Not good enough.

A worrying (to me) opinion poll has found that nearly half those questioned would support a party with far-right views (English nationalist, anti-immigration, etc.) provided it did not espouse violence.  I wonder to what extent this is due to the current lack of any real Opposition in this country.  Although it's five months now since Ed Milliband was elected as Labour's new leader, the party does not seem to have any specific policies.  It's just sitting on the sidelines continually muttering "too far, too fast" but giving no indication that they have any real alternatives to put forward.  This can only play into the hands of the extremists - left or right.  For our system to work properly, we need a strong and positive Opposition.  Come on, Labour!!

Mystery solved.

Ever since I wrote "Who is Green and what does he shoot?" in yesterday's post,  I've had this niggling feeling that I pinched that idea from somewhere else, but I couldn't think where.  Then in the middle of the night (most of my best ideas come in the middle of the night) it came to me.  It was an episode of "Yes Minister" or maybe "Yes Prime Minister" where Jim Hacker wishing to express his displeasure at some paper he had been given to read, had written "Round objects" on it.  It later resurfaced on his desk, and someone had written below "Who is Round and to what does he object?".  Actually this itself was probably a pinch - there's a long-standing story of someone scribbling "round objects" on a Parliamentary paper and Churchill - then PM - writing next to it "Who is Round? And why does he object?"

Green shoots.

Nice to see the snowdrops and the crocuses in the garden.  Just as I hate autumn because you know winter's round the corner, so my spirits are lifted at this time of year - even though it may be cold and wet - because you know you've got spring and summer to come.  On a completely different tack, I looked at the title I had given this post, and thought "Who is Green and what does he shoot"!

Fight to the finish?

First rule of negotiation - never back the other side into a corner, always leave them a way out.  Not that it's a matter of negotiation of course, but that old maxim came to mind when watching what's going on in Libya at the moment.  Gaddafi's been backed into a corner with no place to go - a very dangerous state of affairs.

Interview technique.

Friend of mine is going for a job interview, and asked me if I had any tips.  I've interviewed more people than I care to think about, and the worst thing as an interviewer is when you realise that the person you are interviewing is trying to present themselves as what they think you are looking for.  It's frustrating because (a) you know they're putting on an act, so you can't be sure what they are really like, and (b) because behind the mask they are putting on, they just might in fact be the very person you are looking for, but can you take that chance?  So my advice to my friend, and to anybody else out there facing an interview, is quite simply - be yourself.

Census

I'm going to have problems with the question that asks "What is your religion?".  The choice, as far as I am concerned is between answering "Christian" and answering "No religion".  I was baptised in Church, confirmed in Church, married in Church and until my children were old enough to make up their own minds, we went to Church with them just about every Sunday.  But I haven't now set foot in Church (except to see my granddaughter at the school's carol service) for the best part of thirty years, and have lost all interest in organised religion.  So am I a Christian?  I seek to live my life by Christian values - but not because they are Christian, just because it seems to me a good way to live your life (do unto others, and so on).  I don't believe in an interceding God, and whilst it would be nice to think that there is some existence after this one, I don't really believe there is.  So I don't subscribe to two of the basic tenets of Christian belief.  So like I say, I'm going to find it difficult to answer that particular question.  Of course, I can always pass over it, as it is only a voluntary question, but that would be rather a cop-out, don't you think?

The Lazy Cook.

We first came across Halloumi cheese many years ago on a holiday in Cyprus - and indeed that's where it comes from.  When you buy it (over here) it comes in a pouch with a little liquid - bit like Mozzarella does- but the star quality of Halloumi is that you can fry it and it doesn't melt!  It thus makes an interesting addition to a classic English breakfast - just slice it fairly thinly and add it to the frying pan with your bacon, sausage, fried bread and whatever.  Indeed it really does need frying or grilling - eaten straight out of the packet it's rather bland and uninspiring, but fried or grilled it's really yummy.

Formula 1

Just three weeks to go before this season is supposed to be starting with the Bahrain Grand Prix.  But can that race go ahead in view of what is going on in Bahrain at the moment?  After all, the Foreign Office is advising against anything but essential travel there.  Perhaps the most surprising (and in a way, worrying) aspect is that apparently Bernie Ecclestone has said that the decision as to whether to hold the race or not will be left to the country's Crown Prince.  Seems like an abrogation of responsibility to me - at the end of the day it has got to be for F1 to take the decision in the light of the safety of all the hundreds - maybe thousands - of workers involved in putting the GP on, many of whom will be staying in digs uncomfortably close to where the trouble is.  I would be in favour of calling the whole thing off now - better safe than sorry.

OK?

So just where does this ubiquitous expression come from?  There are so many theories that it makes your head spin.  What seems pretty well accepted it that it originated in America in the early to mid-1800s (even as recently as my childhood it was considered "American slang" in this country and frowned upon) and the best guess is that it was somehow associated with a democratic presidential candidate called Martin Van Buren, who had the nickname "Old Kinderhook" and his supporters were referred to as the "OK Club".  His opponents put about the idea that OK stood for "Orl Korrect" - the inference being that Van Buren and his followers were illiterate.  Van Buren didn't get elected, but OK started to appear in everyday speech to signify general acceptance of whatever was being discussed.

Better the devil you know?

So we are going to get our referendum on voting reform and switching to the Alternative Vote system.  You may wish to refer back to my post dated 31/5/09 to refresh your memory as to how this would work.  I'm keeping my powder dry for the time being, and waiting to hear the arguments in full, but initially I'm not sure of the wisdom of replacing an admittedly flawed electoral system with what may well be a worse one.

Don't shoot the messenger.

The Prime Minister and the Home Secretary are both having a go at the judges for making decisions which "fly completely in the face of common sense" and promising to introduce legislation to "[make] sure decisions are made in this Parliament rather than in the courts".  But it was Parliament which created the present situation.  The Human Rights Act of 1998 effectively said that our law must obey the principles contained in the European Convention on Human Rights.  The judges in the recent cases being complained of, were simply pointing out aspects of our law where this doesn't happen.  It wasn't them who passed the 1998 Act - it was Parliament.

Royal nuptials

It is reported that Kate Middleton has chosen her (unmarried) sister to be her "Matron of Honour" at her forthcoming wedding to Prince William.  I'm somewhat confused (so what's new?) because my understanding always was that Matron of Honour was a title given to a married woman performing the function of bridesmaid  - so unmarried = bridesmaid (the "maid" sort of gives it away) and married = Matron of Honour.  I'm far more worried about Harry being Best Man mind you!

It's how you tell 'em.

Ex-president Mubarak is to have his assets frozen, according to my paper - nasty!

Music Man - R.I.P.

George Shearing - my idol.

Liz Taylor

Love and prayers from a life-long fan.  Who's afraid of Virginia Woolf?  I am.

Egypt

Not strictly within my remit, but the papers and TV here have been full of little else over the last fortnight or so.  I really hope I'm not being a Jeremiah, but what kept and keeps running through my head as I watch what's going on over there, is that old saying - be careful what you wish for...

Muted cheer?

Have to applaud the Coalition's (well the LibDem's really) proposed Protection of Freedoms Bill - long overdue piece of legislation.  Of course the problem is that many of the freedoms which it proposes to give back to us were eroded away as a result of knee-jerk reaction legislation following some headline-grabbing incident, and there is not (and cannot be) any guarantee that something similar will not happen in the future.  The understandable but dangerous need to be seen to be "doing something" is responsible for much of what this Bill seeks to redress.

What comes after?

It is looking more and more likely that West Ham will move into the Olympic Stadium after the 2012 Games - mainly because they have undertaken to keep the running track, whereas Spurs, who were the other main contender, would not have done so.  It was part of the bid that secured us the Games that the stadium would remain in use afterwards as an athletics venue, so what Spurs wanted to do would have involved us breaking our promise.  Of course, whether it was sensible to make such a promise in the first place, is another matter....

Tweet, tweet.

The Press Complaints Commission has ruled that Twitter messages are not private and can be published, even though you may have stipulated that you are restricting access to your "followers".  So beware - or better still remain anonymous or best of all don't go on there in the first place.

What's in a name?

This question of whether Camilla will become Queen if and when Charles succeeds to the throne has raised its head again, and it's all a mater of semantics.  Yes, she would become Queen (strictly speaking, Queen Consort) because she would be the wife of a King - simple as that.  Whether she will be referred to as Queen is a different matter, and as far as I am aware it has already been officially suggested that she is likely to be referred to as "Her Royal Highness the Princess Consort", which is a bit of a mouthful, so we'll have to wait and see, but the fact is she would be Queen whatever she is called.

Something has to go.

Local councils hereabouts have (as yet vague) plans to close several libraries, and this has created a lot of correspondence in the local press - the majority of it critical.  Now I used to use my local library a lot, but the reality is that I haven't visited it now for getting on for a year - so why?   Well, firstly, reference - in the past, if I wanted to know something or research something, the library was my first port of call, but now (and this of course goes back well beyond twelve months) my first port of call is the internet.  The library seem to have recognised this, because as computer usage has grown, the size and scope of their reference section has dwindled.  But more recently, my purpose in visiting the library was to get books out - and here is the second problem, because a library, particularly a relatively small local one like ours, only has a limited stock of books, and not much rotation, so I very quickly got to the stage where I couldn't find anything I wanted to take out that I hadn't already read, and stopped going.  So if they close our library, I shall miss it, but not all that much, which raises the question - have libraries started to outlive their usefulness, or have they perhaps failed to satisfactorily move with the times?

Can't have the penny and the bun!

If you invented something, and then, for whatever reason, deliberately and knowingly decided not to patent your invention, you would hardly be in a position to complain at a lack of protection if somebody stole your idea - the mechanism for protecting yourself against that possibility existed and you chose not to use it.  A senior family judge has suggested that couples living together but not married should have the same rights and obligations on any breakdown of their relationship as if they were married - but why?  The mechanism for protecting yourself in the event of such a breakdown already exists, it's called marriage, and if you deliberately and knowingly choose not to use it.....

Ha ha.

Like buses, you wait for ages for a good joke, and then several come along all at once.  This from my local Sunday newspaper -
Wife to husband: "I think my breasts are too small"
Husband: "Well if you want your breasts to grow, all you need to do is rub between them with a piece of toilet paper every day"
Wife: "And that will make them grow?"
Husband: "Well it worked for your bum!"

Census

I was quite surprised to realise that there is a census next month, because I'm sure I read or heard somewhere that we weren't going to have any more censuses after 2001, as there were better, more accurate and cheaper ways for the government to get the information.  Anybody know anything about that?

Update.

Promised I'd let you know how I got on with my Kindle.  So - pro's: there's a lot of free stuff out there, and most of the non-free stuff is significantly cheaper than the paper version.  There's a search facility which is very useful for me, because I so often come across a name in a book and think "Who the hell is that, then?", and have to spend ages flicking back trying to find it, so now all I have to do is type it in and the Kindle will highlight all the places where it's occurred.  You can adjust the text size, which is a boon when it's late at night and your eyes are getting tired - instant large print!  Cons:  it doesn't "feel" right in the hand and it doesn't do page numbers, it deals in "locations" which I don't find terribly user-friendly.  Also not all books are available in Kindle format - which can be annoying when it's something you're desperately looking for.  All in all though, glad I bought it.  It doesn't replace paper books by any means but it does provide a useful alternative.

Another pointless remake?

If you are of my generation, then you probably saw the 1948 film "Brighton Rock" when it came out at the cinema (I had to sneak in because I was under-age).  A classic, and a masterly performance from the whole cast - particularly Richard Attenborough.  How can you hope to improve on perfection?  Why even bother?  The only possible - if rather feeble - reason would be to remake the ending which deviated from the book and many people (but not me) thought was a cop-out, but apparently they haven't even done that, so why????

Music Man

John Barry, who died the other day, was a top class and prolific composer of film music, of that there is no doubt.  However the pedant in me gets cross when he is credited with writing the James Bond theme.  Although it is his arrangement of it that has become iconic, the actual theme was written by Monty Norman.  Credit where it's due, folks.