-
Recent Posts
Recent Comments
odeboyz on Memory Lane Clarence Price on Memory Lane Havering’s Vibrant D… on When Does an Election Become a… Havering’s Vibrant D… on The UK Mayoral Elections,… odeboyz on View from a Tower Block… Archives
- July 2022
- June 2022
- May 2022
- April 2022
- March 2022
- February 2022
- January 2022
- December 2021
- November 2021
- October 2021
- September 2021
- August 2021
- July 2021
- June 2021
- May 2021
- April 2021
- March 2021
- February 2021
- January 2021
- December 2020
- November 2020
- October 2020
- September 2020
- August 2020
- July 2020
- June 2020
- May 2020
- April 2020
- March 2020
- February 2020
- January 2020
- December 2019
- November 2019
- October 2019
- September 2019
- August 2019
- July 2019
- June 2019
- May 2019
- April 2019
- March 2019
- February 2019
- January 2019
- December 2018
- November 2018
- October 2018
- September 2018
- August 2018
- July 2018
- June 2018
- May 2018
- April 2018
- March 2018
- February 2018
- January 2018
- December 2017
- November 2017
- October 2017
- September 2017
- August 2017
- July 2017
- June 2017
- May 2017
- April 2017
- March 2017
- February 2017
- January 2017
- December 2016
- November 2016
- October 2016
- September 2016
- August 2016
- July 2016
- June 2016
- May 2016
- April 2016
- March 2016
- February 2016
- January 2016
- December 2015
- November 2015
- October 2015
- September 2015
- August 2015
- July 2015
- June 2015
- May 2015
- April 2015
- March 2015
- February 2015
- January 2015
- December 2014
- November 2014
- October 2014
- September 2014
- August 2014
- July 2014
- June 2014
- May 2014
- April 2014
- March 2014
- February 2014
- January 2014
- December 2013
- November 2013
- October 2013
- September 2013
- August 2013
- July 2013
- June 2013
- May 2013
- April 2013
- March 2013
- February 2013
- January 2013
- December 2012
- November 2012
- October 2012
- September 2012
- August 2012
- July 2012
- June 2012
- May 2012
- April 2012
- March 2012
- February 2012
- January 2012
- December 2011
- October 2011
- September 2011
- August 2011
- July 2011
- June 2011
- May 2011
- April 2011
- March 2011
- February 2011
- January 2011
- December 2010
- November 2010
- October 2010
Categories
- 20th century art
- Autobiography
- Disablity
- ecology
- Economics
- education
- Entomology
- environment
- Film
- Finance
- Health
- History
- housing
- Humour
- Literature
- local politics
- Mathematics
- Paris
- Philosophy
- photography
- Poetry
- Politics
- Prison
- Prison reform
- quips
- Religion
- Review
- School
- Sport
- statistics
- Technology
- tenants rights
- Travel
- TV sitcom
- TV sitcoms
- Uncategorized
- War
- wildlife
Meta
Blog Stats
- 132,474 hits
Category Archives: Literature
Lady Chatterley’s maid demands a raise
Maid: “I’d like a raise.” Lady Chatterley: “Why do you deserve a raise? Maid: “Two reasons. I’m a better cook than you.” Lady Chatterley: “Who told you?” Maid: “Your husband. And I’m better in bed than you are as well.” … Continue reading
Posted in Humour, Literature
Tagged Black humour, D H Lawrence, Lady Chatterley's Lover
Leave a comment
Bob Dylan and Woody Guthrie
People have told me that they’ve heard a song of mine and it’s changed their lives. Now I can only believe that or disbelieve it, but I know what it is to feel that, because I’ve felt that way myself … Continue reading
Posted in Autobiography, Literature
Tagged Bob Dylan, musical influence, Woody Guthrie
Leave a comment
Book Review: David Baldacci ~ A Gambling Man (2021)
I bought this solely because of a Facebook advert, which is the modern version of Waterstone’s seductive: ‘Buy one, get one half price’. It was 99p on Kindle and I wanted an undemanding read. What I got was a revelation. … Continue reading
Book Review: Viet Thanh Nguyen ~ The Sympathizer (2015)
This superb book won the USA’s Pulitzer Prize. Nguyen is brilliant and the real thing: a great author. Opening sentences are important, I am a spy, a sleeper, a spook, a man of two faces.1 The unnamed hero/anti-hero is a … Continue reading
Posted in History, Literature, Politics, Review, War
Tagged Communism, Saigon, Social Justice, torture, Vietnam war
Leave a comment
Woody Guthrie discovers Catholic hypocrisy
“Son, I have been in this service [Roman Catholic priest] all my life. I have seen to it that thousands of men just like you got to work for a meal. But, right at this moment, there is no kind … Continue reading
Posted in Economics, History, Literature, Religion
Tagged charity, Folk singer, Hobo, hypocrisy, The Great Depression, Woody Guthrie
Leave a comment
TV Review: This is going to hurt ~ TV series (BBC1 catch-up) (Ben Whishaw)
This is going to hurt’ is based on Adam Kay’s best-selling book.1 It’s autobiographical and Whishaw brilliantly portrays him. The series is a searing drama about the brutal realities of a maternity ward. It revolves round child birth meaning a … Continue reading
Posted in Autobiography, Health, Literature
Tagged Black humour, Maternity wards, NHS, Overwork
Leave a comment
Oscar Wilde On Heaven
“I don’t want to go to heaven. None of my friends are there.”
Book Review: Zlatan Ibrahimovic ~ I am Zlatan Ibrahimovic (with David Lagercrantz) (Translator Ruth Urbom)
This book is a superior sports autobiography. Zlatan’s ghost writer is an author in his own right, and translator is excellent. They capture the intensity of his life and the voice of an immigrant living in poverty. As a sports … Continue reading
Book Review: Robbie Morrison ~ Edge of the grave (2021)
Glasgow’s brutal history was ‘created’ by endemic poverty and squalor which brutalised the population in the period 1900-32. The context of hard physical work and grinding poverty led to the infamous Glasgow ‘Razor’ gangs. The outbreak of the First World … Continue reading
The malign Dostoevsky
Dostoevsky’s sigh came from deep inside His Faustian soul. It unleashed Stories of moral degradation. Stories which were cunningly seductive. They soaked Europe’s bourgeoisie with Learned despair and nihilism Destroying their progressive world with Festering rancid introspection Dostoevsky’s sigh spread … Continue reading