I never watched Big Brother because the whole basic principle of the thing seemed forced, it was putting people, who were stupid enough, and egotistical enough, to put themselves under stress, in the hope of some financial profit. Recently a programme entitled The Apprentices has been shown on a weekly basis on BBC television. This… Continue reading Angst for the sake of angst
Author: jp
Music halls, writers, directors, and vicarious pleasure
I am banging on again about the paucity of quality light entertainment that is also humorous. Light entertainment today is more a matter of hysteria, shouting and waving, and poor quality scripting. From the dawn of the cinema, entertainment has been, right up until the 60s, both here and across the pond, in periods when… Continue reading Music halls, writers, directors, and vicarious pleasure
Finding dirt not nuggets, when grubbing in the gutter
On April the first I wrote a piece, entitled Responsible Selection in which I tried to show the absurdity of journalism today, by quoting the case of the accidental expenditure claims by the Home Secretary, and which must have entailed considerable digging. Since then there has been a torrent of pieces in the press that… Continue reading Finding dirt not nuggets, when grubbing in the gutter
What a way to fight a war
Currently, there is an upsurge in interest in the two world wars, and hardly a day passes that there is some event celebrating the past. This caused me to think about those generals and their cohorts who planned those incredible massacres, like Ypres and the Somme. With hindsight we can censure their level of personal… Continue reading What a way to fight a war
Aspects from my chair,real and philosophical
I have already explained that due to an accident I spend most of my day in a chair because I can only walk 80 yards, and have a damaged right arm, so it is pointless thinking of going out as I would put other people to the problem of wheeling me about. A few minutes… Continue reading Aspects from my chair,real and philosophical
United we stand, divided we fall
I mainly addressed yesterday’s post to those readers who are 08 or over, and in consequence many of my other readers will have bypassed it. In it I wrote the following,’ When I heard, that the RBS, who had taken over our conservative and well run bank, is laying off staff in the UK, and… Continue reading United we stand, divided we fall
The endangered specie and a warning
This piece is mainly written to amuse and possibly confound my readers who are in their 80s, but is also general. Recently there has been the First World War veteran, and Second World War veterans being interviewed on television, and a lot of interest in people like Douglas Bader. A chap I know, with a… Continue reading The endangered specie and a warning
Views on Taxation
The problem of wrecking yourself to the point where you are chair bound is that you get progressively bored as time goes and are more thrown back on cerebral problems. Yesterday it was taxation. I was thinking about the cost of fuel, and that the far-reaching effects of the swingeing changing in price for fuel… Continue reading Views on Taxation
Northern Ireland, then and in the future
What I write here is a cryptic account of what I’ve posted before concerning life in Northern Ireland during the Troubles. I do so because now there is an upsurge of terror yet again, but this time denounced by the greater majority of the Catholics and all of the Protestants. I am an Englishman who… Continue reading Northern Ireland, then and in the future
Responsible selection
I am constantly writing that the government makes legislation with a broad brush which affects almost everyone, in circumstances where the need is only with respect to a small minority. What is also evident is that instead of a calm, reasoned approach to matters, they are dancing instead to the media tune, rushing to sound-bites,… Continue reading Responsible selection