Monthly Archives: February 2012
‘Twas a wonderful craft, she was rigged fore and aft
First up, it’s clear that Malcolm has had issues with Slugger O’Toole (or, to be more precise with Pete Baker thereof). But, then, if you invite people to be offended, what d’ye expect? Take that as your starting point, and … Continue reading
Filed under bigotry, blogging, culture, Dublin, folk music, Ireland, London, Northern Ireland, Northern Irish politics, pubs, Slugger O'Toole
The female of the species …
Just a quickie, says Malcolm. 1. A clip from the BBC website: 2. Mr Kipling, around 1911, made some exceedingly fine precedents: WHEN the Himalayan peasant meets the he-bear in his pride, He shouts to scare the monster, who will … Continue reading
Asymmetry?
“Liberty” is proportional. A small advance in Syria may be something we may devoutly wish. One in England may be something we can deliver. Malcolm had to note an unhappy parallax view: Rebecca McClennand’s The NS Interview: Don McCullin, photojournalist Sub-title: “Images … Continue reading
Filed under BBC, Britain, censorship, education, Goya, Guardian, History, Sunday Times, Tories.
Hoo, Wat(ford), Ware, Wen …
There’s been some sort of verbal meme running through Redfellow Hovel in recent days. Blame it on Sixpenny Handley, where one of the quality papers was recommending a tasty house for sale. The address alone must add to the price. … Continue reading
Filed under blogging, Britain, Daily Telegraph, East Anglia, fiction, History, Law, leisure travel, Literature, Music, Norfolk, reading, Rugby
A4e and the Eye
The BBC is anodyne: Four people have been arrested on suspicion of fraud at government contractor A4e, police have confirmed. The former staff – women aged 28 and 49 and two men, aged 35 and 41 – were held last … Continue reading
Filed under Britain, broken society, crime, Daily Mail, David Cameron, Law, policing, Private Eye
Yeats reprised and ignorance recognised
As he has mentioned previously, Malcolm’s “other” bedside book is John Stubbs’s Reprobates: The Cavaliers of the English Civil War. Boy! Is this a good ‘un! A Malcolmian aside One of the best (in all senses) reviews of Stubbs was that … Continue reading
Filed under Britain, Dublin, Dublin., education, High School, History, Literature, Quotations, reading, Trinity College Dublin, WB Yeats
Here come the rantin’ lads
Anyone looking for the shorthand of this post should refer to Doubting Thomas‘s comment on the earlier post, below. For those who prefer the scenic route … It’s Topic 12ts297 all the way from 1976. If you’ve got an original, … Continue reading
Filed under air travel., BBC, Britain, Conservative Party policy., culture, democracy, economy, Europe, folk music, health, London, politics, Tories.
‘A contented proletariat should be one of the first objects of enlightened Conservative policy’
That’s F.E.Smith, writing on Unionist Policy in 1913. On which basis, the present ConDem policy is damned, and double damned. Quite why Smith (left, the Spy caricature) came to Malcolm’s mind is inexplicable. It must have been a combination of … Continue reading
Another reason why privatisation was such a wet idea
Malcolm lives in a desert — official! Well, not quite, but there’s this: The south-east of England is officially in a state of drought, the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) has announced. The announcement came as Environment … Continue reading
Filed under BBC, Britain, broken society, Conservative Party policy., economy, Literature, London, politics, reading, Tories., Wales
And so it goes …
Not Slaughterhouse Five (1969), nor even Billy Joel in 1989 (or should that be 1983?). Both are worth a revisit, but we’ve only time for the one: Never let it be said that Malcolm Redfellow’s Home Service is not a … Continue reading
Filed under bigotry, Billy Joel, blogging, Literature, Music, Northern Ireland, Slugger O'Toole
