Seriously?
Skechers Slip-ins. Really? Seriously? Why? Shoes for lazy ********.
The Wild West Show
I see that in Scotland we have a Circular Economy Minister. That reminds me of the mythical bird that flew in ever decreasing circles until it disappeared up its own arse. Hopefully that will come to pass.
Utter
I watch golf on Sky. Unfortunately that brings with it a ton of advertising by Rolex. I don’t know who writes the copy but whoever does must have a degree in pretentiousness. Some of it doesn’t even make sense.
Guys, it’s only a watch.
Logone
Lured by the impending end of ‘Succession’, and to fill the space between episodes, I have been revisiting the first season, in which I never quite invested at the outset. If the makers get the ending right it may well go down as an all-time great series, up there with ‘Breaking Bad’, and the sadly neglected ‘Homicide: life on the streets’.
My big fear, though, is that I might turn into Logan Roy.
Off with their heads
This evening I forced myself to watch The Windsors: Coronation Special, because Channel 4 advertised it as comedy. It wasn’t: it was satire. What’s the difference? Cruelty. Comedy is laughing with people. Satire is laughing at them.
Raab
I’m crying quietly into my cereal for those poor people who were bullied by Dominic Raab.
For the record, I spent nearly all of the 1970s in the Civil Service, as a press officer. We worked closely with Ministers, including Willie Ross, who had a fiery reputation but was actually a fine man. I never met one who could have been described even remotely as a bully.
The Civil Service itself, that was another matter. My unit was led by a man who was a bully of the first order. He was not alone. At the top levels there were tales of phones being thrown out of windows. I’m sure things have improved since then, but even now if the benchmark by which Raab was judged was applied across the board within the Service itself, I am sure there would be more than a few heads rolling along Whitehall.
+
Anyone who has Paramount and isn’t watching Rabbit Hole needs to correct that omission. Anyone who doesn’t have it . . . tough.
Graceless
I watch a lot of crime drama on TV. I’m open minded about it and never overly critical. But I have limits. I reached them at the weekend watching the latest episode of Grace. I have read none of the books so I don’t know the extent to which they have been adapted, but there came a point on Sunday when the plot took a completely unexpected turn. I’m not easily surprised. When I am, my usual reaction is, ‘Nice one, well done.’ On Sunday I spoke it out loud. ‘Nah, You’re kidding. You’re having a laugh.’
No spoilers, but was it just me? Or did anyone else find their credulity stretched to breaking point?
Sex and drugs and rock and roll
One of my buddies filled in an on line form recently. He was given a multiple choice of gender, but ‘male’ was not an option. We are now Cisgender Male or Cisgender Female… or not as the case may be. Google the word and you will find yourself in fairyland. You will be told that
‘Cisgender is a gender identity. Cisgender people have a gender identity that aligns with the sex that a doctor assigned them at birth. For example, a male who is cisgender will identify as a man, and a female who is cisgender will identify as a woman.’
Focus on the phrase, ‘the sex that a doctor assigned them at birth‘. That suggests that doctors have a remit that goes way beyond healing the sick.
You know, I reckon it’s time that those of us who are actually normal . . . that would be the majority . . .fought back against the Woke, and restored a feeling of sanity to our society.
There’s nowt as …
The media, and the irrelevance that is John Swinney, are insisting that Kate Forbes has destroyed herself by opening up about her religious views, which are, let’s say, traditionalist. However the media will not have votes in the SNP leadership election, and Swinney will only have one. What does the silent majority believe? We’ll find out when their votes are cast.
He’s back
Finally, after much technical wrangling, Resurrection Man, the complete collection of short stories that chronicle the disappearance of the not so late Oz Blackstone, is available in the Amazon Kindle store.
And Tom is in it too. The precursor to a new series? You never know, I have a hankering to go back to St Marti.
Alexander Armstrong
We have a few stupid laws in Scotland but the worst is the one that won’t let a supermarket sell alcohol until 10am.
I don’t know why. Does anyone else?
The manner of her going
I do not belong to Nicola Sturgeon’s party but my admiration for her as a politician has grown throughout her time in office as First Minister.
That was underlined today by the manner of her resignation announcement. It was eloquent, dignified and above all graceful. When set alongside the departures of recent UK Prime Ministers, the contrast could not be greater.
Love her or hate her she’ll be a hard act to follow.
Tin lid
Very few TV commercials achieve longevity. I reckon that the new Amazon ad will prove to be one of those. Lovely, just lovely
No kidding
I am in the Princess Alexandra Eye Pavilion in Edinburgh. One name on the notice board jumped out at me.
Fabled
Here’s one for Motherwell supporters of my vintage. What would Andy Paton have been like in the modern game?
Quintin Jardine's blog 