whimsy
Went through London today, and managed to see the statue of John Betjeman at St Pancras
If I hadn’t gone through London I’d have gone through Dilton Marsh, which he wrote a poem about
“Was it worth keeping the Halt open,
We thought as we looked at the sky
Red through the spread of the cedar-tree,
With the evening train gone by?
Yes, we said, for in summer the anglers use it,
Two and sometimes three
Will bring their catches of rods and poles and perches
To Westbury, home for tea.
There isn’t a porter. The platform is made of sleepers.
The guard of the last train puts out the light
And high over lorries and cattle the Halt unwinking
Waits through the Wiltshire night.
O housewife safe in the comprehensive churning
Of the Warminster launderette!
O husband down at the depot with car in car-park!
The Halt is waiting yet.
And when all the horrible roads are finally done for,
And there’s no more petrol left in the world to burn,
Here to the Halt from Salisbury and from Bristol”
Steam trains will return.""
One man’s proverb is another man’s ‘wtf?’
When someone else is screen-sharing, and I’m trying to point them to the right link or button or drop-down on some over-complicated screen, I’m reminded of The Golden Shot
For younger readers, the Golden Shot was a 1970s UK game show involving blindfolds, crossbows and Bob Monkhouse
I was standing just now next to someone who stank of cigarette smoke
I’ve never been a smoker, and I used to hate the smell, but for me it’s now like the smell of madelaines(?) was to Proust
There are days when the notion that exercise is good for you is totally counter-intuitive. This is one of them. ⚽
#TodayILearned that Richard Whittington really was apprenticed to someone called Sir Ivo FitzWaryn and married his daughter Alice
(For the benefit of people who aren’t the UK and/or aren’t pantomime nerds, Dick Whittington is one of the three or four main pantomime stories. It’s based on a 14th Century Mayor of London…but I didn’t realize the FitzWarrens also really existed)
When I’m the first in a one-to-one Teams meeting, and the other person is late, so there’s nothing to do but stare into space….it’s one of the times when I’m at my most relaxed
#OnThisDay in 1930, which was Good Friday, the BBC News Announcer announced, in the evening bulletin, that ‘There is no news’ and then played some music instead
Todays browser wallpaper is pleasantly familiar - I’ve not seen Pulteney Bridge from that angle
This used to be the shop next door to the house I grew up in
Then it was ‘Spire Models’
And now it’s ‘Pi e Ode’
Offering, perhaps, disjointed poems about pastry products 📷
Achievemt unlocked. Wetherspoons breakfast and Toby Carvery, on the same day
If you keep believing your dreams can come true
