The Whole Thing is Rigged

Last night at 20:30 about 100 miles east of Dundee.

My neighbour  Lee has gone back to work after two months in lock-down. He's back on an oil rig in the North Sea.

I realise it reflects badly on me but I find this irresistibly funny.

M4 Cement

I was on the M4 yesterday for the first time since out abortive to trip to Cardiff mid March for the cancelled Wales Scotland Six Nations rugby.

Initially nervous that the Old Bill might stop me at a checkpoint and ask me why I was away from home, it ultimately dawned on me that being on my way to a legitimate business appointment at the Avon and Somerset Police Headquarters might tick the necessary boxes.

As ever I came across Radio 4 series on my journey that I want to pursue.

Experimenting his morning. "Alexa open the BBC" invokes the skill and asks you to request a programme or channel.

"A Charles Paris Mystery" seems to work, as does Just William Pursuing Happiness by Richmal Crompton, but "Pandemic 1918" earned me only a stark "I can't do that." Shades of HAL in 2001, which could probably have been phrased better.

Pork Scratchings of the world: Issued as a public service

Country	Name
Americas
Brazil	Torresmo
Colombia	Chicharrones, Chicharrón Toteado (exploded pork crackling), Chicharrón Cocho
Canada	Scrunchions
Quebec	Oreilles de Christ (Christ Ears)
Mexico	Chicharrón or Chicharra
United States	Pork Rinds, Cracklings
Asia
Philippines	Chicharon
Thailand	Khaep mu
Vietnam	Pork Rinds
Europe
Bulgaria	Iprazhki
Serbia	čvarci, Duvan čvarci
Czech Republic	škvarky
Poland	Skwarki
France	Grattons
Spain	Cortezas de Cerdo, Chicharrones, Torreznos, Cotnes
Portugal	Torresmos, Couratos
The Netherlands & Belgium	Knabbelspek (nibbling bacon)
Denmark	Flæskesvær
Austria & Germany	Grammeln or Grieben, Schweinekrusten (pig crusts)
Romania	Jumări
United Kingdom	Pork Scratchings, Pork Crackling, Pork Crunch

UA93

Torygraph today

Mark Bingham: tragic 9/11 hero who changed attitudes to gay men

American businessman loved rugby and touched lives of many before fateful September 11 plane journey

The extraordinary story of how the passengers and crew on flight UA93, knowing that three other planes had already been used as guided missiles, decided they going to fight back against the hijackers is one of the most extraordinary things I have ever heard.



Got this on my watch-list now.

Improving the Flow of Urban Life

Ben has got an engineering apprenticeship with KONE starting in September.

Sidesaddle

I had three Charles Holden take away lagers in Wandle Park over a leisurely Bank Holiday afternoon yesterday, People seemed spontaneously to arrange themselves in socially distanced circles of about five. It was very striking, at least to me, how few seemed to be comfortable sitting with their backsides on the floor, whether cross legged, legs out straight or bent. The vast majority of folk seemed to be in the sidesaddle position above, supported by one arm with legs swept up to the side. I also noticed quite a few people struggling to get up. Modern life doesn't seem to do much to preserve mobility.

It has however encouraged me to book an online Bikram class that Shona is running at Wimbledon Hot Yoga tomorrow. I think it is via Zoom. It will be interesting to see how it goes from noon until one.

I want to break freee

Only 36 Decameron stories left. We should be finished by the end of June.

Is it time to start putting meat on the bones of the demob party? How does July 4th sound?

Second and Third Rays of Light

After Peter and I went for his weekly shop in Waitrose this morning, we bought a couple of coffees at the COFX coffee shop opposite. He sat on the bench outside while I yelled at him from the socially prescribed two metre gap.

Later after I had installed Zoom on his PC and checked it was working (hat tip, Helen and John), we walked along to the pedestrianized Thames river bank to the Crabtree "we're excited to be reopening our doors this Friday, 22nd May as Fulham and Hammersmith deli, takeaway and delivery shop." A coffee for him and a lager for me.

Playlist song "The Tide is Turning"

First Ray of Light

I heard on the jungle telegraph that the Charles Holden was serving take away beers from 2 until 6. A bunch of us went along and had a couple of lagers in Wandle Park just behind it. We're going again on Bank Holiday Monday.

Now this is not the end. It is not even the beginning of the end. but it is, perhaps, the end of the beginning.

Thou art weighed in the balances, and art found wanting.

BBC

A call has been made for the Welsh Government to be investigated by the Equality and Human Rights Commission over fears older people's rights could have been breached.

The Older People's Commissioner for Wales says comprehensive testing for Covid-19 in care homes was "too slow".

She has questioned whether the "right to life" had been breached and raised the issue with the EHRC.

The health minister said he "didn't recognise" a breach and said the policy was based on scientific advice.

Since lockdown began, 27% of the coronavirus deaths in Wales have been care home residents, according to the Office for National Statistics. This figure does not include those care home residents who died after being transferred to hospital.

When everyone thought my father was dying with Covid-19 in a home in Wales he couldn't get a test, and that is a 100% take-it-to-the-bank fact. He seems to have recovered thank God. The lady in the video below is in Roath Park, Coupla hundred yards from mum and dad's.

$100m

BBC

Why Joe Rogan's exclusive Spotify deal matters

Joe Rogan has signed an exclusive deal with Spotify, which will see his podcast, The Joe Rogan Experience, disappear from all other platforms.

The multi-year deal is believed to be worth $100m (£82 million), according to the Wall Street Journal.

Rogan's podcast, which is one of the most popular in the world, will arrive on the streaming giant on 1 September.

It will then be housed there exclusively by the end of the year, and removed from all other platforms.

"It will remain free, and it will be the exact same show," said Rogan. "It's just a licensing deal, so Spotify won't have any creative control over the show.

"They want me to just continue doing it the way I'm doing it right now.

"I'm excited to have the support of the largest audio platform in the world and I hope you folks are there when we make the switch!"

I remember that Ben and I were both equally surprised that the other regularly watched The Joe Rogan Experience.

Let's get lost

Say what you like about Peter Hitchens, AN ENCOUNTER WITH MY PAST is as honest and evocative thing as I have read this year.

It is so elegiac in fact that I hope he is OK.

Be ye never so high

BBC

Callum Hudson-Odoi: Chelsea and England winger arrested and bailed

I've known Callum since he was in the same class as Ben at Primary school and have written about him here since 2015. I feel really uncomfortable even posting the link above, but I suppose it is part of the story. Innocent until proven guilty etc.

Oops, I did it again

The United Kingdom is almost unique in the world in that it has no statute of limitations for any criminal offence tried above magistrate level. Perhaps my father should have thought of that before he embarked on a career of kidnapping stuffed wolves and advertising his crimes in the local press.

Come think about it, I might actually be named after Nick the wolf. You must judge if I have lived up to it.

Radio TImes

I wake up just before six every morning and listen to the news. When I turned on Radio 4 today I got the last few seconds of a profile of Rosena Allin-Khan, Labour MP for Tooting and all round good egg (see Icons passim). We can all catch up with it at  https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m000j7h5.

It it's too long, you don't belong

I thought I would listen to Slavoj Žižek - On G.W.F. Hegel as I was pottering about this morning. Gradually it dawned that 9:08:49 meant that it was nine hours eight minutes and 49 seconds long as opposed the the nine minutes and nine seconds I had assumed.

As we speak I am listening to the The Mastertapes Guide to Writing the Perfect Song on Radio 4 Extra. They promoted it after the six o'clock news this morning. It started at nine and it goes on until noon. Three hours!

For all of Generation Snowflake's shortcomings it appears that lack of attention span is not one of them.

The Bitter Lesson

The is very thought provoking and well worth a look.

You alright or what?

Peter Falk told the Matthew Rhys as the last murderer in the last ever episode of Columbo to play the character with his native Cardiff accent rather than as a generic cockney. My cup runneth over.

Image rights

Rebecca's Steve sent me this image this morning. It was delivered in their veg box, they had no idea what it was and assumed I might.

I popped it into Google's image search (https://images.google.com/) which instantly identified it as a papaya. I have ever used the product before and I was very impressed.

I passed the message back to Steve. "I knew you would know. Thanks. What do I do with it??" he replied.

I haven't got the heart to tell him I didn't know. Fingers crossed he doesn't read these spindrift pages.

Living high on the hog

Merton Council's plastic, glass, cans and cartons collection happens every fortnight.

In my recycling box this morning, there is one empty white wine bottle, one empty Heinz baked beans can, and one empty Co-op tin of tomatoes.

That is what you get from 14 days of lock-down hedonistic self indulgence!