The Economic Voice points me to this article from the Beeb: Villagers in Solva in Pembrokeshire are enjoying a Merry Christmas, though not quite as merry as their slightly eccentric benefactor may have envisaged. Margaret Allan left the seaside community about £400,000 in her will, as a thank you for the welcome she received when [...]
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However it actually happened, Merry Christmas to all readers who visit here or who view in RSS. Whatever your religion or viewpoint, may tomorrow be a day of fun and relaxation. See you on Boxing Day although there is a post in the afternoon and a musical post coming up tomorrow evening.
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WARNING, ALL: Argumentative post below. Nicer post follows later. There are a lot of galaxies. At the end of the Hubble Deep Field ultimate shot, there was a swirl of many galaxies. Now you either believe that none of them support life anywhere within any solar system or you believe it possible. You might like [...]
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And thus we come to the denouement: O Holy Night “O Holy Night” (“Cantique de Noël”) is a well-known Christmas carol composed by Adolphe Adam in 1847 to the French poem “Minuit, chrétiens” (Midnight, Christians) by Placide Cappeau (1808–1877), a wine merchant and poet, who had been asked by a parish priest to write a [...]
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Poor Karl Denninger. One of the most respected economic analysts [and if you need proof of that, visit the better bloggers round the sphere, especially the economic bloggers and he is usually in their links somewhere], poor Karl. He is succumbing, as even the lesser amongst us have done, to the temptation to rail against [...]
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Given this blog’s past posts on women leaders such as the Hewlett Packard pair Fiorina and Dunn and on the appalling women in the Labour leadership [it needs no comment from me], it might surprise that I was hoping Tsipi Livni would be Israeli PM. She seemed to be the one to lead Israel in [...]
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As your not-so-humble correspondent is currenty on the antibiotics and daren’t touch the vino, I’ll have to blog on it instead. My favourite drop is a good Chateau neuf du Pape. You can keep your watery vintages and delicate flavours – I need a fruity wine which hits you around the head and fills every [...]
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Noël est-il pour vous une fête religieuse ? oui 70.26% non 29.74% Well, that’s pretty encouraging, isn’t it? The vast majority of Figaro respondents see Christmas as religious. Time then to run this evening’s carol:
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Filed under: History & Culture, Music, Society & human issues
In casting the mind right back to our childhood, the main error is the suggested memory – something someone – your mum, your aunt – reminded you happened and then genuine memories where no one perhaps observed you but you certainly remember it. So, the question again: “How far back can you genuinely remember? What [...]
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Tiberius Gracchus, worthy historian and all round good guy, wrote, on the post about The Admissibility of Evidence: James legal evidence is not the same as historical evidence. After my expostulation “rubbish”, I then presented an article explaining why this was so. In a nutshell, this is precisely the three card trick that the dark [...]
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Well, all right, we do have snow outside for the second time but it’s nothing like the deep, rich, lush stuff that you all have around Britain and as for the U.S. Eastern Seaboard, that sounds particularly good. Yesterday, at our shop, a woman came out and said to some boys who were preparing to [...]
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Sorry to go on about it but I feel strongly on this matter. First of all, something pleasant – here’s a BBC Vid of Mike Perham’s return to his family, just as it will be for the others. Now to the appalling situation of Laura Dekker arrested on St Maarten and sent back into custody [...]
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Filed under: Leisure, travel & sport, Politics & economics
Let’s settle this argument for once and for all, with Liverpool’s figures. As was pointed out by Mark Wadsworth: It may be the shortest day, but interestingly enough, not the earliest sunset (that was a few days ago). The latest sunrise is yet to come (in a few days’ time). It’s called ‘precession’ or something. [...]
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Jessica wrote: We didn’t exactly get anywhere today with very little wind. This morning was misty and overcast again, but this afternoon has been pretty special with a really thick fog closing in. It feels like there’s a great big grey moist blanket draped over the world and just before it got dark the fog [...]
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Some credit Charles Wesley with the words, some don’t. The music is by Felice de Giardini, in The Collection of Psalm and Hymn Tunes Sung at the Chapel of the Lock Hospital, 1769. De Giardini wrote the music specifically for this Italian hymn. The strength is in the tune and in the powerful words:
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Filed under: History & Culture, Music, Society & human issues
Female drivers take an average of 20 seconds longer to park their cars but are still less likely to end up in the middle of the bay, the research suggests. As part of the test 65 people were asked to park an Audi A6 family saloon in a standard-sized parking space.
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Here’s another: An 11-year-old girl from Middleton is giving away more than 100 presents to kids in need this Christmas. Some of the presents she bought herself, and many are her old toys. Ally McCreary started her own Great Christmas Giveaway in 2007 and the tradition has expanded to reach more children each year. Last [...]
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The lone sailor herself:
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A lady named Mariam left a comment on the Knox post – the full comment can be found there. I’m playing the Knox aspect down because that issue is all argued out but something Mariam wrote struck a chord with me: I have been in the legal profession for 15 years and what surprises me [...]
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Let’s face it, powerboats can outrun sailboats in flat seas. That much is a given. However, you might be surprised to learn that they can’t do this in round the world voyages – the sailboat is the master of the seas, as the jet is the master of the skies.
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What gives with these girls? There’s this mania to go to sea and let’s face it – I’d rather they were out there than in the unhealthy environment back on shore. Maybe they see it that way too. Anyway, while Jessica Watson continues to make progress [report below], Laura [remember her?] has run away from [...]
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When I was a kid, I didn’t like this hymn/carol/poem but then again, I also didn’t like brussel sprouts and salad. Wiki says: In 2008 Harold Darke‘s setting was named the best Christmas carol in a poll of some of the world’s leading choirmasters and choral experts. The version above is instrumental and so the [...]
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Winter Solstice today. My favourite day of the year and deeply depressing that it is almost over and the days will get longer after the 23rd. Blogging really comes under the hammer during this pre-Christmas rush, doesn’t it? Everyone’s out and about, queues are long at the tills but the spirit is good. I did [...]
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Filed under: Politics & economics, Society & human issues
You don’t expect honesty from the Fed and you don’t expect the Washington Post to print the truth. So this comes as a surprise: Foreclosures already pocked Chicago’s poorer neighborhoods but the downtown still was booming as the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago convened its annual conference in May 2007. The keynote speaker, Federal Reserve [...]
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Shock is probably the right word. You folk out there with television have probably seen this many times over but I hadn’t until today. The Aston Martin Cygnet:
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Well done to these three gentlemen, none with a website to link to from here but with plenty of thoughts on various matters. Gents, you may do as you will with the above badge of distinction.
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Never trust a stockbroker who’s married to a travel agent.
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This is the first of the Christmas offerings from Sunday evening through to next Saturday evening and if you haven’t heard it before [assuming you've been living on the planet Zog], then it is one of the most powerful attestations to the power of G-d you could wish for. Imagine yourself in a cathedral, with [...]
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Following on from Most Loved Brits, comes this treat – Most Loved Americans. Enjoy and revere:
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Click pic
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Don't forget these either:
Helpforheroes
Afghan Heroes
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