Business

Happy Christmas, everyone!

One of the fascinating aspects of the ongoing saga of the Covid-19 pandemic – latest development the “discovery” of the Omicron variant believed by some to have first occurred in southern Africa, if not South Africa itself – is that the battalions of both the “No other way to deal with [...]

December 1, 2021 // 0 Comments

Tate Britain v Tate Modern

Yesterday our art art tutor gave us a curated tour of Tate Britain. Before writing this I visited the Tate website to see how this clarified the difference between Tate Modern and Tate Britain. This explained that Tate Modern was the more international and contemporary. Tate Britain – as it [...]

November 12, 2021 // 0 Comments

Fans are back …

… But much has changed. When the first lockdown came in March 2020 football continued but behind closed doors. Atmosphere was generated by simulated crowd noises and large banners of support covering empty seats. It was eerie. Yet, when fans returned, it was to a more politicised game, notably [...]

October 30, 2021 // 0 Comments

Poor Solskjaer

Whisper it softly but I feel sorry for the under-pressure Manchester United boss. I’m no particular fan of the Reds – and indeed rather enjoy seeing a club big on triumphalism in the past – now in crisis. So why this sudden shift of sympathy? Firstly, it’s one of the least edifying [...]

October 26, 2021 // 0 Comments

Brighton 1 Manchester City 4

Before this match I jotted down the City midfield : Phil Foden Kevin De Bruyne Mahrez Gundoyan Fernandinho Silva Jack Grealish I must have left someone out. It was Rodri. So when I heard we had guests and my wife suggested a later start for dinner so I might go to the Amex I replied that I would [...]

October 24, 2021 // 0 Comments

My art week

No exhibitions nor art on telly this week but two fascinating lessons in our art course. In the first – on British art and visual culture 1950 to the present – we studied David Hockney and Francis Bacon. Hockney, though it was not compulsory, studied line at Bradford Art College and [...]

October 23, 2021 // 0 Comments

The face of things to come

Call me an old-fashioned, out of touch, curmudgeon if you will – as a Ruster, I guess it comes with the territory – but sometimes the antics of politicians the world over drive me to distraction. Three articles featuring on the website of the Daily Mail overnight struck me as highlighting [...]

October 20, 2021 // 0 Comments

The Radical Potter/Sir Josiah Wedgwood and the Transformation of Britain/ Tristram Hunt

Sir Josiah Wedgwood was arguably the finest businessman this country has ever produced. He mastered every aspect of the pottery business from manufacture to design, from marketing to logistics. As an example, bad road surfaces created breakages in transportation from Burslem, the first factory in [...]

October 18, 2021 // 0 Comments

Sunday Sport

There was an eclectic choice this Sunday which I started with the American football showpiece at the New Tottenham Hotspur stadium between Jacksonville Jaguars and Miami Dolphins. The Jags won this 23-20 with two late field goals. The problem particularly for the BBC that broadcast it is that the [...]

October 18, 2021 // 0 Comments

A visit and then a disagreement

A couple of days ago, three weeks into the occupation of our new house on the south coast, we received our first (semi-formal) visit from friends rather than family. In typing “(semi-formal)” and “friends” in the above context I was referring obliquely to the fact that, having never [...]

October 17, 2021 // 0 Comments

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My art week

December 3, 2021 // 0 Comments

I have just finished Art of the Extreme 1905-1915 by Philip Hook the ex-Director of Impressionism and Modern Art at Sothebys. His background is sales. He writes well. He is [...]
Not just a matter of self-identification

December 3, 2021 // 0 Comments

Many of those who contribute to this organ take pride in the Rust‘s long and healthy record of pointing out both the oddities and absurdities of modern 21st Century [...]
West Ham 1 Brighton 1

December 2, 2021 // 0 Comments

The Seagulls maintained their unbeaten record against the Hammers in their second consecutive draw. They left it rather late – and had only 10 players on the pitch [...]
It’s all about a load of hot air …

December 2, 2021 // 0 Comments

Now some two months into my new life living on the south coast of England, I have been learning much – in my terminally technologically illiterate way – about the [...]
Duck into the bouncer, Doug!

December 1, 2021 // 0 Comments

In 1993 I was on the beach at Bridgetown Barbados facing a skinny 11 year old with a mean bouncer. At the other end was my friend Wayne Daniel who advised me to “duck into [...]