Pablo and a few others…

Well after a bit of fun doing the postings on, firstly, the albums, then, the films that have meant something to me over the years, I had a couple of cool chats with my old friends Shay and Simon. Not really about the selections but more about what I hadn’t included and so on. Then I got on to mentioning my next intended topic, libraries, which produced lots of laughs and comments about my pretentiousness. Moi? Anyway I’m not put off but I’ll return to the theme later because I’ve decided to stay grounded and keep it street by doing a posting on modern art.

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Quote unquote

Well I was amused, nay inspired, by a recent posting by JM quoting a former US President…

Ha! And I thought wouldn’t it be fun to do a few spoof quotes on my business website, http://www.itswriteforyou.co.uk, where I have a section on Words of the Day, which has fallen into some disrepair. I’d intended to post an inspirational quote from somebody every day but I’ve become disillusioned by today’s media obsession with fatuous twitter quotes from vacuous c-list celebrities. It seems like nobody’s said anything meaningful since Mandela in his prime. So why not be creative with a few quotes then?

In the year 2010, 2010

It’s been an interesting year. We lost the 2018 bid but got the coalition government we voted for apparently; played totally crap at the World Cup but were brilliant in the Ryder Cup; seen flights from UK airports completely grounded by hot volcanic ash and also by freezing weather conditions; witnessed the return of the prodigal Robbie Williams and the internment of bongable George Michael and endured £7B of swingeing Government cuts which was promptly handed over to the Taoiseach to rescue the ailing Irish euro economy.  Oh yes it’s been an eventful 2010.

10 buildings you must see before you… get bunions

It’s a while since I did one of those lists of things that really inspire me (I can hear the groans out there already) but a new book bought for me by my daughter S and son-in-law I has got me sharpening the old list pencil again. The book is ‘1001 Buildings You MUST See Before You DIE‘. It’s one of those cliched and improbable titles  – I imagine it would take many years of travelling the 7 continents just to take in all the buildings listed, let alone all the other things people think you should see whilst still breathing (sports stadia, works of art, great views, classic hotels etc). It’s also a bit of a stretch – I’m not convinced that I really can’t meet my maker until I’ve been to visit either Preston or Dublin’s Central Bus Stations or the Park Hill housing estate in Sheffield or the former zeppelin hangars which have been converted into the rather ugly  Central Market Halls in Riga, Latvia. But there are some stunning buildings around the world which I’ve been lucky enough to visit and many, many more I’d love to see before that bucket gets kicked.

letter to america

Here’s the text of a Letter to America purporting to be written by John Cleese which I came across in a recent blog. I don’t think it is written by him but it’s gently mocking style did make me smile and it sure stirred up a lot of reaction from our cousins across the pond, not all of it hostile – more than a few did get the humour.

d’you know juninho?

Late last night I checked in by accident to the C5 coverage of this week’s exhibition match between Sydney FC and LA Galaxy played in front of 80,000 fans at Telstra Stadium. It ended up 5-3, a bit of a cracker despite the ‘friendly’ status of the match. David Beckham , who the bulk of the crowd had turned up to see, scored an absolute cracker of a free kick to bring the scores back to 3-2 at one point. He really does have incredible world-wide appeal. But the star of the show was probably Juninho who had a first half blinder, laying on two goals which gave Sydney a 3-0 half time lead.

did anyone ever ask a barber for a bobby charlton?

Other than Rab C Nesbitt, I doubt it. It was never a good look; the thin stranded comb-over but it was distinctive. Not one to appeal to the ladies though I suspect. I know what you’re thinking – pots and kettles pp. I’m not just ‘challenged’ in the hair department, more like executed. But I don’t care. I saw something on MSN’s homepage which was a feature on memorable or trend-setting hairstyles. Lots of Americans I’d never heard of but several stand out examples – Jennifer Aniston’s long bob, Farrah Fawcett’s flick back, Marge Simpson’s beehive and two from the Sopranos – Paulie Walnuts’ silver wings and Syl’s 50’s quiff (which is actually a hairpiece, oh yes).

Head to head with les coqs

Winning against les bloody French has always given the English a warm glow. We’ve always had issues with the neighbours but those buggers across the Channel have always been our national ‘derby’ team. The Germans have been particularly annoying in recent history but in reality they are a lot like us (apart from the arrogance, first on the sun-lounger mentality and sense of humour). But anyone’s who’s holidayed in the Dordogne and popped out in the morning to buy 3 baguettes, 5 croissants, some ham and cheese for breakfast and commented on the pleasant landscape and lovely weather without speaking in perfect French knows how sneering they are about we English and our slight mangling of their beautiful language. What’s so wrong with il ne pleut pas comme dans Angleterre? We love France and they hate us. Pourquoi mes amis?