Words, they don't come easy.

Words, they're a bit odd aren't they?  I know most of our language us based on a multitude of others, but its only when we really look hard or listen carefully that we appreciate the subtleties in our (and presumably) other languages.  Just changing or adding one letter within a word and the meaning changes completely, or pronouncing something slightly different can alter our understanding.
..but usually we couldn't give a monkey's.
I often recall a conversation with a confused Norwegian who was amazed to find out that 'Outstanding' had three different meanings and it was no wonder they struggled to understand the English (although I have to say that in my experience Norwegians are by and large the best English speakers in Europe), and he had similar difficulties with 'quantum' (used as very small or very large) and 'Showstopper' that could be something great, or a pain in the backside.

What a Joke!

Velcro.  What a rip-off.
Did you laugh?  I did.  It's those sort of jokes that I really wish I could think of.  I was listening to an interview with a stand up comedian this week, and the conversation turned to writing jokes, how and where they do it etc. and it sounded easy but I'm sure it's not.  I guess you need to be a creative sort of person who can start with a blank piece of paper, whereas I'm more of an 'improvement' type who can take an idea and make it better.  ..or at least in my trying hard to be very humble opinion.

Sing if you're...

Are you happy with your lot?  Not an easy question methinks.  'It depends' is probably a suitable answer for me. 
There you have it, not much to say but better than nothing.

Tighten Up.

'Austerity isn't working' is the rallying cry, or at least was, used by more left wing leaning politicians and man in the street unhappy with the George Osbourne had been dealing with the economy.  We now have a new chancellor of the exchequer, and it will be easy for him to distance himself from the past by simply stating 'no more austerity'.  Easy.  Except that the 'Austerity' label was simply that - a label, a convenient tag to attach to anything that would have been unpopular with the voters.  So all Phillip Hammond has to do if find a new catchy phrase to hang his policies on - something like 'anti-austerity package' that will bring over a few left wingers but there again it will upset the other side of the party.  So what to do?  Maybe steer clear of anything linked to the austerity word.  Watch this space.

The Whole Thing

I'm a big fan of Christmas pudding, and no matter how much I have consumed from the starter/first course, I always have room for Christmas pud.  My mother has a similar taste profile, so no doubting where I get the 'I like pudding' gene from.
Evidently, it's almost time to get mixing the sticky mixture so I'll be encouraging my good lady wife to get her mixing bowl out.

A dictionary of 50,000 surnames and their origins have been published so I eagerly read the article proclaiming this hoping to find a link where I could enter mine and get the result.  No such luck, although I could fill in a form for my local library to purchase a copy.  Pretty sure where mine comes from though - it's of Danish origin meaning hole.  Dark and damp, that's me.

Premier Noise.

I'm not a regular football match attender, although I have been to a few games over the years.  My local team (Grimsby Town) was a must go to when I was 16 after I started earning my first real wages.  It involved a 3 mile walk to the train station (unless I could bum a lift from my dad), a fairly short train journey and then a another mile to the ground.  When we got there, we would stand at the back of the Pontoon and  make as much noise as possible, which involved banging the corrugated sheet walls or stamping on the wooden terracing, both included shouting encouragement/abuse as appropriate throughout the game.
..so I was surprised to read that the Premier league have a problem with quiet crowds.  It seems that money, as usual, is the root of this evil.  More season ticket holders mean more fat cats attending which keeps the 'grass roots' fan (i.e. a poor people) out of the grounds who are more likely to be the noisy enthusiastic amongst the crowd.  I'm not sure how they can reverse this, as a full stadium is an owners dream, with or without noise.  Maybe they will have to resort to taped chanting/cheering/booing as used in TV sitcoms.

Ice Ice Baby

'It will be a success of titanic proportions' (or similar).  A very carefully thought out description that Boris Johnson used to describe the Brexit process.  Maybe it was a bit harsh, and not subtle enough, but got the headlines I guess he wanted.
The word titanic has certainly taken on a different meaning since her fateful voyage all those years ago.  Until the iceberg did the damage, titanic was just another adjective but will probably never go back to being just that.  It has a whole new meaning nowadays, and I expect other words associated with disasters yet to happen will suffer the same fate.  Hindenberg springs to mind as another word associated with disaster (albeit geographic not adjective) as is Aberfan and many others, but will we see another titanic-like event?  Not that I want anything to befall anyone, but accidents/incidents do happen.  Will we see a yet to be created huge aeroplane called Gigantic disappear in the Arctic or similar, thereby giving us another disaster of gigantic proportions?

Bit of a blogging break for me now - holidays for a week.

Very Admiral.

There's an intriguing article in today's paper about Admiral insurance using your social media posts to ascertain how big a risk you pose and therefore how much discount you will get on their insurance policies.
Whoever dreamt this up must has been watching too many films or is on some sort of medication.  I can't believe they actually think this is an accurate method to determine someone's driving profile.  Their algorithms are supposed to calculate how many times you 'dither' by using words like 'Maybe' or 'tonight' instead of 'x o'clock'.  What a load of tosh.  Watch out for an increase on Facebook profiles setup with the sole purpose of getting lower insurance premiums.

Sorely Missed

I'm rather relieved that my 31 day Runtober has come to an end - my legs are feeling quite sore and I would struggle to continue, so these folk who have long run streaks (commonly known as streakers) have my admiration.

Runtober

So that's it, a run every day for October at an average of 5.32 miles per day.
Now for No-Run-Vember

Octoberfest

Day 31 at last.  That's 31 days of running a minimum of 4 miles each day.  I'll be finishing off the month with a few miles at lunchtime, so watch this space.

Running Home.

Day 28 today of what is becoming quite a difficult Runtober.  Only 3 days left and the 148 miles to date are taking their toll.  If my memory serves me correctly (and it probably doesn't) I used to be well over 50 miles each week in the '80s, peaking at around 100 miles for a couple of weeks as a marathon approached, so around 36 per week for the last 3 weeks is not really excessive.  This morning's 5.5 miles took me up to the 148, and this matches my previous best month in recent years (July 2014).  This included a marathon in the Outlaw triathlon, so with my self imposed 'at least 4 miles each day' rule I'll top 160 minimum and I'm happy with that.

Reboot Required

I usually listen to the PM program on the way home from work.  It's usually informative and educational, and doesn't take itself too seriously unless the situation requires it.  On more than one occasion I'm listening and thinking that the subject would make an ideal topic to write about here, but more times than not the idea leaves my head completely.  Last night was one of those times, and although I can distinctly remember thinking 'I must remember that one', I can't.  ...although I can remember the actual act of noting it to myself.  Very odd, and just another example of the strange ways the human memory functions.
I might have waxed on about this in a previous episode, but computer memory is very much like human memory.  It needs to store the information, and also needs to know where that information is and that is where the above seems to fall down - I didn't make a note of the memory address.

It Aint Half UKIP

A headline in The Guardian compares the antics of Nigel Farage with a sitcom, and although I didn't read the article, I can just imagine a Farage character in an old fashioned sitcom from the 70s.  Jimmy Perry died a couple of days ago - the co-author of Dads Army and other classics and I'm sure he would have been able to write a good script.

Day 26 of Runtober, just 5 days to go.  I managed to get out first thing this morning and felt reasonably good considering the cumulative effects.  I think the worst day was Monday after a particularly tough cyclocross and a 38 mile bike ride on the Saturday seemed to make my legs feel twice as heavy.
I'm wondering what I can do next.  The 100 day run streak is one target I'd like to reach, but probably never will - there's bound to be a day when a run is very, very difficult to squeeze in without upsetting one's spouse and that would never do.

Old Habits..

I would like to think that the fax was dead, but we just had an incident at my place of work where a legal company insisted on sending a fax because it was more secure.  No matter that the sent fax would appear on a piece of toilet paper that anyone could pick up as they walked by.  It reminds me of when we were phasing out telex and replacing it with fax.  Same thing applied then, and some companies were literally years behind some.
I wonder if telex is still used?

Fuel

Media outlets in India have been accused of stoking up feelings against Pakistan, because they have to fill more and more time with 'news' and therefore invent and exaggerate stories.  This is exactly what happens in the UK, although we don't have a Pakistan to worry about.   We tend to exaggerate anything to do with a celebrity especially if it's relating to a TV program such as X Factor, Bake Off, etc. etc.  Chris Evans is 'Under fire'; Gary Lineker was 'Slated for...' and so we go on filling as much space as possible with meaningless dross.  Luckily war is not imminent with either Chris Evans or Gary Lineker.

The Summit of Achievement

Over at an EU summit, Theresa May has reminded her European chums that the UK is alive and kicking and should be included in all discussions unless it's about the UK leaving, in which case she will wait outside the door.  I made that bit up about the door, but that was the inference.
The UK is in a bit of tricky situation though - we have said we want to leave but are still members, and so far haven't officially told anyone we're leaving.  They can't even pay us off like they would at my company, so there will be plenty of tough talking instead.

Can't Wait!

So Mr Trump is 'keeping us in suspense' over what he thinks about rigged elections, voter fraud etc.  This reminds me of a pal of mine who often ends an argument with 'I'm not saying' when he knows that if he does say, it will be a weak point and be knocked down. 

Meanwhile, in medialand, Tony Blackburn returns to the BBC after his spat earlier on this year regarding his evidence to the Saville enquiry.  Can't remember what it was about, but thought at the time that it was an odd reason to resign, and also odd of the corporation to castigate him.  Anyway, he's back and according to The Mirror the BBC is facing a 'Furious backlash' for not apologising to him.  Hmm, from whom I wonder?  Does anyone really give a monkey's?
Sounds to me like Tony has some good PR people working for him.

Managed to drag myself out for 5.3 miles this morning, thereby ticking off the daily nice and early - 'eating the frog before breakfast' as I like to tell everyone.  Day 20 today, and the daily average is up at 5.12 miles, which is better than expected.  The last day is a week on Monday and I'd like to think I can have a big last week, but will probably fizzle out to the same as normal.

I Can See For Miles and Miles.

'Man, by his very nature is a political animal' - Discuss.  Well, at least let's have a laugh about it.
I think it was Aristotle who said the above, but I don't think he is 100% correct.  It definitely applies to a lot of people, probably the majority but I have come across some that have no interest in the politics of life at all let alone 'real' politics.  On the other hand, I know some people that live and breath politics whatever they are doing.  As usual, I sit on the fence and am only interested in it if I put my mind to it, and then you can't shut me up!

Did my day's run at lunchtime again today - 5.6 miles.  This is 1.6 less than if I did it in the morning, but even though it's further it has always been faster and feels like it takes less effort.  Therefore,  I'm contemplating doing this on a more regular basis rather than the early versions.

Cooling Off Period

A damp, dark morning meant that I didn't run early as planned, although my heart wasn't in it anyway and when I saw that sunshine was forecast for lunchtime, a small adjustment was made to my schedule.
Luckily I brought some clean kit in yesterday so a lunchtime 5 miler is on the cards albeit a bit colder than lately.

This paragraph is penned a couple of hours after the first, and I'm back from my sweaty 5.6 miles.  Started off a bit cool, but soon warmed up so no tracksters required yet.

Streaky

It's quite handy to blame 'rigged elections' when you lose.  If you highlight this well before the actual event, then you can also employ the 'told you so' tactic and you've cracked it!  Well, almost.  Winning the election would be the preferred option I suppose, but then purge the 'rigged' word from your tweeting history.

Running news, and I'm well past halfway in my Runtober escapades.  4 miles early this morning chalked up day 17 and feeling fine so far.  Bit of a sore throat threatening at the weekend but it seems to have subsided now, and maybe that's the only thing that might scupper the 31 day streak yet, but we'll have to see.

Size Is Not Everything.

How big is the universe?  Answers on a postcard please.  Very big is the most likely reply.
..and can you state 'infinite' as being the size?  The big bang theory assumes that the universe started from a big bang, and has been expanding ever since and therefore I don't think it can be infinite at this point in time, or indeed at any time if it is constantly expanding. i.e. if you state it is infinite now, but is expaninding, then it is already bigger by the time I write this and therefore was not infinite a moment ago.  Its all very interesting, but it is mainly guess work, and I doubt that we will ever know.

Meanwhile, Gary Lineker advises the BBC that they can't take Match of The Day for granted.  Too true, in fact why not take it off the TV for a season to e if we miss it?

Food For Thought

There's a bit of a story today about Tesco and one of it's suppliers Unilever.  It appears that Unilever want to increase it's wholesale prices to reflect the increase in it's cost due to the pound being devalued (if I understand it correctly).  Tesco has told them they will not pay any increase, so Uniover have obviously stopped supplying them.  This has led to quite a large number of products not being available in Tescos, and (typically) the press have focused on one of Unilever's big brands - Marmite as a way of grabbing readers attention.
I'm not sure how many brands Unilever have, only that it is one of the biggest (if not the biggest) producer of home products so to use a product which is only bought by half of the population is a bit odd.  Marmite is a marmite type of product i.e. you either like it or you don't.  Anyway, I'm sure they will arrive at some sort of agreement, and now I know why I couldn't purchase a few of my favourite items when I used the Tesco online service last night.

Day 13 of Runtober, and I'm still going strong.  Early start today for my 4 miles to avoid the expected rain, although it would have been OK at lunchtime as it turns out.

Boiling Over

I fulfilled my Runtober requirements yesterday by getting out at lunchtime for just over 5 miles.  Already done today's 4 miles before first light although it was a bit of a struggle getting out at 5:15.

There was an entertaining article in today's Guardian that documented a man's plight as he tried for 11 hrs to get a Wi-Fi connected kettle to boil.  I first read the headline as if he was using Wi-Fi to boil the water, but it was just that the kettle base station would not respond to his commands and took the rest of the day to sort out the technical difficulties.  Pressing the on switch was obviously not an option, but a manual over-ride would seem like a good idea.
I'm not too sure about this home automation stuff.  It would appear to be good use of technology, but actually what would you use it for?  This particular kettle could be switched on by someone talking to it.  Is that a good enough reason to buy it?  I guess disabled folk would benefit from this type of functionality, but everyone else?  Not so sure.

Oranges Are Not The Only Fruit

'Outrage at shrinking orange'.  Outrage?  I doubt it, 'Expected' might be a better adjective to describe people's response to the fact that a Cadbury's chocolate orange, that bastion of the standard Christmas present has become smaller for the same price. 

Running news:  I was in a bit of a quandary this morning when I realised it was raining a bit and had already donned shorts and t-shirt ready to venture out at 5 o'clock.  I had looked at the weather forecast as soon as I woke up and found that rain was not due until about 7, but would be raining at 12 so an early one would be better.  So much for the forecast - I should have looked out of the window.  So, a quick decision was made to reconvene at lunchtime (if it's not raining).  Forecast looks dry, but what do they know?

Tough Guy

It's a pity that the US election will be over by November, it's really entertaining.  One thing you can't accuse Mr Trump of is being boring.  The most interesting thing about this latest latest revelation (that he denigrates and talks about being in a position of power over women) is not that he has said such things, but that no-one is surprised and has not really had a huge adverse affect on his ratings.  I don't know what they says about his supporters, but surely their patience is wearing thin by now.  We've heard a few prominent Republicans calling him to stand down but it does seem to me that his overall support amongst the people that matter on polling day remains strong.

Day 10 of Runtober/Roctober and I've maintained my 4 miles per day minimum target.  It wouldn't matter a jot of course if I didn't meet it, but I have standards you know.
The latest cyclocross on Sunday was quite a gruelling affair with a sharp rain shower adding to the fun just before the race.  This meant that the track became quite sticky in some places and got more slippery as the race progressed resulting in my falling off on the last bend on the last lap but thankfully remounting before anyone overtook and finishing in 36th place, 10th in my age group which seems to be the standard for this year.

Week Success

Well, this isn't something you see very often - 2 entries on one day.

Today marks a full week of Roctober - running every day in October and today therefore is a milestone as such.  I don't think I have ever run 7 days on the trot (ha ha!) although when it is possible I did this in the 80s when I first started running.  I have averaged 5.47 miles per day so far without much fuss, the only issue being my trip over the dog on Wednesday which stayed sore for a day or so.  I have a cyclocross race on Sunday which will make an additional run challenging, so I will need to make a decision on an early or late one to fit it in.

Statement of Fact

Pink Floyd Reunite! is a headline in the Guardian.  Ok, not reunite by playing together, but publishing a statement in support of some women arrested in a boat trying to draw attention to the plight of the Palestinians (or similar).  By a happy coincidence, Pink Floyd have a bumper 'Early years' CD collection out soon.  Good job they happened to issue that statement.

Meanwhile, there are some rumblings around some possible irregularities involving Team Sky and Bradley Wiggins.  Both have had to defend the use of TUE's (Therapeutic Use Exemptions) taken to relieve severe asthma just before major races which he went on to win.  I can accept the arguments why the TUE's were needed under the existing rules, but the whole issue of TUEs really need tightening up.
Basically, is it right that a person with a disability i.e. suffers from asthma is allowed to take something to alleviate it but possibly has other positive side affects, whilst the 'healthy' person is not allowed these positive affects?  Not an easy debate and I'm not sure we will ever get rid of grey areas.

Dog Days.

Day 6 of Roctober, and I ventured out around 6 this morning with the dog who hitherto had been reasonably good company.  However, this morning he decided to hang back after about half a mile, then turned round and headed for home despite some encouragement from me to tag along with me.  Therefore, I had to follow him back in case he wandered off somewhere else and put him back in the utility (where he sleeps).  Very odd for a dog that is so very keen to get out normally, and indeed did appear to be his usual keen self until he got to the half mile mark.  Anyway, I ran up to my normal 'minimum distance' mark, which worked out a bit more than the minimum when I included the earlier false start so he did me a bit of a favour.
Apart from the challenge of getting up a bit earlier than normal every day, this run a day challenge has so far not been too bad.  It will be a week tomorrow, and the only issue is a slight niggle in my right buttock, but I get that now and again even without doing much mileage.

End of Days

It looks like the age of 125 is about as far as we will get, although I have a feeling not many of us will get that far.  Things wear out evidently.  That's not too surprising to hear, and although I'm yet to get to half of that age, when I reached 50 I had a 'half way there' party so I'll have to have another soon.

Falling Leaves

So, day 5 run of roctober (see yesterday's post) did not go so well.  I set of with the dog as in the previous 4 days, but after a couple of miles he emerged from the verge just as I was passing and we collided, he with a few yelps, me rolling onto the floor swearing at him.  A bit of skin off my knee, couple of cut fingers where I tried to break my fall and a bent finger nail.  Not very nice and for a while afterwards I could feel the blood trickling down my knee.  Strangely, it was nowhere to be seen when I finished, but I'm sure it was gushing out earlier.
As I type this, my nail is throbbing a little to remind me of it.  Luckily I will live.

To prove how alive I really am, I managed another 5 miles at lunchtime today.  That's the first time I've ventured out at lunchtime at the current place of work, and I am now sat at my desk feeling a little sweaty.  Hopefully as Autumn kicks in it will cool down and will not be so bad.

Running On.

Day 4 of the run every day in October, or 'Roctober' as I'm calling it.  It makes it sound a bit musical, which it isn't, although I do often get a tune in my head when running and can't shake it off.  This morning's tune was Gravity by Coldplay that infected my head during the 4 miles, and was the last song I listened to last night when doing a bit of woodworking in the shed.
I contemplated entitling it Ructober, but that sounds like a rugby position, and although has a sporting ring to it, Roc rather than Ruc sounds better to me.

Cry Wolf!

It's a sign of the times that initial reports that Kim Kardashian had been robbed, were put in 'speech marks' in more than one reputable on-line news outlet as if it was not true, as if someone had been trying to gain publicity that such an event would bring.  As it was, but mid morning the reports were found to be substantiated and the italics had disappeared.  I don't think reports about this happening to a 'normal' i.e. non-reality star would have been reported in this way but ironically, the later news item carried the news that her publicist had made the announcement, so maybe they were wise to be cautious.

It's day 3 of my 'runeverydayinOctober' challenge (bit of a mouthful and not very catchy I know) and I started the day off with a 4 mile run with the dog.  I needed a torch to see where we were going, and there was a bit of frost on the ground.  My car showed 2 degrees when I set off for work an hour later which explains why my legs were quite red when I had finished.  The dog was soaking wet at the end and looked a bit of a sorry sight, but I think he will be expecting the same again tomorrow morning.

Homely Charms.

Vancouver has imposed a 15% tax on foreign property buyers.  This is to try and cool the rapidly rising house price as locals are gradually being forced out of town.  I'm not sure if this will help long term, but sounds like it's a step in the right direction.  Most big cities are suffering from rampant house price inflation, which has always puzzled me, until I realised that the buyers are generally only buying as an investment, not to buy a home which is where my mindset is.
It brings it home (ha ha!) to me that we usually view events based on our own experiences like this one, thereby often missing the real reasons.  It also reminds me of the 'things are not quite what they seem' that was drummed into me on a management course once.  Fat lot of good that did!

Handout

Aldi, the 'low cost supermarket' have specific items on sale every Thursday (or at least so I am led to believe this happens).  This weeks it's cycling gear, a selection of clothing, tools and gels suitable for the average biking bloke/lass.  I snapped up a pair of winter gloves to see me through the winter, but I'm not sure the other gear was that much of a bargain.
That's the thing about these allegedly low cost outlets.  They purport to be much lower priced than the mainstream supermarkets, then throw in some novelty items not normally found in the high street (e.g. cycling stuff) and trade on their low price name.  Not that I'm saying they were expensive, but it looked to me that the majority of the items on sale could be found elsewhere for the same or lower price and (probably) better quality.  Mind you, my cloves seem to be a bargain so I'm not complaining.

Running Story.

Early start for me this morning as I biked the 37 miles to the office.  The wind was against me so it was not the quickest of rides in to work but I'm expecting a nice tailwind all the way home.
As a reasonably keen cyclist/runner I've made my mind up to join Ron Hill's 'run every day' campaign, which runs (ha ha!) throughout October - so not as bad/arduous as every day.  The great man himself has been running for over 50 years - allegedly every day over varying distances.  I wonder if it really has been every day, I mean I'm going to struggle with doing it for a month, so 50 years?!   Maybe when he got to aged 40 that he blurted out, '40, and I've been running every day since I was 17' (or similar) without actually being able to prove/disprove the statement and the rest just followed on.  Even if it's just the majority of 50 years it's still some achievement, and his tracksters are second to none for running in the Winter months.

Taxing Situation

In a previous life, the company I worked for brought natural gas onto the site via tankers that traversed the North Sea.  It didn't get a mention in the press, but today a tanker full of shale gas is getting headlines as it docks in Scotland.  This originated in the US where shale gas is so abundant they need to find an export market for it.
Surprisingly enough, I'm no expert on fracking and as usual we only hear the extremes of an arguement in the press, making it difficult to arrive at a measured opinion on the practice of fracking.  The Scottish government has banned fracking completely, yet has no problem allowing imports.  Politics eh?

Meanwhile, our cousins in the US were treated to a presidential TV debate between the two loveable candidates.  I'm not sure if these have any influence on the way people might vote, but it manages to keep the political analysts busy at the very least.

Back in the UK, the Labour party were unified for a few minutes on Saturday as Jeremy was re-installed as leader and gave a concillatory speech, but then the normal right versus left squabbles broke out in no time at all.  The shadow chancellor managed to keep things firmly on the left by promising a £10 per hour minimum wage, thereby reinforcing everyone's view of Labour as the party of tax and spend.  I really wish these good socialist policies would work, but it's highly unlikely.

Baited Breath

It's amazing how many clickbait headlines 'leave us speechless'.  In fact, it almost makes me speechless now as I contemplate why the heck I am sometimes drawn into what is obviously a brazen attempt to drag me into paying for some internet advertising.

The Fair Way.

When I was a boy, most seaside resorts in the UK seemed to have an Arnold Palmer Mini-golf course where we, as a family, used to struggle putting around windmill sails, over hump backed bridges and calculate impossible angles that had to be hit to get it round a 90 degree bend to get in the hole.  I think my dada probably hankered over being a golfer, and this was his Lytham St Annes.
I cannot remember seeing Arnold Palmer play golf, but he is supposedly the man who brought back golf into the American public's gaze as he won 7 majors (I think). 
..and sounds like he was a decent bloke.

In other golfing news (not a sport I usually devote much time to), Rory McIlroy manged to net 10 million dollars by winning the Fed-Ex cup.  This seems to be an inordinately large amunt of money for a game of golf, even if it was spread over the season, so I'll be staying away from Fed-Ex when I'm posting anything next, they're obviously too expensive if that can afford that sort of marketing budget.

Weighing It Up.

An Italian lawyer is trying to get compensation for being sat next to a 'person of size' for a 9 hr flight.  He wants his money back plus a bit of compensation.  He says he had to stand for most of the flight so I guess he has some sort of arguement, but the way airlines treat people with who cannot fit into one of their seats is a difficult one.
I can buy the 'pay more if you weigh more' arguements, but even that is not as strightforard as it sounds e.g. how about the short fat bloke versus the tall gangley fellow who weighs the same?  There has to be some sort of measure and I think some airlines insist on the larger passenger buying an additional seat for their lard.  This seems to be reasonable, but I'm not sure it's enforceable without  quantifying it.
Baggage weights are (usually) very strict and if we accept that weight = more expensive due to the cost of fuel then some sort of weighing factor with people should be introduced somewhere.  I spend a long time getting my hold luggage at the correct weight, although getting down to 15 stone (or whatever the threshold should be) might take a bit longer for some people. 
Unfortunately, I cannot see any airline sticking their necks out and demanding that each passenger is weighed before boarding so we will have to put up with it until someone invents a home based scanner app that assesses the passengers mass and calculates the price before they arrive at the airport.

Topping

The Labour leadership vote closed a couple of days ago and we have to wait until Saturday for the result.  I find that a bit odd given that we have some general election results within a hours at most with the remainder easily within 24hrs.  Anyway, at least we don't have to stay up late for this one.

If, as is widely expected, Mr Corbyn retains the leadership we should have some more entertaining rhetoric from his detractors and supporters, and as we get near the next election (a fair way off yet admittedly) it will get very interesting indeed with the 'New Labour' old guard trying to keep the pushy leftists at bay.

Meanwhile, top news on the BBC website is that Mary is staying but Paul will go.  Is this a Peter, Paul and Mary story about their comeback tour?  Now that would be news given that Mary died in 2009, but sadly it's not, it's a Great British Bake Off story.

Futureworld.

'A daft idea is not necessarily art'.  That was one of the messages from last night's Conceptual Art program.  I tend to agree with that but there seems to be many that disagree with my view, and there are countless examples to back that up.  Tracey Emin's bed; Damian Hirst's cow in formaldehyde to name but two.  Sometimes, it seems that the dafter the idea, the more 'artful' it is as it gets hyped up.
I have created hundreds of works of art, just before they went to the rubbish dump.

Some days, I need the weather forecast to be spot on - do I bike in to work on Tuesday? .. or leave it until Thursday?  Such was my quandary last night, knowing that I have my mother to visit on Wednesday (it's her birthday) whilst at the same time keen to get some biking miles in for national cycle month.  Usually, the Met Office provides a very good service; accurate within reason and updated on a regular basis.  However, although the 'Light rain at 07:00' was true, the shower at 06:00 followed by constant drizzly rain until I arrived at work at 7:40 was not mentioned. 
Suffice to say I was wet when I arrived, leaving soggy footprints between my desk and the shower.

Bullet Points.

The sad case of Michael Schumacher keeps reappearing in the press, and this time it's a court case where a German magazine allegedly reported that he can walk a couple steps when it is stated that this is untrue.  I can't really understand why this would need a court to take action, even if it was untrue.  If we had to resort to a court to clear up any misrepresentations in the press we would need more judges I'm sure.

Meanwhile, in the wild west, it seems that there are more guns held by fewer people, thereby making the nutters even more dangerous. 

Political Leanings.

The UKIP party will announce their new leader today after Nigel Farage stops down.  He is remaining as an MEP, because he likes the Europeans so much.  In his closing speech, the main thrust was along the lines of 'I got the job done' and that well worn ridiculous phrase 'we got our country back'.  I guess they will fade away into obscurity now with barely a whimper, not so if Mr Farage was still in charge.

In other political news, Hillary is back on the campaign trail after her recent pneumonia.  It looks like she only took 3 or 4 days off, so let's hope she's back to full fitness otherwise Mr Trump is going to be getting very excited indeed.

The Price Is Right.

It never ceases to amaze me how empty a packet of crisps are when they are opened.  Happily for me, I spotted a multi-pack for 1 English pound after I had turned down the opportunity to purchase 1 bag for 71p.  If I had paid 72p for a few crumbs of deep fried potato flavoured with essence of chicken, then I would not have been impressed.  As it was, I paid just over 16.6p for my bag and I've not got 5 more to complain about for the rest of the week.

A taste test of cheapo supermarket colas reveal that they are nowhere as good as 'the real thing' - Coca Cola.  Mind you, they are a fraction of the price so I'll keep on buying my 2 for 90p tesco version at well less then half price the real thing and put up with the 'watery and weak' liquid.

No News is What??

Mel and Sue will not be going to Channel 4 with the Great British Bake Off next year, with some people suggesting they by refusing to go, they have made 'a stance'.  I figure there's more to it than that, a bit like the time I wasn't invited to a party and decided that 'I didn't want to go anyway!'.  Yeah, right.  An article in The Guardian kindly informs me that social media didn't make much of this affair Mela and Sue, not my non-party) as if this was news in it's own right.  No news is news - that can't be right can it?

Hot Potatoes

There are 10 things I need to know about the latest iPhone software update.  So said a quite prominent headline in today's Guardian.  Well, I had a quick glance at these 10 things I needed to know, and I must say I failed to see why I deeded to know about them.
I should have known better really, it managed to lure me in using a combination of 'popular' (iPhone) and 'easy to digest' (10 things...).  Note to self, don't be fooled again.  I'll put that on my popular list.

In media land, the world has imploded with the news that The Great British Bake Off is moving to Channel 4 because the tight fisted BBC wouldn't go up another 10 million quids.  Cue lots of praise for GBBO, lots of vitriol for the BBC.  Just proves you can't have your cake and eat it.

Rain on me.

Infuriatingly, I thought of a really good subject to blog about yesterday but can't for the life of me remember what it was.  This is not the first time it has happened so should I be worried?

Anyway, something I can talk about is my triathlon at the weekend.  It was the 'Vitruvian', a bit less than a half iron distance at Rutland Water.  The highlight was the rain - lots of it.  It was drizzling a bit when we arrived in the dark at 05:15 and gradually got worse as we set the transition gear up with full on hard rain as we got in the wetsuits.  It didn't let up all day, meaning the bike leg was not very pleasant but made the run a bit easier.  I finished in the top 3rd so not too bad for an old git in my humble, unbiased opinion.

Bad Grammer

Grammar schools are back in the UK, but not without a few caveats to appease the doubters - although they will probably get lost in the midst of time and we'll be back to the old 2 tier system. 
I have no fundamental problem with a 2 tier schooling system, all schools carry out some sort of streaming, but what has worried me since the 80s is the politicalisation of education.  It started with Mrs Thatcher, then Messrs Blair and Brown ramped it up, followed by some others I forget and then Mr Gove under Mr Cameron.  What a motley crew!  We just don't seem to be able to leave the system alone long enough for it to prove/disprove itself.

Meanwhile, the weather forecast for tomorrow is dire, with rain expected all day from very early on.  The early comment is because I'm due to take part in a half iron-distance triathlon that kicks off at 06:25 which means setting up my bike etc. from about 5:30 or so (registration queue pending).  OK, granted I will probably get wet in the swim, but normally gradually dry out on the bike culminating in a sweaty run.  Tomorrow I'll be wet all day, worried about slipping off on my bike and probably feeling wet and cold on the run.  Must remember to pack some nice warm clothes to travel home in.

It's for you....

Read All About It!!  New phone available to buy!
Today's news is all about the new Apple iPhone, and proves that the smartphone is still worth talking about in some journalists's eyes some years after the novelty peaked.  This new model is obviously an improvement on the old one, and would be really worth reporting on if it wasn't.  I don't know if this is right, but methinks the journos are desperate to review it, and therefore have to talk it up for their senior editor to buy one for them.

Sustainable Transport

There's good news for cyclists in Wales, where a new law requires councils to ask the populace where they want cycle lanes etc.  A very commendable idea, but the proof will be in the lane building as they say.

Meanwhile, in the slightly faster world of Formula 1 Bernie Ecclestone and his media chums are selling up for 6.4 billion pounds, not an inconsiderate sum.  You could build a few cycle highways with that I would imagine.  This will but the commercial rights to F1 which has been an extraordinary financial success story.  Whether that is good for the sport is another question, and one that would probably bring a resounding 'no' from most others in the F1 world.  Very few sports seem to be able to balance commercial demands against all the others, with commercial always coming out on top.

Angry Birds

How do you handle unruly children?  Answers on a postcard please.
An article states that there has been a rise in anger management courses amongst the parenting classes - thereby assuming that children are getting more difficult to handle and sending their parents up the wall.  They attribute this to them being 'bored with real life', but I'm not so sure it's that straightforward.  Children have always been unruly in the eyes of their parents, so I reckon it's more to do with parents being unable to cope, or maybe they are now able to go to anger management classes.  I don't remember there being many of those classes available when my children were growing up.

Flypast.

Wingsuit fliers are wondering why there have been so many deaths this year.  I don't think they will have to look far to find out why - jumping off a mountain and trying to emulate a flying squirrel does not sound like a very safe pastime to me.  Evidently those that have been killed have been 'pushing the envelope'.  Maybe they should have been more attentive rather than sorting out their mail.
I was drawn into viewing a wingsuit flier's video a few weeks ago and I must say it was quite breathtaking, but what struck me is that there appeared to be very little margin for error as they sped past rocky outcrops and skimmed treetops at amazing speeds.
If they want to reduce deaths, they should make it look a little less spectacular, and more difficult.

Deathly Silence

An article in The Guardian reports on a survey of 200 funeral directors who have listed the top music played at funerals.  Evidently church music is gradually going out to be replaced with classics such as 'My Way' - up to 4th spot whilst All Things Bright And Beautiful slips to 7th.
For me, you can't beat a classic church tune such as Abide With Me, but I'm thinking that 'Bridge Over Troubled Waters would suffice at mine.
Mind you, is it that important really?  Apart from the following few hours I don't think anyone will be remembering it for long.

Timely Reminder.

Ticking away the moments that make up a dull day.  So said Roger Waters etc. on Dark Side of the Moon, the first album (remember albums?) that I bought when I finally had a few quid in my back pocket.  To an uneducated person like me, time is very difficult to describe but what strikes me is the absolute power it has.  The well know phrase 'the only 2 sure things in life are death and taxes' ignores the fact that both of these things are only possible thanks to the passage of time, so a more accurate phrase would be 'the only 3 certain things in life are death, taxes and time itself'.

Tyred Out

I had 2 new tyres on my car today - and it feels like I have had a really, really good experience.  Is it just me?  Could be because one of them was almost down to the steel reinforcements, so the relative difference was more than it should have been.  Maybe that's the thing - the relativity.  A bit like someone who gets a new car after a year is not going to as satisfied as someone who gets a new car every 10 years or more.  If that theory is correct, then my next new car is going to be an epic experience!

Dine Around

Frankie and Bennys is, in my mind, a bit of an oddity in the restaurant world.  It purports to be an American diner and there's no denying that the decor and style fit very well with that, but the food..I struggle to find anything good to say about it and if I take the price into account then my opinion cannot be aired here without risking a lawsuit.
Anyway, I read today that they are closing a number of restaurants because of falling sales that they think was due to a new menu.  So why not bring the old menu back? 

Good News

Blimey! Over 3200 comments to a Nigel Farage speech at a Donald Trump convention in the Guardian today.  I guess those 2 combined are worth commenting about.

Any publicity is good publicity they say (see above) and Jeremy Corbyn's team are talking up the recent row with Virgin Trains as a 'Good thing' even though it was a contrived attempt to make the railway system look bad to push home his point.  Drop The Dead Donkey at it's best.

You can keep your hat on...

Wearing the burkini has been outlawed in a few provinces in France, and there were some pictures today of armed police supervising one lady removing hers.  That's one job I would not want to do.  Not only is it such an intrusive thing to do to a person - 'can you take your clothes off please madam', but it seems such a harmless thing to pick on as a way of reducing anti-islamic tensions.  Very odd, but then again I'm not French.

Clouded Opinion

Smart Setup, or just do it?  I'm referring to the installation of network monitor software of course, and has got me thinking about the well known 'if all else fails read the instructions' adage.  The thing is, I like reading the instructions before I do anything, that way I become a geeky 'expert' before whatever it is I'm installing/building is even installed/built.  This does of course lead to some criticisms along the line of 'know it all', but well worth it in my humble know it all opinion.  Therefore, I am reading through the quickstart guides, closely followed by the operating manual.  They'll not catch me out!

All this knowledge might give me a warm smug feeling, but I need to remember that the guys/gals who created it are slightly better educated, which is enough to keep my feet on the ground.

Being a technical minded fellow, I like to think I keep myself up to date with the latest technical trends and market.  I'm not talking about the latest Minecraft version, I mean where the market is leading businesses in the IT world.  Therefore, it is a bit of a shock to hear that one of my 'babies' where I work - the phone system - has been described as 'old fashioned' by our new HR person.  This has got me pondering, is she right?  Have I misread the trend towards unifed communications?  Was I a bit rushed into specifying a PABX based phone system when flexible cloud systems were available?  ..or is she a politically motivated person who is trying to ingratiate herself with the boss at my expense by dissing one of my purchasing decisions?
I like to think it is the latter, but I can see her point.

Principles.

Poor old Jeremy Corbyn, he just can't find anyone in the parliamentary party who supports him, excep Diane Abbott of course.  The latest to drop him is the Scottish Labour leader who thinks that with Mr Corbyn in charge he'll have less chance of being elected.

That's Entertainment...

It looks like we have the truth about Ryan Lochte's non-robbery incident.  It was always looking a bit fishy, and we now know it was to cover up some high jinks - probably based on one of the American Pie movies they had viewed recently.  Just goes to show that real life is quite different to the film.

Meanwhile, on anorthe planet, we have Mr Trump appearing to apologise for soem of the things he has said.  In totally unconnected news, he has a new campaign team that advise him what to say.

The sad news today is that Deal Or No Deal, the tv show hosted by Noel Edmunds is being axed after 11 years.  It will be sorely missed by, er, someone I guess but not me.  It's an odd format for a show, but appears to have been fairly popular or an early evening tv program.  It was watched once in our household, but the tricky complexity of the format (guessing what's in a box) outwitted me and I bever tuned in again.
Luckily, Noel is fronting another couple of new shows.  I'm sure they will be as good.

Sweet Spot

There's something not quite right about the Ryan Lochte incident at the Olympics where he reported that he and his two pals were robbed at gunpoint.  The local police have now ordered that he surrenders his passport whilst investigations are ongoing, and the two he was with have been prevented from leaving the country.  Very odd.

Meanwhile, a long awaited report into what will be done about child obesity (an epidemic according to some) will be published today and the obligatory early leaks seem to indicate that actions include: almost nothing.  I'm not sure what everyone expected, but that's about in line with my own personal expectations.  The so called 'sugar tax' is supposed to beat the confectionery manufacturers up and persuade them into lowering the sugar content in sweets, but all it did was create a few meaningless headlines.  There doesn't seem to be any easy answers to this, but maybe the focus should be on the parents - giving them advice, healthy freebies etc. and could be a more cost effective solution.  Some seem to think that a ban on advertising would fix it, but I'm not convinced on that one.  It didn't stop people smoking did it?  The problem with sweet things is that they are, well... sweet aren't they?

Comment is Free.

The GB Olympic team continue to shine, winning a few more medals on the cycling track, boating and gymnastics.  It feels a bit odd, not being on the losing side, the newspapers must be very annoyed.

Meanwhile, I read that Mr Calvin Harris is the worlds best paid DJ.  Who would think to compile a list for that?  Evidently he drew in about £50 million, down on last year, but I guess he'll get by.

More Olympic news from the Huffington Post which reports that there is 'outrage' over Chris Boardman's comment on TV that Jason Kenny would be asking his partner Laura Trott 'What's for tea'.  I think there should be more outrage that someone would think it fit to report such piffle.

Because Your Worth It.

'Speak with data' is an adage I often use when we need statistics to back something up.  This happened in a climate change debate yesterday, where an Australian climate change denier clashed with the scientist Brian Cox, who proceeded to indeed speak with data and pulled a few graphs out of his back pocket to prove the point that global warming was really happening.  Unfortunately, the opposing guy had seen it all before, and dissed the data as being manipulated by NASA.  Why NASA would want to alter the figures I don't know, but this guy obviously thought it was a good line of argument and probably left the debate feeling as if he had won.
So this brings me back to 'Speak with data' - pretty pointless if its easily dismissed, so maybe should be 'speak with irrefutable data'.

In the Olympics, the data is definitely speaking - GB second in the medal table!  Evidently we have ex-prime minster John Major to thank for this.  I didn't read the article, but it must be a lottery funding article.
So my twenty pounds or so I have invested in the lottery to date have been worth it, but not for me.

Busy Bees

In a previous life, one of my colleagues (I use that term loosely) was the busiest fellow in the company.  We knew that because he told us.
When it finally dawned on us that he was in actual fact only busy because he was telling everyone he was busy, our lives were enriched each time he told us.  Which brings me to the related observation: that if you say something often enough, it eventually becomes fact.  Urban myths are probably the result of some relatively outrageous (or not) story that soon becomes established as 'A Fact', and takes quite some time to unpick and get to the truth.  My young work mate is prone to stating these facts and facts, when they are so obviously one of these urban myths, which (I think) he has picked up from an authoritative source such as his father, Uncle or similar...which brings me to the other observation, that these Facts are given a huge weight when uttered by an older (wiser) person.
Unfortunately, I suffer from a little known condition called 'Sceptical Bollox', which usually kicks in when someone spouts off about something.

Old News

Scientists have been doing some testing on sharks, and have found one that is more than 300 years old.  The testing uses some sort of carbon dating technique which I first heard about when the Turin Shroud was the centre of controversy but the tetsing was destructive in that the tested material was destroyed.  I hope the same fate didn't befall the shark.  A bit like trying to drown a witch where if she drowns she was innocent, but if she lived she was witch.  Well, not quite like that but hopefully you get my drift.
In the news article, other old creatures were mentioned including a 500 year old clam.  I wonder how they found that out?  They asked, but he kept his mouth shut.

Harmless Fun

Poor Mr Trump is getting a great deal of grief over his 2nd amendments comments that have been interpreted as a call to do Mrs Clinton in.  This, the latest in a long list of statements that wind people up does seem to have been blown up a bit too much, although some of the criticism is probably warranted.  Unfortunately, there's enough nutters in the US (other countries are also available) that might think they can take what he says literally and I guess that's the problem with these 'jokes'.  What is a harmless throw away comment to some, is a call to arms for others. 
Still, I'm sure he will calm his rhetoric down eventually.  Or not.

The French government want to fine parents who make their children have a vegan diet, then there's the Guardian reporter who has gone vegan to reduce his impact on the planet.  Bit of conflict of ideas there.

Cakewalk

After my embarrassing fall yesterday, I wanted a smooth, trouble free bike ride home yesterday.  However, after a couple of miles into the stiff breeze I realised fuel levels were low and I felt hungry and tired but what should I do?  I had a single gel in my pocket and full water bottle, but felt like I needed much more than that, so a quick stop to see what cash was in the saddle bag (£3) and I turned off for a slight diversion to the first village shop I came across.  There, I found a billy bargain of 6 x cake type things for 1 pound.  I consumed 2 of these right away and felt so much better.
Note to self:  Keep some long life cakes at work as emergency rations.

Queue Jumper

My occasional cycle into work is sometimes stalled by a rather long wait at some train barriers in the city.  If I time it wrong, it can be up to 10 minutes as I wait for 3 trains to cross.  However, a new  footbridge is now operational, and I took the opportunity to use it this morning when I realised a long wait was on the cards.  There was already a small queue of traffic, so I know it would not be the full 10 minutes, and one train was passing as I arrived but the barriers remained closed when it had passed.  So, I swung across the road in front of a bus in the queue, and unclipped my left hand shoe ready to dismount and walk up the steps.  But wait! My right shoe did not unclip as quickly as I hoped and I unceromoniously rolled over onto my side unable to arrest my fall.  What a dick.  A thoughtful chap descending the footbridge enquired if I was OK, so I assured him it was only my pride that was hurt - didn't look over at the bus.  Actually, I do have a bit of a sore buttock to remind me of the incident, so take more care next time you wally!
I hope I cheered everyone up on the bus.

Boxing Clever.

Another day, another 'story' to fill space in The Mirror.  This one told us about a 60cm ruler ordered by a teacher, but came delivered in a really large box with 24ft of paper!!  Hilarious,  and really, really informative.  They even had a picture of the chap standing over the box with all the packaging as if he had just opened it.  What a load a cobblers.  It transpires that the sender of  the package was a private seller and therefore probably just happened to have this box available, but more pertinent was that the buyer and star of the story was not only a maths teacher but a maths 'entertainer'.  Ah, publicity methinks.  Unfortunately, I clicked on this link via the Microsoft news feed, which probably means that a supercomputer somewhere is busy going though it's consumer favourites' algorithm calculating which other rubbish stories will now populate the news feed.

High Living.

An article in The Mirror (a bastion of honest British journalism and good taste) informs us that Prince William and Kate (a bit too familiar this 'Kate' naming in my opinion) had a few nights in a palatial hotel in France, where suites come in a £3500 or so per night.  There's an accompanying picture of the said hotel, but I can't help but think it looks like the Grand Hotel at Scarborough.  You can stay at The Grand for as little as £18 per night (if t'internet is to be believed) but I guess suites are a bit more than that.

I read that Byron sell upmarket burgers, mainly in London, which is probably why I had never heard of them until they hit the news when some of their employees were nabbed by immigration and deported.  On the face of it, it seems that this was a simple illegal immigration case, but it transpires that Byron's colluded with immigration to fabricate an early morning meeting where the offenders were rounded up and dealt with.  For me, that shows that Byron's is a responsible community minded company, to others, they are a capitalist uncaring employer in cahoots with the fascist immigration thugs.  To make Byron's aware of the depth of feeling, some have demonstrated outside stores, and in some cases have release cockroaches (I think) into the shop.  Don't they know cockroaches have feelings too?

Straight Path

On the face of it, being where you say you are going to be at a specific time sounds quite an easy thing to do, and oif you;re not there, the power fo the mobile phone springs into life to assist as required.  Unfortunately, Lizzie Armitsted was not where she said she was going to be 3 times on the trot, thereby invoking the 3 strikes and you're out poicy when you miss 3 consecutive drugs tests.  The 'you're out' would have meant her missing the Olympics, so she argued the toss over one of the missed tests, won her case and she's back on for Rio.  Unfortnately, this has resulted in a great deal of bad press around 'drugs cheat' etc etc.  It's an old story, and she has had to defend herself on social media with what looks like a heartfelt plea explaining in some detail why it got to where it did, and for people to get off her case.  Don't know if she will be successful, but it seems to be necessary in the social media age.
Personally, it looks like a genuine mis-management case, but I can understand the sceptism and critism such a case brings.  It's just a pity that all the ranting pub talk by the know-it-alls can be seen by everybody.

There's No Place Like Home

One of the Olympic structures - only a temproary pier it has to be said - has collapsed and needs what look like quite a bit of attention to get it ready for next week. I can't help but think that we'll see more of this over the next 3 weeks, although the obligatory 'athletes village not ready' stories are piling up.

Meanwhile, there's focus on the continued decline in home ownership in the UK - the general concesus being that it is a bad thing, but no-one really explains objectively why it is so bad.  True, home ownership allows you to build your castle without bothering anyone else, but surley having someone else worry about all the day to day nitty gritty maintenance stuff is a huge benefit, a bit like hiring a car, only you stay in one place.
The one and only Kirsty Allsop (the go-to girl for home related topics) has stated that the home buying process 'is broken' without explaining why.  Clever girl that Kirsty.

McCockup

So what do you do when someone accidentally takes £1.30 (or thereabouts) from you and you don't know about it until you are 3 miles away?  That's what has just happened to me, and to make it worse, the £1.30 was in the form of a blueberry muffin.
The story is that I ordered by wrap of the day + McFlurry thing from Ronald McDonald, then at the paying window was informed that McFlurry things were not available, so I opted for the muffin at a higher price, money taken, so far so good.  At the next window I was presented with my purchases in the obligatory brown paper bag (brown = eco friendly = good feeling), drove up the road to my favourite layby and hey presto, no muffin.  McAnnoyed.
Not only was I out of pocket, I was cheated out of my second course, and put into a quandary over what to do about the missing item.  That's the second time this week, the first being a stale out of date pain au chocolat (see 2 day ago) which did not get resolved.  So should I call in on the way home or not?  What will they do? Apologise and give me a muffin that I dont want probably.

Papering Over The Cracks.

It seems that you can't offend a group of people who are not defined as anything in particular, or at least that's what IPSO have decreed in the case of Katy Hopkins comparing migrants with cockroaches.  If the migrants were e.g. Syrians than she would have been in hot water, so as long as you generalise you'll be OK.  I guess I'm OK if I call a publicity seeking nobody a publicity seeking nobody.

Meanwhile, in other media news, the '24 - The Northern Daily' (or similar) will stop being printed tomorrow.  It hasn't done too well, lasting 5 weeks as it lined the bottom of bird cages and cat litter trays.  One of my Facebook acquaintances (I refrain from using the word friend) posted an update where they had to resort to a sock when they realised that toilet paper had run out.  This is a direct consequence of the drastic reduction in printer reading matter over the last few years.

Snakes In The Grass

North Korea has accused the South of sending snakes across the border as part of a 'cunning scheme'.  The snakes were obviously trained to keep moving North and not return to the safe haven of South Korea, thereby disrupting life in the idylic world of the Peoples Republic.
..or it could be tosh dreamt up by a paranoid dictator who will grasp at anything to prove 'they are out to get me' such as when the stick insects plagued the harvest recently, it was western forces at work.  Still, keeps us entertained.

I'm not one to moan, but...
Seriously, I'm not.  However, I'm a bit torn over my pain au chocolat that I purchased this morning from the local garage after filling up the car.  The thing is, it was one day out of date and dry, so not the freshly baked offering it purported to be on the wrapper, so it went in the bin.  The thing is, should I go back to the garage and complain?  On the face of it, of course I should, but...
It would mean going out my way, but only slightly; it would delay my journey home, but only slightly; it would (probably) result in them giving me a freshly prepared one that I don't really want.
What a dilemma.

Hurrah! Yowzers! Yahoo!

How comfortable do you need to feel when you go out on your bike?  I'm sure you've asked yourself this many, many times.
This morning, as I left the house dressed in my summer lycra, this question did cross my mind.  Would I be too cold?  was the most important point.  Never mind the pointy seat or hunched over riding position one has to adopt leading (sometimes) to a sore back, would I be warm enough?
As it happens, I was OK even though my jersey was one of my more 'airy' versions with quite a large amount of mesh.  I pondered going back inside for my gilet, but that would have been a bit pointless - this summer after all!  There's a shower or 2 forecast around home time, so I might regret the no gilet option.
Anyway, as it turns out I was comfortable, thanks for asking.

Yahoo has finally be sold - to Verizon, which I think I am correct in saying that it's a big US mobile phone company.  Yahoo has always been a bit of an podd company in that what it did it did well - i.e. a portal into the wworld wide web, but no-one really hung around to look what it was passing through.  I mean, you might think to yourself 'nice doors' as you enter a building, but its not what you went for, it's what is on the other side that matters.  In the UK, BT used to automatically add a 'Yahoo  desktop' when you installed their router software, much to my annoyance, and even now some people still have this as their homepage thinking it's the only option.

They Think It's All Over.

There's a reasonably entertaining article about the 'Stroop Test' in today's Guardian.  You can create this at home and time yourself, but I'm not going to reproduce this here - you will have to buy the paper/look online yourself.  I have never come across this before, but it's quite an interesting insight into the way we work things out - or at least I think it is.

I think it was the BBC that ran a quiz at the weekend about Pokemon stories - True or False?  This listed a number of media stories that purported to be about playing Pokemon, and then exposed the false ones.  I managed to got half correct, but what amused me was how extreme even the true stories were.  Or were they?   - How do you verify a story is really 100 % true or not?  For example, the New Zealand man who has left his job to play Pokemon full time.  I was told about this one last week by one of my colleagues and pondered at the time if it was true, but (according to the BBC) it was false.
..or was it?  I don't suppose we can ever be 100% sure that that sort of story is true, so my score might be slightly better..or worse.

Big Names

The US Republicans have gathered and are proclaiming themselves happy with their nomination in the form of Mr Trump.  He is trying to sell his 'safety will be restored' slogan if he is elected, bit I assume this relies on a wall around the US and booting out anyone who looks a bit suspect, a bit like the airline staff yesterday who told a Muslim gut to get off an aeroplane.
Realistically, he has no chance of achieving his goal if we assume there are probably as many American nutters as there are in the Middle East.  I don't see many Muslims involved in the many school campus shootings.

Meanwhile, poor Michael Caine has had to change his name to his stage name - Michael Caine.  This was news to me given the numbeer of times I have heard 'My name ... is Michael Caine' which has become his catch phrase.  But now we know it wasn't, but is now.  Now we know.  Thank goodness.

Sporting Life

We have a new football manger of the English team and it's Mr Allerdyce.  I'm no expert on English football, or expert at anything actually, but my general impression of this bloke is that he's a bit of a chancer who has winged it with a large number clubs, gets the sack and does the same with the next.  Should fit in well then.

Meanwhile, it looks like Russia has lost it's last chance to go to the Rio Olympics as the court for arbitration on sport (CAS) has ruled against them.  The IAAF said it created a level playing field for competitors, although that failed to explain why Kenya or Somalia have not been banned for very similar offences.

Hot Stuff.

It's been a very hot week.  It peaked around 31 deg C yesterday, just as I was cycling home and had to detour via a shop to invest in a cool drink.  I had put a filled bottle on my bike in the morning, but thought (incorrectly) that it would be reasonably cool in the evening.  Big mistake, it was like drinking luke warm water out of the hot tap.
Today is not much better although it is forecasting to be cooler at 'only' 27 or so.  Whether I can really tell the difference between 27 and 31 I'm not sure but it actually feels hotter at the moment.

Protection.

The 42 condoms per athlete at the Rio games does seem a bit high to me.  I hope they are on a sale or no return basis.  However, it's looking increasingly unlikely that any Russians will be taking up the offer of the 42 condoms as extensive doping cover ups are uncovered.  If the WADA report is accurate (and they say there is more to come) then it's clear to me that they don't have much of a defence.
Interestingly, one of the main Russians whistleblowers who won 2 x London marathons has been ordered to pay back her £377,000 prize money.  I'm not sure that's such a good idea, it will surely be a disincentive to confess (assuming you are one of the winners), and it's only a whistle blowing winner that has the credibility so they might have shut off one form of investigation by doing this.

Sinking Feeling.

On some holiday resorts, you can pay for subterranean trips to get close up and personal with the sea life, or just a glass bottomed boat if you don't want to actually be under the water.  Most of these 'submarine' vessels just have a submerged part where you appear to be under water, but it's actually a normal boat albeit with a transparent hull.  I always shy away from these trips, usually when I see the exorbitant price.
Mind you, the new nuclear submarines being considered to replace the Trident system are a tad more expensive - they will set you back around £31 billion, although that is probably an underestimate, but you would get four of them.  Total operating cost over their 30 year life is estimated at £205 billion.
Needless to say, there is some debate whether this represents value for money.

In the Labour party, Jeremy Corbyn is quite an outspoken anti-nuclear voter so he will bring quite a lot of his fellow MPs to vote against the renewal.  He says he has campaigned for peace all his life, but it is an interesting argument that states that voting for a deterrent is actually voting for peace.  I'm afraid this 'peace' thing is so far away from reality I struggle buy that line of thinking.  Not that I'm for war, far from it, but we have to defend ourselves from all the nutters around the world at any one time, and who's to say what is around the corner?

Sweet Child of Mine

I have 3 children, all of them born before I was 30.  Many of my peers waited a while and are still paying for university fees years after I felt that pain. 
Mind you, none of them waited until they were 72 to father a child like Mick Jagger has.  Admittedly it's not his first, but I figure parents evenings will be difficult for him to get to.  I hope thay have a wheelchair ramp.

Dirty Work

We have a new PM and some of her new cabinet have been named.  The biggest surprise to me is appointing Boris as foreign secretary, which will ruffle a few feathers, but at least it gives him a proper job where he will do or die.

More locally, down my road in fact. I have an intrigueing problem with what are commonly called 'wipes'.  For the last 6 months or so, a number of these wipes have started to appear on the roadside, probably 2 every week or so.  I can't quite remember when it started, but when I'm out on my runs, I dutifully pick them up and fetch them back to the bin - for instabce this morning I picked up 3 which were not there before my hols, so 3 in the last 2 weeks or so.  They are sometimes a bit dirty, sometimes they appear untouched by any grease or grime.
I originally thought they had blown off one of the many tractors that frequent our road (there are 4 houses in 2 miles, so not very populated) and tut tutted that it was a bit careless, but now I have concluded that they are deliberately dumped out of a vehicle window.  I studied the 3 picked up this morning, and one was quite dirty - it looked like mud on it whilst the other 2 were fairly clean.  My good wife thinks there is something sinister involved such as drugs or sex, but I'm not so sure, it's not often you need to wipe away mud before you get down to it.

It's My Party and I'll Cry if I Want To.

The Labour party have finally decreed that Jeremy Corbyn does not need to get the 51 nominations that is a prerequisite for his challengers so we will have a leadership vote that also includes the incumbent My Corbyn.  This is exactly what his challengers didn't want.

My interpretation of the issue is this...
The problem for the Labour parliamentry party (which is generally centre left rather than far left), is that there have been many new members join due to the Ed Milliband £3 'come and join us' plan, and these are generally left wing Corbyn supporters.  Therefore, when the next election comes around, some (probably a large proportion) will not get selected due to the local party selection process and subsequently end their political careers, bringing in new left wing condidates who will lose the election without trying.  This has been brought into sharp focus with a new Tory PM who might call a snap early general election, which is why they have acted like they have over the last few days, trying to get rid of dear old Jeremy.
My prediction (which has been painfully wrong of late) is that Jeremy will win by a huge margin, thereby causing angst amongst all the existing parliamentarians who know they are on their way out and switch to Plan B - new Labour party mode, a bit like the Lib Dems in the 80s.

All Made Up

'Brexit means Brexit' says Mrs May, the new Tory leader and therefore the new Prime Minister.  Only it doesn't mean brexit, because brexit is a made up word and therefore means nothing, or 'mothing' if I was to use the same rules.  There is a tendency to shorten words to help us capture the phrase in one word which probably took off alongside texting as we tried to cram a meaningful conversation into 160 characters.
If you have ever wondered, and I'm sure this often crosses your mind, the 160 character restriction was because the orginal text messages were sent down 'spare' 128K capacity of a digital GSM phone line and the encoding at the time would not allow any more data to be sent.  So now you know.  What has always interested me is that this meant that sending SMS messages cost nothing to send but we were charged substantially more than that.

Our new PM gave a good speech yesterday, sounding quite statesmanlike and concilatory so it will be interesting if she can keep this up over the coming EU politics - and that is going to take up so much of her time.

Holiday Blues

Another week's holiday completed, and unfortunately not much more to come for the year.  We had a pleasant week on the Med in France, but I coudn't help but think I was wasting my time sat on the beach or wandering round the city streets doing the tourinst thing.  It must be to do with 'interest'.
Although I can find most things interesting if I dig into the minutiae, it seemed to be more difficult on this holiday.  I can only stand so much sat on a beach getting hot, and insist on soe form of shade as much as possible.  This holiday we invested in a parasol which (fortunately) fitted corner to corner in the suitcase so we brought it back to languish in the loft for a few years as food for the moths.

Yesterday saw me compete in a standard distance triathlon, beaten into 2nd place in my age group by the usual guy, only this time he wupped me by about 11 minutes.  No chance of gaining that time back, so I need to pick races where he doesn't take part.  Less hassle.

Swimmingly Good.

So I got to do my swim - about a mile in around 35 minutes, so that's about par for me.  It absolutely hammered down with rain just before I got there, but luckily the sun came out and it was a very pleasant half an hour in the cool (but not cold) lake.

I dragged myself out for another early run this morning - only 5 miles though.  I have a week in the South of France from tomorrow where I'll be trying to up my mileage in the sun. The weather looks good for the week so I'l be pleased to get rid of the wet English Summer.

Meanwhile, the political stories keep coming and coming with plot and intrigue in both the Labour and Tory camps.  The latest news is that Boris JOhnson will not stand for the leadership, thereby wrong footing everyone who said he would.  Looks like his pal Michael Gove has put his name forward so it will be interesting who prevails between him and Theresa May.

Lake Likely.

I will refrain from EU talk today.  Not there isn't any, but it's too, well.. political.

An early morning 7 mile run today set me up for the day.  The sun was already fairly high at 5 o'clock, and I felt quite good for most of the distance, despite a pit stop at about the 5 mile mark.  Unfortunately the rain kicked in mid-morning and my planned lake swim after work will be difficult to get motivated for.  'Ah, but you're going to get wet anyway!' I hear you say.  Its true, but it's the transition bit from nice warm, dry clothing into a damp wet suit and walk a 100 yards or so from the changing room into the lake on cold, damp tarmac.  I'm pretty sure I can resolve to do it, but watch this space tomorrow.

European Visits.

The stock market has gained a bit of ground back after yesterday's losses, and the world in general appears to have calmed down a bit as the shock waves from brexit peter out.  I'm sure there will be some more ripples along the way, but hopefully some stability and order will return.
Meanwhile, not so calm in the EU parliament with a gloating Nigel Farage having his day in the limelight.  He might be a dick, but he's stuck to his task well over the years.  I guess his biggest problem now is that he is out of a job - you can't fight for independence when you already have it.  Same goes for the Referendum Party setup some years ago.

On a more personal matter, I managed 1900m of swimming last night.  I chose this over the second half of the England v. Iceland footy match and it looks like I made the right decision.  I have 2 triathlons to get up to speed for - a standard distance in July and half iron distance in September.  I need to get a bit more running in, but next week in France should help with that.  If the sea is warm there's no reason why swimming should suffer either.

Exit Signs.

We now have Regrexit, Brexit + any other made up word that includes 'exit' in our dictionaries as the fallout from the EU vote hots up.  Stock markets appear to have been quite shaken by the result, and even today the pound has gone to a 31 year low against the dollar.  I'm no economist, but that doesn't sound very good to me.

Of more interest to the amateur observer, is the political shenanigans gathering pace.  It looks like we are going to get Boris as PM, albeit until the next election, but any opposition is getting watered down as the shadow cabinet resign or are sacked as Jeremy Corbyn comes under pressure to resign.  He has huge support amongst the unions and ordinary party members so this will amount to nothing in the short term, but probably add another chink to his armour.

There have been some loud mutterings about a second referendum, notably with a petition that was ironically setup by a leave supporter trying to hedge his bets that they would lose by a small margin and try and trigger another vote.  This petition is now endorsed by about 3 million remain supporters much to his annoyance.  Talk of another vote seems to be way out of line - what will they say if it's close again?  'Best of 3!'

However, the biggest debates/arguments/fights are going to be taking place with our erstwhile European friends as we try and strike deals and agreements to replace the existing.  Boris has already indicated that we don't need to invoke 'Article 50' that starts the 2 year exit talks until we have agreements.  This looks to be a bit of shrewd manoeuvring on his part, but not very subtle.  I can't see that going down well across the Channel, but I guess we'll see a lot more of this sort of thing.

Educated Guess

Well, how wrong can you be?  As wrong as I was, clearly.
My predicted big win for the 'inners' was way out, with a significant (although not overwhelming) majority for the leavers.
The political fallout is in full swing with Dave Cameron inevitably falling on his sword.  One commentator thought it was down to uneducated people voting to leave, and educated voting to stay in.  This does nothing to help move us forward, but at least I now know I'm educated.  Thank goodness for that!

Strike Rate.

So, EU voting day has arrived and I popped in early to put a cross in the 'Remain' box.  Either result will produce an avalanche of 'expert comment' by anyone who happens to be passing the TV/Radio studios, most of it will be total rubbish, but I'm more intrigued by how/if the Tory party will regroup as it tries to live with the outcome.  I'm fairly sure that Boris's tactic are partly driven by his personal political ambitions, although he comes across as quite an enthusistic 'outer' with a passionate line of arguements, with the obligatory extreme views dressed up as caring for the UK's future.
Although I'm a remainer, I will not lose too much sleep if the outers get their way.  At least we'll have something to talk about for the next 5 years or so as we gradually extricate ourselves from the clutches of Brussels before realising we should have voted to stay in.

I know there a lot of people in India -  around one and a quarter billion according to latest figures, and according to official figures 2500 of these were killed by lightning strikes in 2014.   A storm earlier this week claimed 57 lives by lightning strikes, most of these being farm workers.  The farmers are now calling for the government to do something to prevent this but I think that the government will find this quite difficult given their record on other crisis such as trying to alleviate poverty, but they do give £4,000 to every victim's family so that's alright then.

Euro 2016

I read that the FA is 'unsettled' by Roy Hodgson's team choice against Slovakia, where England dominated the game but failed to score.  The media decided this was a good excuse to fill countless inches of space decrying his decision, so I'm not too sure if this report is kosher, or just another exercise in manager knocking that we tend to go in for in the UK.  Whatever it is, reast assured that a bad result on Monday will not go unnoticed.

The EU election is tomorrow, so this is the last day the politicians and anyone else with a strong view get to advise us where to put our cross.   In the Guardian, John Barnes wades in with a swipe at Nigel Farage, although most of the population under 45 will never have heard of him (John Barnes, that is).
My own voting whim has swung around a little, starting off as a dedicated Europhile, moving across the border to slightly Eurosceptic, but eventually (as of today) back on the remain side of the fence.
I intend to vote tomorrow, and await the result with interest.  I predict a majority will want to remain, and probably be about a 60/40 split.  But we will see if my total guess turns our correct.

Expertly Done.

I had the misfortune to be listening to the 'pre-match build up' on Radio 5 yesterday evening.  I could have switched it off, but I was busy pulling up ragwort in the field and my radio/phone was tucked in my pocket and difficult to get to.  Or maybe I wanted to listen to an hour of drivvel masquarading as expert analysis.  The bis issue was team selection, not something that worries me normally, but these guys were really losing sleep about the poor decision to lave Mr Rooney out of the team, when (as one listener pointed out) last week they were suggesting that Mr Rooney should be dropped.  In the end, England drew but went through to the knockout stages therefore allowing them to justify their complaints whilst breathing a sigh of releif they would be staying in France for a few more days at our expense.

Politically Biased

As the EU in/out debate hots up (we even get a chance to vote this week!) My Farage accuses Mr Cameron of exploiting the sad death of an MP to his advantage, thereby using the sad death of an MP to his advantage.  That's politics - twisting the same argument for your own gain.
Whether the British public notice or give a jot is probably irrelevant now, but although the outcome is predicted to be close according to the pollsters, I can't help but think that there's enough sensible people who want the status quo - however bad that might appear to be.

World Class.

Miss Great Britain has had her title taken away after an 'encounter' on the TV show Love Island.  Evidently the decision was taken with regret due to it not being in keeping with the position of Miss Great Britain.  I'm not sure what they expected of the girl, but obviously sex on TV was not one of the characteristics they expected of the lovely lass.

Meanwhile, middle distance king Sebastian Coe is getting some bad press about his various dealings within the murky world of athletics administration.  No surprise there, and it will be interesting how he handles the Russian doping issue as Rio Olympics looms large.

Game On!

I'm probably being a bit naive or out of touch with reality, but I did not know what eSports was until I read that Sky is to air the first 24hr eSports channel.  Is it just me?
To enlighten those dinosaurs such as myself, the channel will add' sigificant mainstraeam TV exposure to the fast growing esports ecosystem'.  Ah!  so it's an ecosystem.  For a moment I thought it was some sad losers in their bedrooms.

Unfortunately, I am writing this with the self satisfied smugness of a man who has just spent 5 days in the French Alps cycling over 400 miles and ascending over 6,000m (not all at once you understand), so I can quite nobily say that outdoor sports are a good thing.  I've never been one for what we used to call PC games, but ther again we didn't have an ecosystem, so who knows what might have been?

Read My Lips.

The new(ish) mayor of London, Sadiq Kahn pledged bfore being elected that Londoners 'would not pay a penny more for public transport'.  Unfortunately, he forget to mention that it would only apply to single journeys and all others would go up, probably more than they would have done to pay for the others that have remained the same.  This only serves to highlight the skills of a politician - the ability to say one thing but do the exact oppostire whilst keeping a straight face.  Unfortunately, the more blatant it is, the more we distrust politicians, so should he have made the pledge?  It would be interesting to analyse what impact it had on the voting, but probably impossible to say with any certainty, and the U-turn (or partial u-turn anyway) will be long forgotten when the next election comes round.  Whatever the impact, he should have been a bit more careful with his words.

Picture This.

Poor old Axl Rose (a singer, I think) wants to remove less flattering photographs of himself from the web. At a recent concert, pictures seemed to convey that he was a bit porky, and that is a problem for him - the pictures that is, not the weight 'issue' evidently.
I think we all sympathise with him a bit, although most of my embarrassing photographs were on slides my dad took when I was a hairy teenager so I think I'm safe whilst they are in my mother's custody.

In cycling news, a human rights group has urged the UCI to ban any Bahraini cycling teams taking part in UCI events.  This would scupper the planned formation of a Bahraini team run by Crown Prince Someoneorther (can't remember who) who has allegedly performed torture, rounding up of slightly naughty people etc.  I can;t see the UCI doing anything, but I suppose it garners a few headlines for the human rights people so that's not a bad thing.  If the UCI banned teams with dodgy owners/sponsors I don't think there would be many teams left.

Kitted up

I have a few days cycling in France starting on Friday.  Not that this is very noteworthy, but this trip has highlighted a few things that I am finding difficult to 'control', specifically my aim to take a bike in excellent condition and the quality of the components thereon.  I have replaced the chain, tyres and brake pads, and I have successfully resisted the temptation to install a new rear mech.  I am only going for 5 days, so why am I spending money/time swapping kit I probably don't need to?

Sugar Me.

Some commentators are taking celebrities to task for only endorsing high sugar, low nutrient foods.  There must be exceptions, but there is really no surprise that this happens, and just like the proverbial chicken and egg, which oen came first?  Was the high sugar content drink unpopular until Beyonce put her name to it?  ..or did it become popular when she endorsed it?  Surely the highest profile celebs will only go with the highest paying brands, which must be already popular to be able to afford these people.  Therefore, my scientific conclusion is that it is an unfair complaint ot aim at the celebrities (which is, for me, a rare favourable review of these folk).

Deep in the Woods..

They have found that poor lad in Japan who was left in a forest as a punishment - a sort of extreme naughty step - after 6 days.  The media have printed/displayed pictures of a cheeky lad making strange hand gestures that probably mena something to the Japanese, but just make him look more cheeky, hence making it easier for his parents to justify his long naughty step episode.  Cries of 'he looks like he deserved it' can be heard in every home.  The Mirror helpfully told us it was a 'bear forest' just to make us feel better.

In EU news, David Cameron braved a live audience to debate the very interesting in/out arguements.  A student declared that she '..knows waffling when I hear it'.  You cant beat a bit of stating the obvious, but she will eventually realsie that this is politics where waffling, obfuscation, mis-truths and bull$hit is the norm.

Money. It's a gas.

I read that someone is trying to live a year without spending anything - nothing except food and bills.  I suspect that 'bills' can include quite a lot of items, but good luck to her as she seeks out new things to do that don't cost anything.  She is 6 months into the experiment, and the most notable thing is that she has given up trying to do what she used to do for free i.e. blag tickets etc.  I wouldn't have thought of doing that, and she has realised its probably a pointless, and frustrating job.  I wonder if it could be done by a more rural dweller instead of a Londoner.

Marshmallows.  Have you ever cooked them?  I haven't, and until I read about the technique in The Guardian I have never contemplated it.  Odd that, how I often muse over how I could rustle up some foodstuffs, but I can honestly say that cooking/baking (?) a marshmallow has never crossed my mind.

Life's a Gas.

The Guardian have written an article about how leaving the EU will affect gas prices.  The leading photograph is an electricity meter, so either the picture editor selected the wrong picture, or the change will be quite significant.

Meanwhile, club goers have taken to using a 'Dance drug', which in actual fact if you read the small print is ecstacy, so I could do with a bit of that.  My dancing is pretty awful.

In Australia, an MP has admitted to eating an elephant he shot in Zimbabwe.  The whole elephant?  Wow.

Cleaning Up.

I learnt today that there is a Public Toilet Association.  Public toilets are gradualy disappearing across the UK, and a spokeman for the aforementioned association condemned councils who are don't have a legal obligation to provide public conveniences and therefore often take the brunt of spending cuts.

Fat Chance.

Fish and chips is a traditional meal in the UK, where the fish is dipped in a batter mix and immersed in very hot fat.  The outcome is one very tasty, healthy fish encased in crunchy, unhealthy batter.
My problem is that when I partake of this meal (like last night) I always eat the whole thing, batter and all, and subsequently feel bloated and generally ill as my stomach tries to break down the excessive fat that has been absorbed.  I know this will happen before I start eating, bit do nothing about it.  If I were a bit smarter, I would focus on the fleshy fish part and minimise my batter intake.
..but I'm not very smart, a bit like the greedy Labrador that eats anything.

Because of the above, I felt I should bike into the office this morning, so I did. 36.3 miles starting around 05:15 and no adverse reactions to last night's fish.  Hopefully I'll make it home.

Last Words

There's a sad story about a hiker whose body was found a couple of years after going missing whilst walking the Appalachian trail.  The hiker - a woman in her 60s had got lost and was found in a tent some way off the official walk. What makes it more poignant is that she kept a diary of what she was doing, and her last entry asked that when she was found to call her daughter and husband.
If we are learn anything about this, it's to always carry a notepad and paper.  If I'm ever in that awful situation, I would write loads to get it off my chest.  A bit like this blog really, except as I munch on a chelsea bun I have almost no chance of dying of starvation for the next few days at least.

Clash. Should I stay....

Meanwhile, the stay or leave debate (in the EU) continues at pace.  Every statement that either sides makes is immediately shouted down by the opposing side, thereby turning the whole discussion into a shouting match.
Fortunately (maybe) neither side can see into the future, so we are bombarded by predictions, carefully engineered to appeal to the inner worrier in all of us.  There's no doubt that the 'fear factor' aspect is the primary tool being deployed to persuade us either way, with house prices, extended recession, additional tax etc. being touted as reasons to stay/go (delete as appropriate).

Long Knives

If a business fails, who is to blame?  I'm sure there are numerous answers to that, but surely the buck stops at the CEO.  There might be financial mis-management, operational inefficiencies or poor sales, and (I guess) a combination of all three, so to hear that a business in a bit of a downturn has sacked the CFO is a bit odd.

Tit for Tat

Swallows and Amazons has a character called Titty, but not in the new BBC adaption, where Titty is now Tatty.  The family of the lady who inspired the author to create Titty are 'furious' according to the Guardian.  I doubt they would use that particular adjective, but it could have been worse, they could have called her Totty.