My Blog

To Oxford, for a conference, by train. A fairly uneventful journey, but one enlivened by two people who sat across the aisle from me. When they got on, the man said to the woman “I’m sure I know you from somewhere”, which sounded like the ultimate cheesy chat-up line, until it emerged that they did…

I blogged some time ago about the roadside floral tributes that seem to be everywhere now. The most elaborate one I’ve seen is now on view on my journey to work. It consists of one of those arrangements of flowers made to spell out words, as favoured by East End gangsters – DIAMOND GEEZER on…

This story beggars belief – or rather, it would, if it weren’t yet another example of topsyturvydom in our culture. Let’s see, now. What would I do if I had a chair that emitted farting noises when I sat on it? I’D GET ANOTHER BLEEDING CHAIR!!! This woman’s a deputy head – she could order…

Amazon – doncha love ’em? I looked at my recommendations today and was startled to find this thing. They’d recommended it because I’d purchased this: Can you spot why?

The Observer | Travel | Me and my travels: George Galloway:Here’s George:“The best place I’ve been is… Iraq. It’s magical. I first visited in 1993. I fell in love with it, head over heels. It’s one of the few places I physically long for.” Well, I’m sure not many constituents in Bethnal and Bow will…

Bush takes a swing at cricket in Pakistan – Yahoo! News UKIt’s bad enough trying to explain cricket to the average intelligent American…

OMB NEWS | UK | UK Politics | In Full: Tessa Jowell inquiry letter Of course, Owen Barder does it with his customary style.

BBC NEWS | UK | Tessa Jowell splits from husband Interesting that this has happened now. Am I just terminally cynical, or is this a case of a marriage being sacrificed for a ministerial career?

There’s an episode of The Simpsons, where Bart’s instant denial of wrong doing – “It wasn’t me, I didn’t do it” etc. leads to a brief spell of fame, as his catchphrase catches on. The standard Labour government minister’s catchphrase must be “I didn’t know”, with the occasional “I wasn’t aware”, “I don’t recall” and…

The scene – our local Thresher (tip: only go there if you are buying three bottles of wine, as their pricing structure is based on 3 for 2, which works out at about supermarket prices) Two women of about 20 are in front of me. They have clearly dashed out from their workplace, because they…