We offer the Greyhares antidote to Royal Wedding post euphoria syndrome. Twice-married Neil Taylor asks, "What's the point of marriage?" Would you ever seriously consider advising someone you cared for to get married? Your own children, for example? Or Ed Miliband? The most recent report from the Office for National Statistics reveals that there were fewer…
Fatuous dances
I often ponder over ‘bests’. My best soup was a lobster bisque at the Albannach in Lochinver; best prawns (with mayonnaise) at a water-front restaurant at Honfleur in Normandy. I have also been doing ‘bests’ in the ‘most-fatuous-dance’ category and until recently the holder was a moustachioed man in Vienna. He, like my wife and…
Watching the white wheat
Last week I received an unexpected email. "Dear Joe, I've recorded one of the Welsh folk songs that I've been singing recently. You can hear it via the link below..." I listened, and what a treat it was. Not just because of the beauty of the singer's unaccompanied voice (click here to listen to Bugeilio'r gwenith gwyn first…
Why bother?
As I was leaving a neighbour's house last week something sharp scratched my knuckle. The culprit was the head of screw. For such a commonplace thing, the humble screw comes in a rich variety of forms - length, width, head shape, drive form (slotted, Philips, Torx), thread geometry and in the material from which it…
Vanity fare
I was sitting in the underground reading a newspaper and minding my own business. It was rush hour with many passengers standing, leaving those seated in that strange, and somewhat childlike position of being in an underworld surrounded by anonymous legs, backpacks, handbags or perhaps an overgenerous coat. Identifying to whom they belonged was out…
An unsettling holiday
Three weeks ago I lost the use of a word. Ask me how I felt about my recent holiday in Rajasthan [see Magic Carpet, greyhares blog, 22nd Jan, 2011] and out would come ‘fascinating’, ‘spellbinding’, ‘enriching’, ‘educative’; but ‘enjoyable’ – no! The problem was that any feelings I had of enjoyment had been drowned by those…
Magic carpet
Every other year we take a special holiday and this time it was to India. The star attraction was a 1,000 mile journey through Rajasthan travelling by rail at night in the "Palace on Wheels" and sightseeing by coach during the day. The sleeper carriages and restaurant cars had been renovated to recreate a velvety…
Keep young and beautiful
How to stay "in" in the media. Vivien Perkins offers an insider view. Most people will be delighted that Miriam O’Reilly has won her case for discrimination on grounds of age against the BBC. Nearly 40 years in the world of film and television leaves me in no doubt that ‘fitting in’ with the plans…