Monthly Archives: November 2008

>For those who grieve the passing of a friend

Posted on November 25, 2008 by

>Many of the people I care about are mourning the sudden death of a friend who I didn’t know, but was by all accounts an extraordinary force for hope and good and optimism and cheefulness in his too short life. … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Leave a comment

>Tory talks about return of CAPITAL punishment to schools

Posted on November 23, 2008 by

>I don’t know whether it was the journalist or Tory MSP Alex Johnstone who got this wrong, but I had to laugh when he was quoted in today’s times, calling for the return of the belt to schools, as saying … Continue reading →

Posted in Scottish Conservatives | 4 Comments

>X Factor judges sink to new low

Posted on November 22, 2008 by

>I thought the scenes of bitching and name calling we often see in the House of Commons was the finest example of public juvenile behaviour we had in this country. Not so – tonight the X Factor judges showed that … Continue reading →

Posted in X Factor | 2 Comments

>Duncan Borrowman’s Twittering advertised to wider audience

Posted on November 22, 2008 by

>In case you haven’t seen this on Duncan’s blog, do have a look. What made me laugh most was the line “All well and good if you don’t have a life of your own and like to live vicariously through … Continue reading →

Posted in Duncan Borrowman | Leave a comment

>Mean Viruses and Saturday night entertainment

Posted on November 22, 2008 by

>Just so you know, I haven’t been ignoring you over the last week and a half – I have not been well. Some call it cold turkey after the Glenrothes by-election and have suggested that I head down to Bexley … Continue reading →

Posted in John Sergeant, Strictly Come Dancing, X Factor | Leave a comment

>Of Tax and Jaffa Cakes

Posted on November 11, 2008 by

>I’ll be the first to admit I don’t know a huge amount about taxation. After the speculation yesterday about whether there would be a cut in the rate of VAT, I was idly wondering to my colleague this morning about … Continue reading →

Posted in Jaffa Cakes, VAT | 3 Comments

>X Factor controversy copies Strictly

Posted on November 10, 2008 by

>What is the world coming to when a public vote on a Saturday night entertainment show ends up being discussed in the House of Commons? Tom Harris is even having a strop about it too. Early favourite Laura White was … Continue reading →

Posted in Strictly Come Dancing, Tom Harris, X Factor | 1 Comment

>42 Writers against 42 Days

Posted on November 9, 2008 by

>I’m impressed by the enterprising chap at Liberty who spent his Sunday trawling the internet looking for posts against the Government’s plans for 42 days’ detention to plug this new Liberty site in which writers comment movingly on those plans. … Continue reading →

Posted in 42 Days; Liberty | Leave a comment

>HBOS Staff’s Lavish Edinburgh Weekend

Posted on November 9, 2008 by

>HBOS staff and customers are bound to be outraged by this display of corporate opulence reported in today’s News of the World. Basically HBOS organised an event for its “star performers” which involved using three of the nicest hotels in … Continue reading →

Posted in HBOS; | 1 Comment

>£5000 project to discover benefits of Wii

Posted on November 9, 2008 by

>Now that all the elections are over, there’s now time to report on some of the dafter stories in today’s newspapers. I was particularly amused by this one which tells how a University academic has been given £5000 to determine … Continue reading →

Posted in Obesity; Research funding | 1 Comment