Durability
Over the years I have gone with Scottish bands above all others. I have an obscure personal connection to Texas. I was a fan of Shuggie and Shout at the apex of their powers. (Who? Work it out) I have been tied to Del Amitri since they wrote and recorded the greatest World Cup song ever. But for quality, creativity, durability and general all round niceness, one stands out; Rock on Deacon Blue.
Explain?
Can someone explain to me why ‘poo’ is more acceptable than the other word for faeces, the one with four letters?
Wally
Watching Rishi read his suicide note my partner asked me why he wasn’t under an umbrella. ‘That,’ I told her, ‘is the fault of a man called Steve McClaren.’
Unified
I’m a boxing watcher, have been all my life, so here’s a prediction. Usyk beats Fury easily on points. One note of caution: if one judge had scored one round differently, ie for Joshua rather than Usyk, AJ would have been won.
Wet Wet Wet
All you music lovers out there, can anyone tell me why incontinence pads are known in the care industry as Kylie sheets? I must say, it’s got me spinning around.
Davey must go
A bad night for the Tories in England for sure, but before the rest get too excited: much is being made of Labour’s win in Blackpool South, but nobody is making anything of the fact that the Labour winner polled around 1500 fewer votes than its candidate in the 2019 general election.
Fact is that angry Tory voters stayed at home or voted for Reform, a fledgling right wing party that may help deliver a massive left wing majority nationally later this year.
For me, the other major losers in Blackpool were the shameless Lib Dems, who actually achieved a negative swing.
Question
Am I the only person in the world who can’t tell Ryan Reynolds and Ryan Gosling apart?
Short memory
Anas Sarwar, the Scottish Labour leader, has declared that the people must decide who leads Scotland.
I had time for the guy until I read that, for there are a couple of gaps in his logic. When his party fulfilled its manifesto promise in 1999 by setting up the Scottish Parliament, the voting system was put in place in the expectation that there would never be a majority administration, and that if by some chance there was it would always be Labour.
In fact ‘the people have decided’ only once, when the SNP won 69 seats out of 129. On every other occasion we have had a minority government, or a deal cobbled together behind closed doors.
And then there’s Anas’s own position. Did the people vote for him? I don’t think so.
Persnickety
I am pedantic, okay, but I am annoyed, genuinely, by the number of journalists who do not know the difference between principle and principal.
Shame
I saw a post on Facebook today by someone I have actually met, someone I like and respected. Why that past tense?
Because the post was a photo of a novel by a celeb that she had received but not read, accompanied by one deprecatory word.
Because the poster has a following the slur attracted, even inspired a flood of similar insults by a motley crew of losers, all of whom I have now blocked.
Please friend, don’t demean yourself. Take it down.
Prophecy or irony?
Out of interest, the neisman-bischoff motor home online marketing includes the phrase ‘Breaking all the rules.’ Could you make that up?
Candy
Now that Rishi has made it illegal to sell tobacco products to anyone born after 2009, without the population rising up en masse to protest against such despotic legislation, is there a case for applying the same principle to wacky baccy and Peruvian marching powder?
Take note, Sir Keir, when your time comes. You could even extend it to Marmite. Who knows, that might make you popular.
Imagine that
Am I the only guy in Europe who saw the PSG goalie give one of the officials, possibly the ref, a smile and a big hug in the tunnel before the game last night?
Sands of time
I might be more interested in Dune 2, but for the fact that I will need to rewatch Dune 1 to find out what it’s all about. But what guarantee is there that I won’t do what I did last time and fall asleep halfway through?
No, they can market it as hard as they like, but that obstacle, coupled with the fact that I don’t actually give one about the mythic journey of Paul Atreides and all those other bozos, will make me pass it by.
That said, I haven’t been sleeping too well lately so ……,
Open secret
Skinner 36 will be called ‘Secrets and Lies’, first format publication, November 7.
Skinner 37? Gimme a break.
‘The Cage’ paperback is due to escape from the warehouse on June 20x
New one
We have a title for the new Skinner, which is nearing completion. Watch this space.
Perpetual
Watching the Masters on telly I continue to be gobsmacked by the utter bullshit of the Rolex ad copy. It’s a watch, that’s all.
HM
This is a terrible thing for a monarchist to admit, but every time I hear someone on radio refer to ‘The King’, still I think of Elvis.
God forbid
‘On the Beach’ holiday travel TV ad. Would you want to be on the same package as that crew?
