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Le Tour – so far

I watched Friday and Saturday’s stages in the company of a cycling aficionado and 2 wine experts – a  fruitful combination. Normally the first week of the Tour can be dull as the riders traverse the flatland of northern France before hitting the more demanding mountain stages. This week [...]

July 5, 2021 // 0 Comments

Thoughts on England 4 Ukraine 0

Let’s not get totally carried away. England played well against a poor side. Three of the four goals came from headers when the scorer was unmarked. Denmark – let alone Spain and especially Italy – are unlikely to concede such  goals. Once again at a crucial stage in the first half [...]

July 4, 2021 // 0 Comments

Napoleon’s Plunder and the Theft of Veronese’s Feast/Cynthia Salzman

This is an account by Cynthia Salzman of the appropriation of Paolo Veronese’s Wedding Feat of Cana in 1796 by Napoleon. The painting hung on the refectory wall of the Santa Maggiore church in Venice commissioned by the Benedictine Order. Napoleon , just 26, had conquered most of the Italian [...]

July 2, 2021 // 0 Comments

Hemingway/BBC 4

A new Ken Burns documentary is worth waiting for though not worth missing England v Germany as it clashed. You know that the production values will be high and he will lay out the facts in a non-judgemental way. By contrast the Channel 4 type of documentary, normally on the royals, will be more of [...]

July 1, 2021 // 0 Comments

Thoughts on England’s victory

I will leave the triumphalism to the Chief Football Writers – most of when had written off England and Gareth Southgate as dull. For me England’s best player so far is Jordan Pickford and the crucial moment was when he came out to narrow the angle for the normally lethal Thomas Muller. I [...]

June 30, 2021 // 0 Comments

An exhilarating rugby Premiership title won against the odds

Yesterday afternoon from 4.30pm onwards, shut away at home, I watched the build-up to and then the full two and a half hours’ worth of English rugby union’s Premiership Final (and its aftermath) between Exeter Chiefs and Harlequins at RFU Twickenham being broadcast ‘live’ on BT Sport 1. I [...]

June 27, 2021 // 0 Comments

Hypocrisy in politicians and public figures

As I contemplate any cause célèbre scandal, such as that which engulfed Government Health Secretary Matt Hancock yesterday after The Sun published him snogging one of his close advisers Gina Colodangelo in the office, one of the first things that always comes to my mind is the phrase “Let he [...]

June 26, 2021 // 0 Comments

Euros: the Rust ratings & awards

We are now at the business end of the Euros and its time to assess and award. England have made few friends but qualified without conceding a goal. We have the tie of the next round against Germany though I’m looking forward to Belgium v Portugal too. Here are our awards:- Best team so far: Italy [...]

June 25, 2021 // 0 Comments

Quartered but safe/George MacDonald Fraser

Pursuing my interest in the less well known theatres of conflict of World War Two, I received this enthusiastic recommendation from a solicitor friend of mine. It’s a personal account by the author of the Flashman series of the Burma Campaign of 1946 and is extremely good. It dispelled many [...]

June 23, 2021 // 0 Comments

EURO THOUGHTS

Here are my random thoughts on the Euros to date: Apart from Holland v Ukraine and last night’s match between Germany and Portugal I have found few games engaging. Some – like Spain 0 Sweden 0 – were a total bore. I have also been less than impressed by the coverage. I would have [...]

June 20, 2021 // 0 Comments

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