Monthly Archives: March 2019

Chaotic Farce

“Let me be clear, said the silver haired leader, This is no democracy, I don’t care what you think I’m right, well I always am, don’t think me neurotic My brilliance is clearly underrated as your cheerleader”. “I’m not so … Continue reading

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Players of the Year Award: diversity triumphs (2015-18)

   

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Dutch Teenage Resistance Fighters

She [Freddie Oversteegen] was 14 when she joined the Dutch resistance, though with her long, dark hair in braids she looked at least two years younger. When she rode her bicycle down the streets of Haarlem in North Holland, firearms … Continue reading

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W. T. Stead: Investigative Journalist

Stead’s Victorian London was squalid and amoral. He used his editorship of the Pall Mall Gazette to attack moral evil. Prostitution was rampant in London. It was so blatant that there were guides to ‘specialised’ brothels, which were entirely legal.1 … Continue reading

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Too honest

A gamekeeper in Oregon arrested a man for killing and eating an Egret. He pleaded guilty explaining to the judge, “I was just trying to feed my hungry family. I’ve never done anything like that before.” The judge freed him … Continue reading

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Book Review: Zhou Haohui ~ Death Notice (Translator Zac Haluza) (2014)

Waterstones dreaded ‘Buy one, get one half price’ has led me- greedily- to buy absolute lemons in the past. On this occasion I wasn’t disappointed. In fact I was delighted. Zhou’s novel is set in Chengdu. This is an enormous … Continue reading

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Small pleasures

A receptionist at an accountants office got a call. She was asked by the caller to put him through to Mr. Dewey. “I’m sorry, sir,” the receptionist said, “Mr. Dewey passed away yesterday.” “Oh. I’m sorry about that. Goodbye.” But … Continue reading

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Comparative Poverty: The Top 1% vs the Top 0.1%

Someone at the bottom of the top percentile of incomes is on about £120,000 a year. The top 0.1%, however, gets over £500,000…. The very rich price the reasonably rich out of houses and schools: top private school fees have … Continue reading

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Quirky facts

1) The cruise liner, QE2, moves only 6 inches for each gallon of diesel it burns. 2) A million seconds is less than two weeks, but a billion seconds is 31 years. 3) If the population of China walked past … Continue reading

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Book Review: Sir Henry Howarth Bashford ~ Augustus Carp, Esq., by Himself (1924)

Sometimes I chase up references and with the magic of Google and Amazon read reviews of books I’ve never heard by authors who’s names have long disappeared. If they’re not too expensive, I buy them. Not every move outside my … Continue reading

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