Guardian: Pampered prince puts sun king in shade His lifestyle would seem extravagant to Louis XIV: a team of four valets so that one is always available to lay out and pick up his clothes; a servant to squeeze his toothpaste on to his brush, and another who once held the specimen bottle while he… Continue reading Pampered
Author: Richard Carter
A fat, bearded chap with a Charles Darwin fixation.
Unexpected addition to today's list
Buy Bruce Sprinsgsteen tickets That'll do nicely. Then, just a few hours later... BBC: Moors Murderer Hindley dies The day just gets better and better.
Elizabeth Hurley
Ladies and Gentlemen, to celebrate the new (admittedly sparse) Songs & Poems section of this website, I give you Elizabeth Hurley.
The Origin of the Specious
If there's one thing that irritates me more than Freudian bullshit, it's Freudian bullshit being applied to my hero, Charles Darwin. You can imagine my reaction, therefore, to reading the following in the latest edition of The London Review of Books: 'Any form represented by few individuals,' Darwin wrote in The Origin of Species, 'will,… Continue reading The Origin of the Specious
Crap Joke
I just came up with a crap joke: Q: Why do so many Americans wear T-shirts? A: Because they have a constitutional right to bare arms. Ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha!
Derek Bell
Guardian obituary: Derek Bell Derek Bell, who has died aged 66 following minor surgery, was the harpist—and the only Ulsterman—with the Irish music group, the Chieftains. He was equally renowned as a classical performer. A poetic tribute: Derek Bell won't go to hell: He played the harp far too well.
oops!
BBC: Father's surprise: call-girl daughter An Israeli couple are preparing to divorce after the man summoned a prostitute to his hotel room only to discover she was his daughter. …I won't tell mum if you don't.
Sound
BBC: Liverpool named top musical city Liverpool has been named as Britain's top musical city in a new survey… The city controversially beat its North West rival Manchester - home to a plethora of influential bands - into second place. Controversially!?! No contest, surely (even though, it has to be said, we are forever in… Continue reading Sound
Non Compost Mentis
Thought you might like to see my new compost containers. They were several weeks in the making, but I'm rather suited with them. All they need now is creosoting and something to use for a lid. I have decided that I'm going to become a bit of a compost bore. Postscript: I didn't creosote them… Continue reading Non Compost Mentis
A blight for sore eyes
No, it's not a bucket full of maggots; it's my entire potato crop for 2002. That's 63 spuds in total, with the average size of a kidney bean. Why such a poor crop? Slugs, my friend, slugs. Of course, you realise, this means war. Postscript [04-Oct-02]: They were delicious, by the way. (The potatoes, that… Continue reading A blight for sore eyes