After various posts and tweets today, all pales into insignificance on hearing the news that Gary Moore has died. Same age as me as it happens.
An amazing guitarist and master gurner in the process, GM will be sadly missed, but he does at least leave us with a catalogue of material to for us to enjoy his memory from.
I’m off to find some of those memories on my iPod.
Filed under obituaries
Sir
I wrote here the other day in support of QI over the remarks made last week about Japan and the atom bomb raids that closed off WW2.
Over last weekend I had also watched Top Gear, and had heard the oafish remarks made regarding Mexico and its people, and those I cannot defend, nor would I want to. I regard that sort of behaviour, in a public forum, as being on the same level as Mr Gray and Mr Keys the other week. Some of Top Gear I find very enjoyable, but I missed an entire series after turning off part way through the first episode because of their antics in the deep south of the US.
It is a shame that three intelligent presenters seem to want to resort to this sort of behaviour, but the audience do seem to like it, as did that of the Sky football chaps (the 20 year success of the latter could not have come without the audience wanting to tune in).
Maybe I am in a minority here. If so I don’t mind, I make my own choices. Mr Coogan appears to be a fellow member, but maybe his public reaction has something to do with Top Gear drawing a bigger audience and getting more laughs? Certainly it is the first mention I have heard of him in a while.
Will I watch Top gear again tonight? Maybe, there’s not much else on, but the off button is there should I wish to use it.
Yours faithfully
Disgusted of Dorcan
Isn’t about time we grew up and stopped all this nonsense? I’ve used the old adage sticks and stones more than once in these blogs, and I’ll say it again here.
These are only words. So they offended some people, but so what? I am offended by their offence, so will they retract? Of course not; the whole thing just becomes more and more stupid.
I knew people who suffered dreadfully at the hands of Japanese soldiers in WW2. One had a face that, when viewed from the front, was a perfect curve courtesy of a Japanese rifle butt. These things offend me greatly, but I don’t hold them against any Japanese person that I meet, any more than I hold prison camp atrocities against any Germans I encounter.
Bad taste means no harm and black humour helps get people through their dark days. We all get upset at times and bloody livid at others, but it only harms us when we do. Let it go by and live for the future with a little more tolerance. If we have that, then we might avoid getting into the very situations that led to that summer of 1945 and the terrible price paid on those two fateful days that are behind the remarks that started this.
These things are history; if we’re going to learn from them and improve our behaviour that is fine, remember them for that good reason, but to keep up this culture of taking offence is ridiculous. Where does it end? Should I be trying to stop re-runs of Carry on Cleo because it pokes fun at my ancient ancestors as they were enslaved by the Romans?
I hope that these words do not offend, but, quite honestly, I don’t care. They are an opinion and I am as entitled to it as you are to yours. If we don’t agree it doesn’t matter. The world would be a boring place if there was nothing to debate.
Filed under random rants
Not only am I appalled by the comments made by TV pundits, but also by the standard of reporting. Sian Massey is a referee, so why, when busily complaining about the behavior of a pair of pundits does a leading daily have to refer to her as “Girl Ref”. Surely that is just as sexist?
In his playing days I was a big fan of Andy Gray. I can still respect what he did on the pitch, but not what he has said about Sian Massey. Utterly disgraceful.
Filed under random rants
Reading of the desecration of some of my old haunts that is going on in order for the 2012 Olympics to take place (I sold commercial vehicles spares and other things all around that patch back in the 1970s) I was prompted to thoughts of how we could scoop some extra medals from the home event.
Competitive shopping! Once again this weekend the Berkshire Belle and I have been out there scrounging for some nosh in both Cheltenham and Swindon and, as ever, we have had to pick our way through the ranks of those who see the weekly shop as some sort of assault course.
This is not a phenomenon we come across in other countries, so Team GB could be in for some world domination here; we could have different classes for different age groups perhaps. The OAPs hunt in packs, younger folks that can’t shop without the mobile phone clamped to the ear whilst savaging the opposition with their trolleys and so on. And then the men’s class would be for the “I’ll show the other half how it’s done” dash round in record time with points scored for casualties on the way, whilst the lady’s class would be more along the lines of ” can I take so long getting my purse out to pay that everything the next person in line has bought goes past its sell by date”. And there could be a family class for the greatest number of aisles blocked to other shoppers while we all stand and debate.
If nothing else we should be able to win on sheer naked aggression. Every weekend I go into therapy for ankles clipped by countless shopping carts and friction burns from arms that have been shoved across my face to grab something.
And we certainly play it as a body contact sport. The Berkshire Belle and I have mutual grounds for divorce after every trip to the shops on the basis that we’ve had far more physical contact with total strangers that we’ve managed with each other.
If Team GB want a good medal haul at London2012 next year then Competitive Shopping is clearly the way to go.
Filed under fun stuff, random rants, The Joys of Shopping
Sad to hear yesterday of Gerry Rafferty leaving us, but we do have his songs to remember him by.
City to City got me safely home on many a dark night and I wore out three cassette copies before I finally got a car with a CD player. These days it’s on my ipod and is one of the few albums that I look forward to listening to in one go.
Someone who made music that truly touched people and I for one will treasure his songs.
RIP
Filed under Music, obituaries
As 2010 draws to a close I have been looking back at my Jottings over the last 12 months to see what was popular and what wasn’t so much.
The two clear winners for John’s Jottings are the one on Natural Disasters (Acts of God) and Am I a LibDem, both of which have also had a bit of a resurgence in interest lately, albeit that they were both a bit more topical with regard to the general election. If you missed them first time round please click on the links to have a look.
Anyway, thanks for reading these, and other posts around my blogs. I hope that you all have a peaceful and prosperous 2011.
I was sad to read that Ralph Coates had passed on. I can remember him from his Burnley days, but mostly from his time at Tottenham where he was a nifty winger and dangerous in the box to boot. To see him taunting a full back or flashing down the line with that comb over streaming behind him he always seemed to be giving his all and he was one of those players that the other teams always seemed to respect.
Sad news to hear that he has gone, and at no age really, but I doubt that I’m the only one with fond memories of his playing days.
Oh for a time when footballers wore proper shorts and played for pleasure rather than the next endorsement deal.
RIP Ralph, and thanks for the memories.
Filed under obituaries
The Berkshire Belle and I have been together for many years now. Twenty one in fact, if my maths are right, and this for what some who knew us said would be a six week wonder.
Maybe you do try harder the second time around, as it is for us two, but somewhere early on in our time together I decided I would do the twelve days of Christmas backwards. Starting on the 13th December I would produce a card and/or a gift on each day as we ran up the the 25th.
That evolved into a card with a short rhyme (I hesitate to call them poetry) and, apart from one year when things at work were really grim, I was working away and I forgot the 13th (you only have to miss one to screw things up) I’ve done it every year since.
Unless I am going to be away I don’t write them in advance. I’ve tried and it doesn’t work for me. Normally I write them in the half hour before I go to bed and, somehow, something will flow from my heart to my hand, through my pen and onto the card.
Some are nonsense, some are topical (I was always inspired by the calypso), some try to copy the style of something well known and now and again I come up with an epic.
The common thread is that they are written with love. Some come on guys, you don’t have to copy my idea of the 12 days, but why not buy your lady a card that’s blank inside and just write her something to say how much she means to you?
The Voice of the Bloke at the Back 