Tennis

I have to come clean - I've never had any time for the Williams sisters.  Don't know why - can't point to any particular incident - just don't like them, and am always quietly pleased when they lose.  So given this, how do I feel about Serena's behaviour in losing the US Open final?  More specifically, was she the subject of discrimination?  Had she been a man, would she have been treated in the same way?  And I think the answer to that is - yes, but with a caveat.  Had she been a man, I don't think she would have behaved as she did - her outburst was essentially feminine.  And if you see that as misogynistic, so be it.  John McEnroe apart maybe, I don't think a male player would have reacted like that. So - and remember, you have to take into account that I don't like the woman - I think she was the author of her own misfortune.

Just a thought...

...but now that we have a female Doctor Who, where does that leave River Song?

R.I.P

Liz Fraser - everyone is saying "Carry On" but for me it's "Last Of The Summer Wine".   Remember when Compo dies, and they have to deal with his ferrets? They take them to the mysterious "Reggie" who he used to go and see every Thursday - and who turns out to be a female Reggie.  A role made for and beautifully played by Liz Fraser.

Smarter in September.

Apparently I'm at my intellectual best about now, Research shows that adults over the age of 70 are significantly cleverer at the start of autumn compared with the rest of the year.  Why this should be so is not immediately apparent but such statistics as there are suggest it is true.  So - watch me go!

It was a very good year...

Interesting to discover that the 999 emergency number system is only as old as me.  It started in 1937, my birth year.  This was back in the time when any phone call had to go through the operator and the need for such a system was highlighted when someone tried to alert the authorities to a serious fire but could not contact the operator who was busy with other calls.  Several people died in the fire, and the story got widespread publicity.  999 was chosen as it was relatively easy to dial in the dark on the rotating dial then in use.

The real thing?

Rum and raisin ice-cream - what a treat.  It's been around for years with no problem, so I assume the flavour used is artificial.  Why - well because an ice-cream maker in Derbyshire decided to go back to basics and make his rum and raisin by soaking the raisins in rum.  Result?  Because the resulting ice-cream ends up with slightly more than 0.5% alcohol he has been told that he cannot sell it without a licence, which could cost hundreds of pounds.  So it's back to the drawing board...?

Computer says no...

Worrying story that police in Norfolk intend to use a computer program to decide whether or not cases of burglary should be investigated.  We all know that police forces are under pressure, but the idea that this means that some crimes will be ignored is completely unacceptable, and to think that it will be a computer that makes such a decision is uncomfortable, to say the least.

The Lazy Cook

I claim no credit for this, which I nicked from my daily paper  Really yummy!

Breakfast crumpets

You will need -
Bacon bits - lardons for pref, otherwise bacon slices cut into really small pieces
Eggs
Grated parmesan
Crumpets (I still call then pikelets!)

Fry off the bacon until crispy.  Whisk the eggs in a bowl.  Remove bacon and add to eggs.  Retain bacon fat in pan.  Soak crumpets in mixture (don't just dunk - give them a good soak).  Place crumpets hole-side down (don't know why, but that's what it says) in frying pan and fry on both sides for about two minutes, pressing down with a spatula.  Serve dusted with parmesan.

Daylight saving

Here's a topic which hasn't cropped up for a fair bit, but apparently the EU are seriously considering staying on summer time all the year round.  Question - should we follow suit (irrespective of whether we're in the EU or not)?

Surplus of cream?

We talked about this some two years ago (see 6/10/16) and now we have the strawberry growers seriously suggesting that, if nothing is done, they will be in trouble next year if their seasonal pickers - mostly from Eastern Europe -  cannot get visas to enter  the country.  There's some talk of a robotic picker, but I think the problem is that it destroys as many strawberries as it picks.