictators, fell to the power of the people and eventually got that most fragile of freedoms; democracy. Now, only a couple of the former hard-line Communist states are the sort of places that wouldn’t tolerate people thinking like me.
So are we now seeing a similar domino effect in the various Arab states?
I do hope so, but if we are, will the dictators go as quietly and quickly?
I suspect not!
QVC
Is there anything more banal than this?
I’ve never actually watched it in seriously, but it was on in a pub I had a drink in one afternoon and the punters were just making fun of the channel, the presenters and the expensive tat they were selling. I should return to that pub.
But according to an article in The Times today, one in four homes have ordered something from the channel. All it proves it that there are one or probably a lot more born every minute.
But then I’m a man and I don’t understand shopping. And especially junk American television programmes and channels!
Melanie Reid on TV
The Times columnist, Melanie Reid, is doing a program on BBC1 tomorrow. She is appealing for the BBC Lifeline Appeal.
A Celebration of a Life
Yesterday was Brian‘s funeral in Amersham. Or more properly, it was a humanist celebration of a life lived well and to the full!
I’ll remember it for ever, just as I’ll remember Brian for all he did for me, both in business and personally in the last few years.
I think though he would have approved of some of the more light-hearted things that were done and said. Someone said, that it was a pity that the funeral cars were Mercedes and not Jaguars, as Brian was very much a fan and had owned several of the latter. I think, he would have hated it, if his funeral had been bland, well-meaning and lacking any humour and fun.
I normally don’t wear a black tie for funerals, but a flowery Ferragamo one, that I bought in Florence, soon after C’s death. However out of respect for Brian, I did wear black yesterday, but decided to change it just before I left to get the train back to London. I then asked his daughter, if I should have worn it. She said yes and showed me her nail varnish. She said Brian called it Tart’s Red. Sometimes when she tried another shade, she’d show it to her father and he’d say, he preferred the Tart’s Red. Yesterday, all his girls, as he called them; his wife, his daughter and two grand-daughters, had had their nails in Tart’s Red in respect for Brian.
But did Brian have the last laugh?
It was said in the service that he was a Spurs supporter. But coming from Edmonton, this should have been obvious, even if he didn’t tell everybody about it.
I said in an e-mail last night, that I would put a small bet on Spurs to beat Milan in memory of Brian. Spurs won, but I didn’t put the bet on.
The Hopefully Very Last Bolts
The staircase is now almost refurbished and needs just a few things.
I think it would be improved if oversized washers were put on my dome-headed bolts.
But perhaps the last thing to do is replace the three brass-painted coach screws with dome-headed coach screws.
A Dome-Headed Bolt and Coach Screws
The picture shows shows from the top; a fake dome-headed bolt, a stainless steel coach screw and one of those used by Jerry, the builder.
It would seem that the solution is to saw the head off the stainless steel coach screw, put a screw thread on it and then screw on a dome-headed nut.
Dixons Get It Right
I have said that the fridge had been wrecked by the previous tenants and a chippy came round yesterday morning and removed it and fixed the kitchen cupboard doors, which the tenant’s children seemed to use as exercise equipment.
The Wrecked Fridge
Note the broken door and hinges. There also seemed to be evidence of small furry animals behind the fridge, but as the chippy said, there are lots of them round here.
I’d seen the type of fridge I wanted in Currys on the Kingsland Road, so I found one that fitted on the Dixons web site, so I ordered it. I also paid £9.99 extra to get it delivered in a three hour slot on Friday morning, when I know I’ll be here.
About an hour later, I realised, that I would need to do a swap and get the old one humanely destroyed. There was also the problem of the fact that my kitchen is on the first floor. So I phoned them and explained. I was on the phone to their call centre in Sheffield for perhaps a couple of minutes and the instructions for the delivery were sorted. At no extra cost too!
I’ll be needing a new washer-dryer in the next week or so. I wonder where I’ll look first!
The Anonymous Widower 