World Affairs

Sporting issues this weekend

The narrow victory of Northampton Saints (32/31) over Harlequins was enthralling, confirming my view that the most enjoyable sport currently on offer is to be found in the Rugby Premiership. This is subject to one caveat: the uncontested scrum. I checked the rationale for this with Derek Williams. [...]

May 1, 2022 // 0 Comments

Taking account and travelling back

There is a French word bilan which literally means “balance sheet” but is used in the English sense of ‘taking an account’. A few years ago I attended a conference on buying and selling property in France. A French notary caused much laughter in his presentation as he [...]

April 30, 2022 // 0 Comments

TV Review: new sit-com Ten Percent

Modern life as it is experienced by those of us beyond the first flush of youth is a many-sided jewel, involving as it does a combination of looking back upon one’s life and trying to recall incidents and anecdotes from one’s past; marvelling (or becoming baffled and frustrated by) supposed [...]

April 29, 2022 // 0 Comments

A la Colthard/restaurant wrap up

Last weekend’s visit to Sanary and Cannes on Monday meant for some visits to some fine restaurants. At Sanary we always go to the Hotel de la Tour whose signature dish is sea bass baked in salt. It’s delicious but leaves you thirsty. Mireille does not hold back on ordering and the final bill [...]

April 28, 2022 // 0 Comments

Putin – no grandmaster at chess

David Niven once gave an interview to Michael Parkinson in which he observed that in Russia the national game was chess and in England it was football, meaning to imply that Russians thought better strategically. If so, Vladimir Putin is a weak chess player. In the 3 most defining moments of a [...]

April 27, 2022 // 0 Comments

Travelling in France and a visit to Cannes

Yesterday Team Rust travelled by rail from Sanary to Cannes to where my late mother’s best friend had moved. We travelled by rail. On arrival at the station at Sanary we had been informed that, due to a strike by maintenance staff, the train would be 20 minutes late. I thought we would miss [...]

April 26, 2022 // 0 Comments

A day at Sanary sur Mer

Yesterday the group spent the day at Sanary sur Mer – a charming port town which borders on the more famous Bandol and is more or less equidistant between France’s biggest port cities of Toulon and Marseilles. It has a literary history. Aldous Huxley and Cyril Connolly lived here and during [...]

April 25, 2022 // 0 Comments

Toulon 19 Toulouse 15

Yesterday I joined the Rusters in Nice as I had a ticket for Toulon v Toulouse, two of the powerhouses of French rugby. So much so that the match is played in the Orange Velodrome Stadium of Olympique Marseilles and attracted a sell out crowd of 64,580. I was saddened that Toulouse chose to rest [...]

April 24, 2022 // 0 Comments

The Trailfinders won’t be trailblazers next season

Yesterday brought the news that Ealing Trailfinders – who came top of rugby union’s Championship 2021/2022 league table, thereby becoming entitled to be promoted to the Premiership but then were judged by the RFU to have failed to meet the set criteria required, specifically including a minimum [...]

April 23, 2022 // 0 Comments

The Tanner Report: promotion achieved

Last Tuesday, after a 3-0 victory over Preston, Fulham’s promotion was confirmed. There were scenes of jubilation by fans and players alike. Now we need a cooler, analytical assessment of Fulham’s prospects in the Premier. In the last 5 seasons we have had 3 promotions and 2 relegations. [...]

April 21, 2022 // 0 Comments

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ITV COVERAGE OF CHELTENHAM

March 14, 2026 // 0 Comments

I am in the camp of watching on tv rather than attending for the 3 Cs: cost , convenience and comfort. With the cost of travelling and attending Cheltenham and last [...]
Max Schmelling/ The Good German

March 4, 2026 // 0 Comments

In the unlikely event that I would be asked to nominate a Great Life on Matthew Parris ‘ show my choice would be the Black Uhlan Max Schmelling. In the 1930s thee [...]
The Tanner Report : Fulham 2 spurs 1

March 3, 2026 // 0 Comments

Prior to Fulham ‘s comfortable win over Spurs (2-1) I watched the big match Revisited featuring Chelsea 1 Arsenal 2 i guess in the early 70s It would be foolish to [...]
The Six Nations

February 24, 2026 // 0 Comments

The Six Nations continues to throw up surprises. England could not bounce back against Ireland , a resurgent Wales gave Scotland à close game with the Millennium Stadium [...]
Brentford 0 Brighton 2

February 23, 2026 // 0 Comments

The heat is off Fabian Hürzeler with Brighton ‘s 1st win in 13 games. Club owner Tony Bloom was not at the G Tech stadium due to a long planned family engagement but had [...]