They had a burglar alarm installed which, instead of making a noise, filled the restaurant (and the flats above) with smoke thick enough to set off the fire alarms for an hour.
Ask me how I know.
Ask me how I know.
January 7, 2026 at 7:55 PM
They had a burglar alarm installed which, instead of making a noise, filled the restaurant (and the flats above) with smoke thick enough to set off the fire alarms for an hour.
Ask me how I know.
Ask me how I know.
Personally, I’ll assume it’s a musical about a secret affair between Gerry Anderson and Brian Sewell, and only hard evidence will shake me away from it.
January 6, 2026 at 11:18 AM
Personally, I’ll assume it’s a musical about a secret affair between Gerry Anderson and Brian Sewell, and only hard evidence will shake me away from it.
“That porridge tasted funny…”
January 5, 2026 at 8:30 PM
“That porridge tasted funny…”
Yeah, I need a haircut, too.
January 4, 2026 at 8:54 PM
Yeah, I need a haircut, too.
It seems quite strange to draw attention to something with the phrase “nothing to see here “.
January 3, 2026 at 7:59 PM
It seems quite strange to draw attention to something with the phrase “nothing to see here “.
But putting wheels on people without taking deliberate steps to reduce the randomness, the chaos or the somnolence is a recipe for something bad.
Anyway, rant over. We're all pressure-cookers of angry miasma these days, aren't we?
Anyway, rant over. We're all pressure-cookers of angry miasma these days, aren't we?
January 3, 2026 at 5:32 PM
But putting wheels on people without taking deliberate steps to reduce the randomness, the chaos or the somnolence is a recipe for something bad.
Anyway, rant over. We're all pressure-cookers of angry miasma these days, aren't we?
Anyway, rant over. We're all pressure-cookers of angry miasma these days, aren't we?
And yes, those of us without any kind of wheels who just wander around, are random, chaotic and usually asleep. But soft and relatively slow-moving, not so much of a threat to anyone.
January 3, 2026 at 5:32 PM
And yes, those of us without any kind of wheels who just wander around, are random, chaotic and usually asleep. But soft and relatively slow-moving, not so much of a threat to anyone.
The other side of unskilled-and-unaware is the extent to which individuals don't seem to doubt their own ability. A cyclist who comments often describes themself as "careful and considerate". Which seems complacent. Everyone thinks they're the good one, and everyone else is the problem.
January 3, 2026 at 5:32 PM
The other side of unskilled-and-unaware is the extent to which individuals don't seem to doubt their own ability. A cyclist who comments often describes themself as "careful and considerate". Which seems complacent. Everyone thinks they're the good one, and everyone else is the problem.
Or the chap zipping down the road the other day who almost went over a car's bonnet and couldn't stop because he had his hands in his pockets.
Or those who, frustrated by a red light, hop up on the pavement and speed through the people on the pedestrian crossing.
Or those who, frustrated by a red light, hop up on the pavement and speed through the people on the pedestrian crossing.
January 3, 2026 at 5:32 PM
Or the chap zipping down the road the other day who almost went over a car's bonnet and couldn't stop because he had his hands in his pockets.
Or those who, frustrated by a red light, hop up on the pavement and speed through the people on the pedestrian crossing.
Or those who, frustrated by a red light, hop up on the pavement and speed through the people on the pedestrian crossing.
(The "you", there being a theoretical "you" I'm having an imaginary argument with, not you "you".)
It's surprisingly common to find someone riding on the pavement straight toward one at speed, looking down at their phone for directions.
It's surprisingly common to find someone riding on the pavement straight toward one at speed, looking down at their phone for directions.
January 3, 2026 at 5:32 PM
(The "you", there being a theoretical "you" I'm having an imaginary argument with, not you "you".)
It's surprisingly common to find someone riding on the pavement straight toward one at speed, looking down at their phone for directions.
It's surprisingly common to find someone riding on the pavement straight toward one at speed, looking down at their phone for directions.
And there's no way of changing that because they seem to be effectively unregulated. And talking about, perhaps, regulating cycles, is dismissed as anti-cyclist bigotry. So, fine, I'm comfortable with that. I can be anti-cyclist, if you like, because they represent nothing to me other than threat.
January 3, 2026 at 5:32 PM
And there's no way of changing that because they seem to be effectively unregulated. And talking about, perhaps, regulating cycles, is dismissed as anti-cyclist bigotry. So, fine, I'm comfortable with that. I can be anti-cyclist, if you like, because they represent nothing to me other than threat.
There's a narrative that increasing numbers of cyclists is inherently a good thing, but it doesn't seem to be expected that those people in charge of vehicles be trained or competent or informed of the rules of the road or, if you think about it, even sober. Just take one and go!
January 3, 2026 at 5:32 PM
There's a narrative that increasing numbers of cyclists is inherently a good thing, but it doesn't seem to be expected that those people in charge of vehicles be trained or competent or informed of the rules of the road or, if you think about it, even sober. Just take one and go!
Apologies! I think we basically agree about the unskilled-and-unaware-of-it thing. When this thread turns up, as it does from time to time, I have decades of Pressurised Opinion that sometimes vents itself inappropriately.
January 3, 2026 at 5:32 PM
Apologies! I think we basically agree about the unskilled-and-unaware-of-it thing. When this thread turns up, as it does from time to time, I have decades of Pressurised Opinion that sometimes vents itself inappropriately.
If they don't think they can stop it, don't you think they shouldn't be on it in the first place?
January 3, 2026 at 4:11 PM
If they don't think they can stop it, don't you think they shouldn't be on it in the first place?
I can never remember which one you're supposed to feed and which one you're supposed to starve, so I tend to feed everything just in case. Not sure it helps.
January 3, 2026 at 12:21 PM
I can never remember which one you're supposed to feed and which one you're supposed to starve, so I tend to feed everything just in case. Not sure it helps.
But "Narco-terrorism" is just a slogan, isn't it? How can someone be charged with a phrase that was made up because it sounded scary?
January 3, 2026 at 12:20 PM
But "Narco-terrorism" is just a slogan, isn't it? How can someone be charged with a phrase that was made up because it sounded scary?
I'm not watching the programme at all, but morally the problem is there's a very small distance between 98% faithful and 100% unfaithful.
January 2, 2026 at 8:53 PM
I'm not watching the programme at all, but morally the problem is there's a very small distance between 98% faithful and 100% unfaithful.
Both kinds of music - Country *and* Western.
January 1, 2026 at 9:35 PM
Both kinds of music - Country *and* Western.
The problem was, when they came out people tended to ask the question "Is this a Return To Form For Bowie?", and the problem with *that* was the question they were asking was actually "Can I be sixteen again?", and the answer to that question is always no.
January 1, 2026 at 12:41 PM
The problem was, when they came out people tended to ask the question "Is this a Return To Form For Bowie?", and the problem with *that* was the question they were asking was actually "Can I be sixteen again?", and the answer to that question is always no.
The thing with Bowie albums is they're all pretty good, almost. Most of them are a handful of stone cold bangers, a number of nice tunes and maybe a couple of skippables, and that's true of most of them. Some have more bangers and no skippables. And then there's Never Let Me Down.
January 1, 2026 at 12:41 PM
The thing with Bowie albums is they're all pretty good, almost. Most of them are a handful of stone cold bangers, a number of nice tunes and maybe a couple of skippables, and that's true of most of them. Some have more bangers and no skippables. And then there's Never Let Me Down.
I decided a few years ago, that if I ever won the Euromillions I'd buy a lot of tickets to this, smuggle in conspirators and loudly shout "OI!" during the gaps in the Radetsky March.
Do try this at home.
It's the closest thing we have to a tradition.
Do try this at home.
It's the closest thing we have to a tradition.
January 1, 2026 at 12:34 PM
I decided a few years ago, that if I ever won the Euromillions I'd buy a lot of tickets to this, smuggle in conspirators and loudly shout "OI!" during the gaps in the Radetsky March.
Do try this at home.
It's the closest thing we have to a tradition.
Do try this at home.
It's the closest thing we have to a tradition.
As per usual, we're listening to the fireworks through the open window, and watching them on the TV, the perfect compromise between immediacy and comfort.
January 1, 2026 at 12:12 AM
As per usual, we're listening to the fireworks through the open window, and watching them on the TV, the perfect compromise between immediacy and comfort.
I went through an intense period of JL Carr some years ago, including that book (also a film with Kenneth Branagh and Colin Firth). Later books funnier and more eccentric. All still available from Carr's own personal publisher - Quince Tree Press: www.quincetreepress.co.uk/category/novel
Novels | Quince Tree Press
There are eight novels; at one point available through the large publishing companies, they are now all produced in-house with a dedication to creating a quality book.
www.quincetreepress.co.uk
December 31, 2025 at 11:46 AM
I went through an intense period of JL Carr some years ago, including that book (also a film with Kenneth Branagh and Colin Firth). Later books funnier and more eccentric. All still available from Carr's own personal publisher - Quince Tree Press: www.quincetreepress.co.uk/category/novel
Although these days it would be a medium-sized crunch at best, whatever they call it.
Odd that the BBC is trying to scare people about something that would happen billions of years in the future, if at all.
Odd that the BBC is trying to scare people about something that would happen billions of years in the future, if at all.
December 28, 2025 at 9:43 AM
Although these days it would be a medium-sized crunch at best, whatever they call it.
Odd that the BBC is trying to scare people about something that would happen billions of years in the future, if at all.
Odd that the BBC is trying to scare people about something that would happen billions of years in the future, if at all.