Formula One

I am very disappointed with Lewis Hamilton who is to move next season from McLaren to Mercedes.  I feel very much as I remember feeling when Wayne Rooney left Everton to go to Manchester United - whatever happened to loyalty?  Rooney had been nurtured by Everton, just as Hamilton has been by McLaren.  Am I old-fashioned in thinking that both owed a debt to those who had made them what they are - a debt which both of them in their way have conspicuously failed to honour.

To Sir, with love

15-year-old schoolgirl runs off to France (willingly as it appears) with her 30-year-old married maths teacher.  Has any offence been committed?  The police clearly think so, as they have issued an international arrest warrant against the teacher, and in fact he has now been arrested in France under its authority.  So why?  Well the warrant cites "child abduction".  OK, as she is 15, the girl is legally a minor, but abduction?  It seems to be accepted that she went with him willingly, so how can there be any question of abduction?  And when they get back to this country, what then?  They will presumably want to continue seeing each other - is the law going to try and stop them?  Unless there are things we are not being told, the authorities seem to have chosen a very heavy-handed approach which I feel is only going to make a difficult situation worse.

Cheers!

Halfpenny Green - near Wolverhampton - has traditionally been known for its airport, but is now becoming famous for its vineyard.  They've been making wine there for many years, but apparently the weather last autumn was perfect for grape production, and they've come up with a stunning red wine made from Rondo grapes and with an ABV of 15% which is getting rave reviews.  Mind you, at £15 a bottle, I'm afraid it's outside my price range!  One other thing - I've always pronounced it Hayp'ny Green, like the coin, but some presenters on the TV  news - including the local news - are pronouncing it as written.  How do the inhabitants say it?

Sorry Sir, your car has failed the breathalyser!

A couple of years ago I posted about a Scottish distillery which had come up with a way of turning their waste product into methane gas, which could then be used to power their machinery.  Now we have a story of another distillery up there which has entered into a partnership to convert their useless byproducts into butanol, which can be used to fuel cars.  What struck me most forcibly is that apparently 90%  of what a distillery produces is of no use and normally thrown away.  What a waste!

Further update

Well, I've had my Kindle for nearly two years now, and I certainly wouldn't be without it.  I still buy the occasional paperback when there's a good offer on, but where the Kindle has really come into its own is when I go on holiday - instead of weighing down my case with around half a dozen paperbacks to last me a fortnight, I just load up the Kindle with more than enough books to keep me going.  I always think the acid test of any gadget is - if it broke, would I replace it?  And as far as the Kindle is concerned, the answer is a definite yes.

Well I never!

The Government has spent something like a couple of million quid on a survey to find out what makes people happy, and the answer, surprise surprise, appears to be money!  The better off are happier, and the poorer are unhappier.  This is not, I suspect, the result the Government were hoping for, but I think most of us could have told 'em that for nowt!  You remember that old saying - money can't buy you happiness, but it sure takes the edge off being miserable.

The story continues...

This Andrew Mitchell business (see last Saturday's post) won't go away, will it?  As is so often the case, I think the most pertinent question is not being asked (or if it is, I've missed it) and that is, why did the police refuse to allow him to ride his bike out of the main gates, as apparently he was used to doing?  An approach I find useful when trying to get to the bottom of something, is to think in terms of a domino race - you know, where each domino knocks the next in line down.  And what you look for is the first domino - the one that starts the whole thing off - and here, that clearly was the decision of the police to not allow him to use the main gate.  Everything followed from that.  So why?  After all, the Chief Whip is one of only three members of the government to have offices in Downing Street, and I hardly think they would have refused to let the Prime Minister or the Chancellor (if in fact he rides a bike) go through the main gate.  So was this in fact just a matter of mistaken identity?  After all, he's only been in post a week or two and maybe he wasn't recognised?  In which case, I would think apologies are due from both sides.

Be careful what you wish for...

I should keep my big mouth shut!  Just the other day I was musing about whether BT would be putting their charges up to help pay for the money they have had to outlay to get the rights to show premiership rugby, and now I've had my quarterly bill with a little flyer which tells me - you've guessed it - that they are increasing their prices from next January.  Nice one!!

So what?

The Government Chief Whip, Andrew Mitchell, is apparently facing calls for him to resign, following an altercation he had with police manning the gates to Downing Street the other evening.  Can you see a connection, 'cause I'm blowed if I can? Presumably the Prime Minister appointed him as Chief Whip because he considered he had the characteristics necessary for the job, and I'm sure that good relations with the police never came into it.  How does the fact that he bad-mouthed a policemen make him any more or less fit to hold his post?  The opposition of course are out to make trouble, as is their wont - you might even say their job - but the only question relevant to him staying in his job is - is he good at it?  And, given the nature of the post you might think that a tendency to fly off the handle is a plus point rather than a minus one.

Nostalgia

A story about a shop in Warwick which had remained virtually unchanged for over 100 years going out of business because it could not compete in the modern world brought to mind a name which I am sure will ring a bell with many in my neck of the woods - Snapes of Wolverhampton.  This was a tea and coffee shop in Queen Street which had been trading there since the end of the 19th century and its charm was that the fixtures and fittings were basically still as they were all that time ago.  All the teas and coffees were sold loose and kept in jars and drawers behind the counter and your purchase would be wrapped in paper and tied with string which hung down from a ball in the ceiling - this in itself was a work of art, and people would come miles for the experience.  Sadly for various reasons, there was nobody to take it over when the last tenants retired, and in 2002 it closed and the contents were sold at auction.  Nothing remains but the memory.

You shop - we drop??

I think I've mentioned before that, unlike many men, I actually enjoy going out shopping, so I've never been tempted to do my supermarket shopping online.  I know lots who do though.  I think even if I were unable to get out for whatever reason, I would baulk at having to pay to have my shopping delivered - £5 seems to be a standard charge.  And now somebody has done the maths, and reckons that it actually costs supermarkets about £20 a time to collect, bag and deliver to on-line shoppers.  Which means of course that they're losing money doing it, and supermarkets don't lose money, so clearly they put their prices up to recoup their loss - and that means those of us who shop in person are subsidising those who shop online.  Now that makes me cross!

The language of Shakespeare?

Apparently a poll has found that the most popular Bond theme song is "Live and let die".  For me, this one would immediately be ruled out on the grounds that it contains one of the most grammatically terrible lines ever written - "...this ever changing world in which we live in...".  What on earth were the McCartneys on when they wrote that?  Personally, for what it's worth, I think the classiest Bond theme tune was "Nobody does it better".

Well blow me down!

We've talked before about the Law of Unforeseen Consequences, but what about the Law of Blindingly Obvious Consequences?  Last year it cost about £3500 for a University place.  This year it's anything up to £9000.  And would you believe it, the number of people applying to go to University has gone down.  Couldn't be cause and effect could it?

Nice tits?

The topless photos of the Duchess of Cambridge have created a furore - or have they?  The Editor of the Irish paper which published them made the point that "she's not our future Queen" and the same goes of course for France and Italy, the other two countries (so far) to have published them.  So is this just a British reaction - maybe over-reaction?  To most of the rest of the world's media she's just a celebrity, and as such is fair game for any story or picture which might boost sales.  I think Max Clifford made the most perceptive point when he said that the man with the camera and a long lens could equally well have been a man with a rifle and a telescopic sight, and that's what ought to be concerning us.

Many a true word...

Birthday card from my granddaughter.  On the front - "Grandad, you are always doing nice things for me, so I got you this lovely birthday card because it was my turn to do something nice for you!"  And inside? "OK, now it's your turn again!"

Shafted both ways??!

As an armchair sports fan I am concerned at BT buying up the rights to show premiership rugby from next year.  I have no intention of paying more for my television viewing than the considerable monthly sum I have to shell out at the moment, so presumably this means that I shall not be able to watch any of the top rugby matches after this season.  Mind you, as a BT customer I am even more concerned about where the money is coming from for this deal, and whether I shall find that my 'phone and broadband bills go up as a consequence - which would mean that I would end up paying for the privilege of not being able to watch the rugby!

Personal

When I started this blog I seem to remember mentioning several times that I was coming up to 70.  At the time, it seemed a bit of a watershed, as indeed have my previous odd-decade numbered birthdays - thirty and fifty.  Well, time marches on, and I've just turned 75.  So - free TV licence, which is nice.  I have to say that my legs are not what they were, but I can still walk without the need for a stick, and although I'm somewhat overweight and drink far too much, generally I feel OK.  I still miss my darling wife, and always will I suppose, but I've come to terms with the solitary life, and I have family close by so it's not that solitary.  Why am I telling you all this?  Not sure really, but there seems to be so much doom and gloom talked about getting old nowadays, that I thought I ought to make the point that there are those of us who may not see, hear or move as well as we once did, but are still trucking and looking forward to the future - however short or long it may be.  Glass definitely half full.

A man for no seasons?

How utterly sad and depressing to see the historic and once noble office of Lord Chancellor devalued virtually to the point of extinction.  The latest incumbent is neither a lord nor a judge, nor even a lawyer.  It is difficult to see how he can speak with any authority for the Judiciary or on constitutional matters.  We seem to have lost all sense of history - indeed, lost all sense, full stop.

Piracy - not all bad?

Interesting research carried out at North Carolina State University which suggests that the supposed "naughty" activity of file-sharing, far from economically harming artists and publishers actually more often than not leads to a "small but significant" increase in sales.  Another example of the dangers of seeing everything in terms of black and white - grey rules you see (apologies to E. L. James).

You couldn't make it up.

Haven't had one of these for a bit, and this particular story is over a year old, although I missed it at the time.  Anyway Butlins have apparently ruled that bumper cars on their sites are not allowed to bump!  The reason given, you will hardly be surprised to learn is "health and safety", although it will equally not come as any surprise to learn that the real reason is the fear of being sued if anyone were to complain of being hurt as a result of being bumped.  And apparently it's not just Butlins - many funfairs are taking a similar line - oh for the innocent fun days of my childhood!

Oh, who is that young sinner...

...is the title of a poem by A. E. Housman, which contains the line "they're taking him to prison for the colour of his hair".  Came to mind when I saw the story of a young Scotsman who maintains he was arrested and spent a month in gaol simply because he had red hair, and a shoplifting offence had been reported as being committed by a red-haired lad.  He had an alibi, but the colour of his hair was enough to get him banged up.  Fact stranger than fiction?

Murderball? It's murder all right!

Why on earth is wheelchair rugby called that?  OK, they're in wheelchairs, but rugby??  It's not rugby, it's basketball without the hoops!  They don't use a rugby ball, and they ignore the basic rule which makes rugby what it is - that the ball cannot be passed forwards.  As far as I can see, the only similarity with rugby is that, in order to score a point, you must carry the ball into your opponent's end zone.  I feel like complaining to the Advertising Standards Authority!

It's not alright, it's not ok...

What's happening to "New Tricks"?  Jack Halford (James Bolam) has gone - DI Pullman (Amanda Redman) and Brian Lane (Alun Armstrong) are apparently on their way out. I'll put my cards on the table - I love New Tricks - it's one of the few BBC programmes I watch these days.  And it appears that there are some 7 to 8 million other viewers who feel the same.  It's the television equivalent of a comfort blanket. And I, for one, feel let down by those who have left or are leaving.  Do they not feel any loyalty to their dedicated viewers?  It's not as though they are young actors seeking to make a career for themselves - quite the reverse.  I feel very disappointed.

Ha ha.

Here's one that made me smile - and before anyone starts on about racialism and stereotyping, the person who told it was a Jew -
A devout Orthodox Jew was walking along a cliff path, when he slipped and fell over the edge.  Frantically thrashing about, he managed to grab hold of a branch sticking out of the cliff face.  As he dangled there, he looked up to Heaven and prayed  "Please God, help me.  Help me - is there anybody there?"  And he heard a voice "This is the Lord, thy God.  Let go of the branch.  Trust me, let go of the branch. Hear the word of the Lord, let go of the branch".  And the man looked down at a drop of some hundreds of feet onto some very unpleasant looking rocks, and looking up to Heaven once again he said "Is there anybody else there?"

...you saw me standing alone...

Blue moon, of course.  But what's the origin of the expression?  There are several explanations.  The "official" definition of a blue moon is the second of two full moons which appear in the same month (it's just happened in August), or the third of four which appear in the same season.  Because the moon's cycle is slightly shorter than a calendar month, this two-in-a-month or four-in-a-season event will only occur every two-and-a-bit years, which is seldom enough for it to be worthy of comment, hence the expression "once in a blue moon" for an unusual event.  But why blue? No-one knows, but there is a 16th century poem poking fun at the Church's insistence that it had all the answers, which includes the line "If they say the moon is blue, we must believe it is true".

Well I never!

I'm always reading about the result of some research or other - often on the most surprising or baffling things.  Here's one for the list - apparently if you're a beer drinker, the shape of your glass affects how quickly or slowly you will down your pint.  It seems that you will drink more slowly out of a straight-sided glass than a curved one.  Various explanations have been put forward for this, but the real mystery is that this only applies to beer - for those drinking a soft drink it makes no difference.  Work that one out if you can!

I've got a little list...

Worrying story which broke over the weekend (although it actually took place a few months back) of an Australian lawyer who was initially prevented from boarding a flight from Heathrow to Sydney because, she was told, she was on an "inhibited person list" which meant she needed special clearance before she could leave the country.  So is there such a list, and if so, what's it all about?  Nobody has been prepared to comment, but the only reason I can think of why there should be such a list, is that it consists of people who are on the point of being arrested for some serious offence, and it is to prevent them from fleeing the jurisdiction.  But this was somebody who, as far as is known, had never done anything controversial, and certainly nothing remotely criminal, seeking to travel back to her own country.  Our government, the US government and the Australian government have all denied operating such a list, so like I say, worrying.

You can't see his lips move!

The death on Saturday of Max Bygraves brought to mind what must be one of the most bizarre entertainment programmes ever produced.  He initially made his name (as did many other well known comedians) on a radio programme called "Educating Archie" - Archie being Archie Andrews, a ventriloquist's dummy worked by Peter Brough.  The act had been playing the music halls for some years, but a ventriloquist act on radio??  It was enormously successful, so obviously people didn't see the absurdity.  RIP Max.

Oh, get a move on.....!

Always fascinating when you come across a personal experience and suddenly realise that it is proving some theory you have read about.  Coming back through Arrecife airport the other week, there was (most unusually for that airport) a long queue to get through security.  So we joined the end and for some time nothing moved, then we moved on for a bit, then stopped again, and so on and so on.  And I suddenly realised that when I wasn't moving I was feeling tetchy and cross, but when I was moving, even though we were only moving slowly, and I knew we would probably stop again, I suddenly felt much better.  And I remembered an article I had read about the psychology of queueing, which said that research had found that, provided the queue is moving, however slowly, those queueing will be content, whereas what people find infuriating is "dead time" when nothing is (or appears to be) happening.  It's the same idea behind variable speed limits on motorways - people are much happier crawling at 25 mph than stuck in a stationary tail-back.

History is bunk - Henry Ford.

It's a truism that history is written by the victors, and you need to bear that in mind when judging what you read about what has happened in the past.  I thought of this recently when the story broke about the site of Richard III's grave being sought underneath a car park in Leicester.  There is now considerable doubt whether Richard was really the hunchback monster he was portrayed as by his Tudor conquerors - and Shakespeare.  And then there is the story of a two thousand or so year old poem which has been discovered and recently translated which suggests that the Roman emperor Nero and his wife Poppaea may not have been as black as history has painted them.  So always keep that pinch of salt handy.