A recommended read or two from the Editor
What a splendid thing is the internet – keeping us all in touch with each other as the Coronavirus pandemic continues its progress around the world!
Although out here, bobbing around in the ocean on our mooring off the coast of Tenerife, you’d think we’d find our existence somewhat removed from what is going on it the UK at the moment, in fact quite the opposite is the case.
For the benefit of Rusters everywhere, here are a series of links to articles etc. that I have spotted in the British media over the past 24 hours:
THEN AND NOW
Over the past month or so there has been plenty of chat about reviving the “Keep Calm And Carry On” WW2 Blitz spirit and/or comparing same to the nation’s collective response to the imposition of the current lock-down and its effects.
On the subject of the former, or close to it, here’s a link to a piece by Harry Howard, Lydia Catlin and Kate Dennett on the recent chance ‘discovery’ of some footage of WW2 times at Waddon Hall, an offshoot of the legendary Bletchley Park codebreaking centre, which appears today on the website of the – DAILY MAIL
THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
The two big American news stories of 2020 are the Presidential election contest and of course Coronavirus. It is a entirely natural and instinctive thing to imagine that the two would be linked – at least in the sense that the pandemic gives the incumbent President (if running for re-election) a potential advantage, i.e. a perfect opportunity to demonstrate his or her leadership qualities and thereby gain a popularity advantage, if only on the basis that “the better the devil you know than the one you don’t”.
If the incumbent is up to it, of course. And if the country concerned has its collective head screwed on. Here’s a somewhat strident editorial that seeks to review the catastrophe that has been President Trump’s response to the pandemic crisis, only then to point out that his approval ratings are not just holding up but improving, as appears today upon the website of – THE GUARDIAN
A SHOWBIZ UNSUNG HERO
“What do they all do?” was (and is) a common sneer from many outside the world of the entertainment business – including my own late father who deployed it regularly – as yet another reel of credits at the end of a top light entertainment show rolls by on the family television … the implicit accusation being that the movie and television business is all about 5% of creative luvvies or divas and then a cast of thousands of “hangers-on” with important or improbable-sounding titles who basically do little or nothing but stand around being paid ludicrous sums of money.
In the past week or so we’ve learned of the passings of American country singer Kenny Rogers comedian Eddie Large and singer-songwriter Bill Withers. But here’s a tribute to a recently departed member of a sometimes neglected behind-the-scenes group: writers. [And that description covers novelists, historians, dramatists, screenwriters, sit-com and stand-up comedy gag-penners]. Without the words, there’s nothing for the actors to say or the comedians to perform.
It’s a heartfelt and fulsome piece by comedian Rory Bremner on the gag-writer John Langdon, as appears today upon the website of – THE GUARDIAN
AND NOW FOR SOMETHING COMPLETELY DIFFERENT …
Lastly – and to finish – I couldn’t resist this one. Sometimes, even during a confinement in otherwise comfortable surroundings, things occur which just tickles your funny bone – even if in different times and circumstances they might not be so amusing.
Here’s one that took the fancy of the guests and crew the other day when we went ashore on a shopping expedition. Our esteemed host – and indeed publisher of this organ – suddenly began “strutting his stuff” for the benefit of onlookers in a street market. Fortunately a member of the crew who had his smartphone to hand managed to capture the moment for posterity – see here – BEST DAD DANCING 2020
