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Late Life Crisis - May 2020

Submitted by Colin on 21 April 2020 - 8:36am

Beginning of May. At times like this it is good to revert to grammar. A columnist reports a text from Ocado that opens: "Dear [      ]. As one of our best customers we have made two slots available to you to book over the next 14 days." That is grammatical nonsense. Read literally, it means that Ocado are one of their own best customers. Ocado is not alone - this is a classic construction from marketeers. How to correct it? Easy: "As you are one of our best customers we have made available.....". Just add two words. Mind you, who is bothered other than pedants like me?

The Virus Crisis and Dad's Army

Submitted by Colin on 19 March 2020 - 8:33am

Some who know me well will know of my love for the antics of the Walmington-on-Sea Home Guard platoon, who valiantly sought to protect the town against the threat of invasion by Nazi hordes. There is a stack of nostalgia here, but also the TV series gave birth to a bunch of finely-drawn characters, in story-lines that pointed up all the foibles of human nature.

Late Life Crisis - April 2020

Submitted by Colin on 13 March 2020 - 4:15pm

.................Thoughts over April in the bunker. Apologies for more items than usual:

 

A Room Where You're Viewed - The Tate and The Court of Appeal

Submitted by Colin on 8 March 2020 - 2:06pm

A disaster for the upmarket inner City dweller. You buy a flat in a striking modern development designed by Richard Rogers' firm. Nearby is the Thames, and around you culture and heritage ooze out of the walls. You are but a stone's throw from Tate Modern, an imaginative reinvention of Bankside Power Station. 

And that is where a neighbours problem started, and ended with a landmark legal ruling in February 2020 in the Court of Appeal - facts below are from the Court's judgment.

Late Life Crisis - March 2020

Submitted by Colin on 27 February 2020 - 8:29am

Here is one of the best recent quips. The Chief Medical Officer tells Boris Johnson that the length of time Johnson spends washing his hands should be twice the length of singing Happy Birthday to his children and Johnson says that that could take a very long time.

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Most of the stuff below was written before the tone of life changed radically during this month, but I will leave be as there has to be life outside Coronavirus.

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