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Rugby matters

One quote from Eddie Jones, after selecting his squad for the Six Nations, surprised me – namely, the reference that Marcus Smith needs Owen Farrell as the latter has ‘the big picture’ and can effectively play in the style of the All Black second 5/8th. In fact it’s Marcus Smith who has [...]

January 20, 2022 // 0 Comments

Dame Stephanie Shirley/Private Passions – Radio 3

The above – known by her family nickname Steve – was the guest on Private Passions hosted by Michael Berkeley. She led a remarkable life. Separated from her parents aged 5, she was put on a train as one of the Kindertransport. These children were sent to western countries and some [...]

January 18, 2022 // 0 Comments

Thoughts on the Ashes

I’m sure readers would not appreciate another depressing piece on the Ashes debacle down under. I will merely quote that model of concision after a Cabinet reshuffle Clement Attlee: “Not good enough” I will highlight the coverage. Normally I follow TMS during the night but yesterday, as I [...]

January 17, 2022 // 0 Comments

Brighton 1 Crystal Palace 1

This fixture is known for its toxicity. The clubs are 55 miles apart. Portsmouth and Southampton are nearer Brighton – Charlton and Millwall nearer Crystal Palace – so you cannot call call it a derby, although it is has been termed the M25 or M23 derby. Both of these are geographically [...]

January 15, 2022 // 0 Comments

Remembering my father

Yesterday was my father’s birthday and – had he not passed away nine years ago – he would have been 99. I think of him every day now, less in terms of loss, more of legacy. He was a wise, gentle man, a superb, much-loved and respected doctor by his general GP practice as well as his [...]

January 14, 2022 // 0 Comments

A media/sporting oddity

With my apologies in advance for stepping gingerly into our esteemed sports editor’s domain, this morning I wanted to bring to Rusters’ notice an example of media coverage that – for those who might wish to consider such things – highlights some of the difficult and [...]

January 13, 2022 // 0 Comments

Venice

Monty Don has a new programme on Gardens of the Adriatic and a Venetian friend of mine – G – whom I met first in Tunisia nearly 40 years ago has written a walking guide to the city. So in this extraordinary time, where travel is so difficult, I was able to enjoy two different takes on [...]

January 10, 2022 // 0 Comments

Andy Warhol and Mark Rothko

In the week I saw two interesting documentaries on these two major figures of American twentieth century art; the first on Andy Warhol was on BBC 4, the second last night on PBS. In my view Andy Warhol was a genius at self-promotion and marketing, but not as a painter. Like Rothko, he came from an [...]

January 8, 2022 // 0 Comments

Coverage of the Fourth Test

As I write this towards the end of the third day with England struggling, I would rather post on the coverage particularly the Aussie contribution. When I was last in Australia 5  years ago there was no journalist I enjoyed more than Gideon Haigh in The Australian. The newspaper was given out free [...]

January 7, 2022 // 0 Comments

The Aftermath (2019)

I found the films over the festive period disappointing. There is a reason for this and that reason is Netflix. Netflix, whose annual subscription is less than the BBC licence fee, are broadcasting films shortly after their cinema general  release. So BBC and ITV are reduced to showing their stock [...]

January 6, 2022 // 0 Comments

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