Tim Atkinson's Blog, page 54
July 2, 2014
Monty Python Flies Again!
Yes, it happened. They said it wouldn't. Many thought it couldn't. But last night it did.
I wasn't there, unfortunately. Although in a way I'm not sorry. Like seeing a long-lost girlfriend years later, I think I'm happier with my memories.
But I digress.
There's much talk these days of 'family-friendly' humour - you know, the old-fashioned kind you could sit around the telly with your grandparents and watch. Without squirming with embarrassment. (Actually, thinking back to a lot of the stuff we DID sit around and watch back then, there'd still be plenty of squirming now but for very different reasons - did we really think endless mother-in-law jokes were funny? And those Two Ronnie's innuendoes? But I digress... again.)
I first saw Monty Python while staying with my grandparents. It's not unfair to say they were keen guardians of my moral welfare - especially at such a tender age - and wouldn't have countenanced anything that wasn't deemed at least suitable, better still, edifying. But, no. Monty Python came on. I expressed a desire to watch it. (The telly box was turned off back in the day if you didn't want to 'look' at something!)
And we watched. I laughed. I laughed a lot and it hurt. I did cast the odd sideways glance to see what my grandparents were thinking. They certainly weren't laughing. I don't know what they were thinking. Bafflement, I think, was on their faces. Then boredom. Pretty soon my grandma returned to her knitting and grandpa, I think, plugged in his headphones and started listening to something on the radiogram.
They didn't get it. Which is just as well for me for if they had, I might not have been allowed to finish watching it.
Now I'm not one of those obsessive quote-machines who can recite entire Python sketches as if they were Shakespeare. But I know what I like. And I particularly like this, the argument sketch. I even used to use it, in class, when I taught philosophy. Because every student thinks they know what an argument is (what you have in the pub innit?) but philosophically, an argument is a precise, intellectual tool. And this sketch contains the perfect definition.
Oh yes it does.
I wasn't there, unfortunately. Although in a way I'm not sorry. Like seeing a long-lost girlfriend years later, I think I'm happier with my memories.
But I digress.
There's much talk these days of 'family-friendly' humour - you know, the old-fashioned kind you could sit around the telly with your grandparents and watch. Without squirming with embarrassment. (Actually, thinking back to a lot of the stuff we DID sit around and watch back then, there'd still be plenty of squirming now but for very different reasons - did we really think endless mother-in-law jokes were funny? And those Two Ronnie's innuendoes? But I digress... again.)
I first saw Monty Python while staying with my grandparents. It's not unfair to say they were keen guardians of my moral welfare - especially at such a tender age - and wouldn't have countenanced anything that wasn't deemed at least suitable, better still, edifying. But, no. Monty Python came on. I expressed a desire to watch it. (The telly box was turned off back in the day if you didn't want to 'look' at something!)
And we watched. I laughed. I laughed a lot and it hurt. I did cast the odd sideways glance to see what my grandparents were thinking. They certainly weren't laughing. I don't know what they were thinking. Bafflement, I think, was on their faces. Then boredom. Pretty soon my grandma returned to her knitting and grandpa, I think, plugged in his headphones and started listening to something on the radiogram.
They didn't get it. Which is just as well for me for if they had, I might not have been allowed to finish watching it.
Now I'm not one of those obsessive quote-machines who can recite entire Python sketches as if they were Shakespeare. But I know what I like. And I particularly like this, the argument sketch. I even used to use it, in class, when I taught philosophy. Because every student thinks they know what an argument is (what you have in the pub innit?) but philosophically, an argument is a precise, intellectual tool. And this sketch contains the perfect definition.
Oh yes it does.
June 24, 2014
Happy Birthday, Laurie Lee!
Today's 100th anniversary of the birth of one of my favourite authors can't go without comment. From his iconic autobiography Cider with Rosie to his gently haunting poetry and the many, many prose poems written for broadcast, Lee was a man of well-chosen words and a memorable phrase who by dint of his birth and his talent managed to preserve a world as remote to us now as the Stone Age.
It's really hard to appreciate how much and how dramatically lives have changed in just 100 years - more so, for certain, than at any other period in human history: electric lights, television, modern medicine, the list goes on. Lee's world was as different to ours as that of Dickens' or Hardy's.
Unlike that august company however, Lee managed to live across the divide between the modern world and the centuries old way of life. Which also means by happy chance that we have a rich legacy of his own recordings: and Lee is also one of the few poets who can read - really read - his own work and make us listen.
Most poets give truly awful monotone readings, whether of their own work or other peoples. Some manage better, of course. Seamus Heaney, for example, wonderfully. So maybe it's a regional accent that does it? Lee had the most wonderfully warm West Country burr which adds colour and warmth to everything he says. But he also has an ear for the music of lines, whether reading poetry or prose - as you'd expect of a musician. (Lee was an accomplished violin player, making his living playing the fiddle as he walked across Spain as memorably recalled in his book As I Walked Out one Midsummer Morning.)
So how better to celebrate this, the 100th anniversary of his birth, than by hearing the man himself read a selection of his work. Here are some of my favourites. If you haven't come across Lee yet or haven't read much of his work before, you have a real treat in store: I almost envy you the wonderful opportunity of new discovery. Philip Larkin said of jazz how much poorer his life would've been if he'd died in 1922 rather than having been born then. I feel the same way about Laurie Lee: I can scarce imagine a world without his words, thoughts without his observations as comparison or idle recollections coloured by some remembered turn of phrase. Lee isn't especially popular today in spite - or perhaps because - of being studied on school English courses. I think his work is wonderfully ripe for reappraisal. See if you agree.
You can listen to Lee reading one if his most famous - and probably one of the best Christmas poems - Christmas Landscape - here on the BBC Radio Three poetry archive.
Here's Lee reading from his memoir 'As I Walked Out', describing lunchtime in 1930s Madrid... specifically the cool air of dark bars 'like fruit peel pressed to your brow'...
In addition to the above, there are some wonderful old interviews with Lee being repeated on BBC Radio Four Extra. You can hear the author's eloquently illuminating explanation of his travels here and here. And although I've made a great play this morning of Lee's wonderful reading his own words, try and catch the dramatisation of his most famous work, Cider with Rosie if you can. As always, with iPlayer, the tapes self-destruct after a ridiculously short amount of time (seven days or thereabouts) so... hurry!
It's really hard to appreciate how much and how dramatically lives have changed in just 100 years - more so, for certain, than at any other period in human history: electric lights, television, modern medicine, the list goes on. Lee's world was as different to ours as that of Dickens' or Hardy's.
Unlike that august company however, Lee managed to live across the divide between the modern world and the centuries old way of life. Which also means by happy chance that we have a rich legacy of his own recordings: and Lee is also one of the few poets who can read - really read - his own work and make us listen.
Most poets give truly awful monotone readings, whether of their own work or other peoples. Some manage better, of course. Seamus Heaney, for example, wonderfully. So maybe it's a regional accent that does it? Lee had the most wonderfully warm West Country burr which adds colour and warmth to everything he says. But he also has an ear for the music of lines, whether reading poetry or prose - as you'd expect of a musician. (Lee was an accomplished violin player, making his living playing the fiddle as he walked across Spain as memorably recalled in his book As I Walked Out one Midsummer Morning.)
So how better to celebrate this, the 100th anniversary of his birth, than by hearing the man himself read a selection of his work. Here are some of my favourites. If you haven't come across Lee yet or haven't read much of his work before, you have a real treat in store: I almost envy you the wonderful opportunity of new discovery. Philip Larkin said of jazz how much poorer his life would've been if he'd died in 1922 rather than having been born then. I feel the same way about Laurie Lee: I can scarce imagine a world without his words, thoughts without his observations as comparison or idle recollections coloured by some remembered turn of phrase. Lee isn't especially popular today in spite - or perhaps because - of being studied on school English courses. I think his work is wonderfully ripe for reappraisal. See if you agree.
You can listen to Lee reading one if his most famous - and probably one of the best Christmas poems - Christmas Landscape - here on the BBC Radio Three poetry archive.
Here's Lee reading from his memoir 'As I Walked Out', describing lunchtime in 1930s Madrid... specifically the cool air of dark bars 'like fruit peel pressed to your brow'...
In addition to the above, there are some wonderful old interviews with Lee being repeated on BBC Radio Four Extra. You can hear the author's eloquently illuminating explanation of his travels here and here. And although I've made a great play this morning of Lee's wonderful reading his own words, try and catch the dramatisation of his most famous work, Cider with Rosie if you can. As always, with iPlayer, the tapes self-destruct after a ridiculously short amount of time (seven days or thereabouts) so... hurry!
June 19, 2014
Winner takes all!
Yes, dear reader. It has happened again. It happens every time. Well, except 1966 but that doesn't really count now does it? I don't know why we ever expect anything else to happen really.
Anyway, enough doom; enough gloom. Don't take down that bunting; don't lower that fluttering Cross of St George just yet. I have a cunning plan, a plan that will ensure our future footballing success, put right the British economy - permanently - root out the corruption at the heart of world football and probably restore the British Empire.
It is this: we invented football, right? It is one of our most successful exports, although we've also got a lot of others up our sleeve, like trains and penicillin.
So, here's the plan. We stop playing; we give up the futile hope of ever winning World Cups; we disband the national team and... we run the game. Yes! We run world football. And not only run it, we charge everyone else huge amounts of money for playing it. It's our intellectual property, after all. I'm sure we can patent the rules restrospectively.
We'll then have no need any more of winning the bloody thing. We'll be above that sort of thing. Because we'll own it; it will be ours, as indeed it ought to be already. Because we started it. We made it what it is. We codified the rules; set the dimensions of the pitch, even dictated the slicing of the half-term oranges. Why shouldn't we get something back from our 'beautiful' game?
It makes sense if you think about it. There are hardly any Englishmen playing professionally these days as it is. And who owns our Premiership clubs? Who picks the teams, bad mouths the ref and bawls at the others from the touch line?We could make a fortune out of this. We could solve the wretched corruption scandals that surround future World Cups and who runs FIFA. And most important of all we could retire from the fray, lay up our flags, stop all this silly self-delusion every time there's an international football tournament and take back control of what was really always ours.
Dear old Roy, he could be Sepp Blatter if he wanted to be. Steven Gerrard, he could be his deputy. And Rooney? Well, we'd need someone to go around the world collecting all the money, wouldn't we?
I am in for the rest of the day if any or all of the Prime Minister, FIFA, Her Majesty the Queen or Wayne Rooney wish to contact me...
Anyway, enough doom; enough gloom. Don't take down that bunting; don't lower that fluttering Cross of St George just yet. I have a cunning plan, a plan that will ensure our future footballing success, put right the British economy - permanently - root out the corruption at the heart of world football and probably restore the British Empire.
It is this: we invented football, right? It is one of our most successful exports, although we've also got a lot of others up our sleeve, like trains and penicillin.
So, here's the plan. We stop playing; we give up the futile hope of ever winning World Cups; we disband the national team and... we run the game. Yes! We run world football. And not only run it, we charge everyone else huge amounts of money for playing it. It's our intellectual property, after all. I'm sure we can patent the rules restrospectively.
We'll then have no need any more of winning the bloody thing. We'll be above that sort of thing. Because we'll own it; it will be ours, as indeed it ought to be already. Because we started it. We made it what it is. We codified the rules; set the dimensions of the pitch, even dictated the slicing of the half-term oranges. Why shouldn't we get something back from our 'beautiful' game?
It makes sense if you think about it. There are hardly any Englishmen playing professionally these days as it is. And who owns our Premiership clubs? Who picks the teams, bad mouths the ref and bawls at the others from the touch line?We could make a fortune out of this. We could solve the wretched corruption scandals that surround future World Cups and who runs FIFA. And most important of all we could retire from the fray, lay up our flags, stop all this silly self-delusion every time there's an international football tournament and take back control of what was really always ours.
Dear old Roy, he could be Sepp Blatter if he wanted to be. Steven Gerrard, he could be his deputy. And Rooney? Well, we'd need someone to go around the world collecting all the money, wouldn't we?
I am in for the rest of the day if any or all of the Prime Minister, FIFA, Her Majesty the Queen or Wayne Rooney wish to contact me...
June 17, 2014
Does being a dad make you a feminist?
A dad of girls, that is. For all I know it might apply to dads of boys as well, but it's having a daughter that author Tony Parsons says is responsible for his newly-enlightened attitude to women. What kept him? you might be asking.
Especially if you're a woman.
Because by his own admission he was a laddish, leering lothario in his younger days. And seeing as he's come rather late to the parenthood table, his younger days extend well into an age when, you might be forgiven for thinking, he ought to have known better.
But no matter. That's not what I'm asking. I'm asking what - if anything does, or if anything should - make you a feminist?
Because feminists don't tend to like us dads much, do they? There was even an anti-Father's Day hashtag trending last week on Twitter (although that did turn out to be a hoax).
However, being the father of daughters makes you aware as probably nothing else will of the dangers and the difficulties being female brings, as well as providing the determination necessary to overcome them.
I've taught both in all-boys and all-girls schools and one of my long-standing responsibilities in the former was teaching Sex Education. I've said before that as far as that subject's concerned, I'm firmly in the 'ignorance isn't bliss' camp. Most of the mistakes we make are borne of ignorance: ignorance of the facts, ignorance of how unfounded our opinions are or how hurtful they can be.
The laddish, whoah-show-us-your-tits attitude of boys was sometimes overwhelming. (As an aside, I've never seen as much silly sexual graffiti anywhere as I did at the all-boys school.) It certainly seems ubiquitous, from classrooms to the hallowed haunts of Cambridge University.
Challenging such stereotypical (and largely herd-led) attitudes goes hand-in-hand with what I regard as the overriding purpose of Sex Ed. anyway - which isn't just to teach the 'plumbing' but to explore the whole package of attitudes and values and even so-called humour.
Talking of which, have you heard the one about women's rights? No?
That's the joke!
Is it funny? I don't think so. Should you be allowed to say that? Tweet it? Post it? Well, sure. But that's the least offensive of a whole raft of sexist jokes and so-called banter that you'll find difficult to avoid outside a hermitage.
I'm not in favour of censorship. I am firmly in favour of free speech. But freedom of speech isn't the same as freedom to abuse, to insult, to disparage. Language does matter. Just ask Jeremy Clarkson.
And rights demand responsibilities. I don't think such sexist humour should go unchallenged. And I don't think challenging such laddish banter means you haven't got a sense of humour. Words either crystallise our ideas or express them; and thoughts so easily lead to action. Making jokes won't make you a mysogynist. But it won't help.
Our lifestyle as a family presents a pretty good paradigm for non-sexist attitudes, if only because I do most of the domestic chores and my wife is the breadwinner. It works; no one feels demeaned (although my hands get awfully dry and sore!) and I hope both my son and my daughters see what happens in our household and learn from it.
It worries me that my daughters will inevitably encounter the casual, laddish misogyny that now seems common. And it would bother me equally if my son grew up regarding such language, attitudes and behaviour as acceptable.
But maybe it's fathers - and mothers - of sons who should have most to fear? Give me the child and I'll give you man.
Feminists need fathers and the fathers of sons need a dose of feminism every bit as much as the fathers of daughters.
Especially if you're a woman.
Because by his own admission he was a laddish, leering lothario in his younger days. And seeing as he's come rather late to the parenthood table, his younger days extend well into an age when, you might be forgiven for thinking, he ought to have known better.
But no matter. That's not what I'm asking. I'm asking what - if anything does, or if anything should - make you a feminist?
Because feminists don't tend to like us dads much, do they? There was even an anti-Father's Day hashtag trending last week on Twitter (although that did turn out to be a hoax).
However, being the father of daughters makes you aware as probably nothing else will of the dangers and the difficulties being female brings, as well as providing the determination necessary to overcome them.
I've taught both in all-boys and all-girls schools and one of my long-standing responsibilities in the former was teaching Sex Education. I've said before that as far as that subject's concerned, I'm firmly in the 'ignorance isn't bliss' camp. Most of the mistakes we make are borne of ignorance: ignorance of the facts, ignorance of how unfounded our opinions are or how hurtful they can be.
The laddish, whoah-show-us-your-tits attitude of boys was sometimes overwhelming. (As an aside, I've never seen as much silly sexual graffiti anywhere as I did at the all-boys school.) It certainly seems ubiquitous, from classrooms to the hallowed haunts of Cambridge University.
Challenging such stereotypical (and largely herd-led) attitudes goes hand-in-hand with what I regard as the overriding purpose of Sex Ed. anyway - which isn't just to teach the 'plumbing' but to explore the whole package of attitudes and values and even so-called humour.
Talking of which, have you heard the one about women's rights? No?
That's the joke!
Is it funny? I don't think so. Should you be allowed to say that? Tweet it? Post it? Well, sure. But that's the least offensive of a whole raft of sexist jokes and so-called banter that you'll find difficult to avoid outside a hermitage.
I'm not in favour of censorship. I am firmly in favour of free speech. But freedom of speech isn't the same as freedom to abuse, to insult, to disparage. Language does matter. Just ask Jeremy Clarkson.
And rights demand responsibilities. I don't think such sexist humour should go unchallenged. And I don't think challenging such laddish banter means you haven't got a sense of humour. Words either crystallise our ideas or express them; and thoughts so easily lead to action. Making jokes won't make you a mysogynist. But it won't help.
Our lifestyle as a family presents a pretty good paradigm for non-sexist attitudes, if only because I do most of the domestic chores and my wife is the breadwinner. It works; no one feels demeaned (although my hands get awfully dry and sore!) and I hope both my son and my daughters see what happens in our household and learn from it.
It worries me that my daughters will inevitably encounter the casual, laddish misogyny that now seems common. And it would bother me equally if my son grew up regarding such language, attitudes and behaviour as acceptable.
But maybe it's fathers - and mothers - of sons who should have most to fear? Give me the child and I'll give you man.
Feminists need fathers and the fathers of sons need a dose of feminism every bit as much as the fathers of daughters.
June 13, 2014
Great Dads Giveaway!
I've got a couple of great giveaways (courtesy of Prezzybox) to celebrate Father's Day on Sunday.
First, the Grumpy Old Git Kit which contains a fabulous mug, some warm and comfy socks (for those sandal days) and some delicious frresh-breath mints - in other words, everything that a Grumpy Old Git needs - as well as providing a warning for the people around him. The mug, socks and mints all have the words "Grumpy Old Git" emblazoned on them; so that everyone knows what's coming!
The Man Flu Survival Kit contains everything you needed to beat off that horrific cold… I mean, of course, flu bug. This is the perfect Man Flu Survival Kit for when his sniffles (and the man himself) get too much to handle – give him his kit and allow him to heal himself!
There's one of each kits to giveaway. All you have to do is enter via the Rafflecoptor box below before the end of Father's Day.
Good luck!
a Rafflecopter giveaway
First, the Grumpy Old Git Kit which contains a fabulous mug, some warm and comfy socks (for those sandal days) and some delicious frresh-breath mints - in other words, everything that a Grumpy Old Git needs - as well as providing a warning for the people around him. The mug, socks and mints all have the words "Grumpy Old Git" emblazoned on them; so that everyone knows what's coming!
The Man Flu Survival Kit contains everything you needed to beat off that horrific cold… I mean, of course, flu bug. This is the perfect Man Flu Survival Kit for when his sniffles (and the man himself) get too much to handle – give him his kit and allow him to heal himself!
There's one of each kits to giveaway. All you have to do is enter via the Rafflecoptor box below before the end of Father's Day.
Good luck!
a Rafflecopter giveaway
June 9, 2014
Bike to School Week
To celebrate Bike to School Week I've been invited, along with a number of other bloggers, to take part in the Sustrans cycle to school challenge.
Basically, this means doing what I do most days anyway - cycling. So initially I thought, what challenge?
But then I actually thought about it. There are three of us on the bike, 'Goodies'-style. Eloise sits on a specially-designed seat on my crossbar and Charlie trails along at the back on his trailer bike. And we negotiate jaywalking pedestrians, red-light jumping motorists, lorries, prams, other bikes and - occasionally - kamikaze parents doing the school run by car. (Just watch the video below if you don't believe me!)
So although I'm not doing much out of the ordinary, it's still a challenge. And it's a challenge I wish more motorists would rise to. It makes you a better driver, for a start. (No, I don't jump red lights; yes, I do occasionally cycle on the footpath but slowly and not at the expense of any pedestrians.)
If more people did it, the roads would be safer, the air would be cleaner and we'd all be a darn site fitter.
And it's good fun.
Look!
Basically, this means doing what I do most days anyway - cycling. So initially I thought, what challenge?
But then I actually thought about it. There are three of us on the bike, 'Goodies'-style. Eloise sits on a specially-designed seat on my crossbar and Charlie trails along at the back on his trailer bike. And we negotiate jaywalking pedestrians, red-light jumping motorists, lorries, prams, other bikes and - occasionally - kamikaze parents doing the school run by car. (Just watch the video below if you don't believe me!)
So although I'm not doing much out of the ordinary, it's still a challenge. And it's a challenge I wish more motorists would rise to. It makes you a better driver, for a start. (No, I don't jump red lights; yes, I do occasionally cycle on the footpath but slowly and not at the expense of any pedestrians.)
If more people did it, the roads would be safer, the air would be cleaner and we'd all be a darn site fitter.
And it's good fun.
Look!
June 8, 2014
Father's Day Gift Guide 2
It draweth near! And if the last prezzie-packed post didn't inspire you, I thought I'd add a few late entries to our annual Father's Day Gift Guide, many of which can be procured at (reasonably) short notice and at not too high prices.
First, hampers. Spicers of Hythe have been providers of luxury hampers since 1926, and have an extensive range at outstanding prices. Every dad deserves to be spoilt on Father’s Day and a hamper is a great way to do this. They are are available in a variety of sizes at a range of prices to suit various budgets and contain all manner of goodies from fine wines to cheese to whisky and luxury biscuits. There's even a barbecue hamper if the weather's up to it!
Next, something completely different. Why not buy a little dad time and keep the kids entertained, amused and even educated at the same time? Getting the kids (rather than dad) a pressie for Father's Day might seem odd but believe me, as one myself (a dad, that is) I know the value of the Leap Pad for keeping the kids entertained and a whole stack of new releases for these magic mini tablets has just been released. Guaranteed to give a dad some guilt-free 'me' time next Sunday!
Several DVD releases have recently come my way, all of which I can highly recommend, including the topical FORGOTTEN MEN - a unique documentary about the First World War, with footage produced in 1934 before the outbreak of World War Two. Presented by historian Sir John Hammerton, this extremely rare account of the horrors of the First World War combines original footage and pictures taken by official photographers between 1914 1918; intertwined with interviews from a number of ex-Servicemen who describe their own personal experiences whilst fighting on the western front – less than 20 years after WW1 ended.
But if none of the above takes your fancy or if you simply can't decide, take a look at Voucher Codes site. They have an entire section of Father's Day Gift Ideas ranging from iTunes gift cards to a year's supply of M&S dine in for two meals. And if anyone reading this wants to buy me something (*ahem*) I'd settle for one of those.
Just imagine! No cooking - with wine - for one day each week all year.
Now that's what I call Father's Day!
First, hampers. Spicers of Hythe have been providers of luxury hampers since 1926, and have an extensive range at outstanding prices. Every dad deserves to be spoilt on Father’s Day and a hamper is a great way to do this. They are are available in a variety of sizes at a range of prices to suit various budgets and contain all manner of goodies from fine wines to cheese to whisky and luxury biscuits. There's even a barbecue hamper if the weather's up to it!
Next, something completely different. Why not buy a little dad time and keep the kids entertained, amused and even educated at the same time? Getting the kids (rather than dad) a pressie for Father's Day might seem odd but believe me, as one myself (a dad, that is) I know the value of the Leap Pad for keeping the kids entertained and a whole stack of new releases for these magic mini tablets has just been released. Guaranteed to give a dad some guilt-free 'me' time next Sunday!
Several DVD releases have recently come my way, all of which I can highly recommend, including the topical FORGOTTEN MEN - a unique documentary about the First World War, with footage produced in 1934 before the outbreak of World War Two. Presented by historian Sir John Hammerton, this extremely rare account of the horrors of the First World War combines original footage and pictures taken by official photographers between 1914 1918; intertwined with interviews from a number of ex-Servicemen who describe their own personal experiences whilst fighting on the western front – less than 20 years after WW1 ended.
But if none of the above takes your fancy or if you simply can't decide, take a look at Voucher Codes site. They have an entire section of Father's Day Gift Ideas ranging from iTunes gift cards to a year's supply of M&S dine in for two meals. And if anyone reading this wants to buy me something (*ahem*) I'd settle for one of those.
Just imagine! No cooking - with wine - for one day each week all year.
Now that's what I call Father's Day!
Father's Day Gifts
It draweth nearer, and if the last prezzie-packed post didn't inspire you, I thought I'd add a few late entries to out annual Father's Day Gift Guide, either of which can be procured at (reasonably) short notice.
First, hampers. Spicers of Hythe have been providers of luxury hampers since 1926, and have an extensive range of hampers at outstanding prices. Every dad deserves to be spoilt on Father’s Day and a hamper is a great way to do this. They are are available in a variety of sizes at a range of prices to suit various budgets and contain all manner of goodies from fine wines to cheese to whisky and luxury biscuits. There's even a barbecue hamper if the weather's up to it!
Next, why not buy a little dad time and keep the kids entertained, amused and even educated at the same time? Getting the kids a pressie for Father's Day might seem odd but believe me, as a dad, I know the value of the Leap Pad and a whole stack of new releases for these magic mini tablets has just been released. Guaranteed to give a dad some guilt-free 'me' time next Sunday!
Several DVD releases have recently come my way, all of which I can highly recommend, including the topical FORGOTTEN MEN - a unique documentary about the First World War, with footage produced in 1934 before the outbreak of World War Two.
Presented by historian Sir John Hammerton, this extremely rare account of the horrors of the First World War combines original footage and pictures taken by official photographers between 1914 1918; intertwined with interviews from a number of ex-Servicemen who describe their own personal experiences whilst fighting on the western front – less than 20 years after WW1 ended.
And it you're really stuck, why not take a look at Voucher Codes site. They have an entire section of Father's Day Gift Ideas ranging from iTunes gift cards to a year's supply of M&S dine in for two meals. If anyone reading this wants to buy me anything, I'd settle for that.
No cooking, with wine, for one day each week all year.
That's what I call Father's Day!
First, hampers. Spicers of Hythe have been providers of luxury hampers since 1926, and have an extensive range of hampers at outstanding prices. Every dad deserves to be spoilt on Father’s Day and a hamper is a great way to do this. They are are available in a variety of sizes at a range of prices to suit various budgets and contain all manner of goodies from fine wines to cheese to whisky and luxury biscuits. There's even a barbecue hamper if the weather's up to it!
Next, why not buy a little dad time and keep the kids entertained, amused and even educated at the same time? Getting the kids a pressie for Father's Day might seem odd but believe me, as a dad, I know the value of the Leap Pad and a whole stack of new releases for these magic mini tablets has just been released. Guaranteed to give a dad some guilt-free 'me' time next Sunday!
Several DVD releases have recently come my way, all of which I can highly recommend, including the topical FORGOTTEN MEN - a unique documentary about the First World War, with footage produced in 1934 before the outbreak of World War Two.
Presented by historian Sir John Hammerton, this extremely rare account of the horrors of the First World War combines original footage and pictures taken by official photographers between 1914 1918; intertwined with interviews from a number of ex-Servicemen who describe their own personal experiences whilst fighting on the western front – less than 20 years after WW1 ended.
And it you're really stuck, why not take a look at Voucher Codes site. They have an entire section of Father's Day Gift Ideas ranging from iTunes gift cards to a year's supply of M&S dine in for two meals. If anyone reading this wants to buy me anything, I'd settle for that.
No cooking, with wine, for one day each week all year.
That's what I call Father's Day!
June 4, 2014
Jim'll Fix It
I have a confession to make. I used to love this programme. I nearly wrote in to it on several occasions. And I once met Jimmy Savile personally, waited outside his flat in Scarborough to get his autograph. That, I now realise, might have been a close shave.
I'm not being flippant; I'm not in any way trying to make light of the many heinous crimes the man committed, What I am doing is asking this question. Does the bad someone has done negate the good they may have achieved?
Two things set me thinking about this. One, the Panorama report this week into Savile's work at Broadmoor Hospital. In serious need of reform, Savile was appointed by the government to help (bizarre as that now seem) because - as one former employee said - he got things done. We know now there may have been a huge price in terms of the abuse that occurred as a result of the freedom he was given. That was - is - too high a price to pay, of course. But if some good was done, should we ignore it?
The second reason for thinking about this question is the rise and fill of the Crystal Methodist Paul Flowers. Flowers was for a time the Minister at my parents' church and I once heard him preach what may be the most memorable sermon I've heard, and I've heard many - some good and an awful lot very, very bad.
Flowers did a lot of work with drug addicts in the area too; he challenged local prejudice and was on occasion inspirational whilst in the pulpit. How are the mighty fallen? Flowers has fallen from a great height and left a trail of disappointed and disaffected former friends and acquaintances in his wake.
But does that make him less of a preacher? And his sermons less impressive?
Of course, were the content hypocritical, judgemental and 'holier than thou' then we know now - that with his feet of clay - such words would be a worthless sham. But they weren't. If anything, as far as the sermons I heard go, they were anything but judgemental, anything but superior, anything but holier than thou.
Martin Luther King was a womanising philanderer; Ghandi seems to have been less than a diligent, loving father. I'm not suggesting for a minute Savile or Flowers fall into that class. But I am saying no one is perfect, let he who is without sin cast the first stone and no matter how bad, how evil someone might turn out to be we shouldn't have to deny ourselves the memory of the good times, if there were any.
And I really did like Jim'll Fix It,
I'm not being flippant; I'm not in any way trying to make light of the many heinous crimes the man committed, What I am doing is asking this question. Does the bad someone has done negate the good they may have achieved?
Two things set me thinking about this. One, the Panorama report this week into Savile's work at Broadmoor Hospital. In serious need of reform, Savile was appointed by the government to help (bizarre as that now seem) because - as one former employee said - he got things done. We know now there may have been a huge price in terms of the abuse that occurred as a result of the freedom he was given. That was - is - too high a price to pay, of course. But if some good was done, should we ignore it?
The second reason for thinking about this question is the rise and fill of the Crystal Methodist Paul Flowers. Flowers was for a time the Minister at my parents' church and I once heard him preach what may be the most memorable sermon I've heard, and I've heard many - some good and an awful lot very, very bad.
Flowers did a lot of work with drug addicts in the area too; he challenged local prejudice and was on occasion inspirational whilst in the pulpit. How are the mighty fallen? Flowers has fallen from a great height and left a trail of disappointed and disaffected former friends and acquaintances in his wake.
But does that make him less of a preacher? And his sermons less impressive?
Of course, were the content hypocritical, judgemental and 'holier than thou' then we know now - that with his feet of clay - such words would be a worthless sham. But they weren't. If anything, as far as the sermons I heard go, they were anything but judgemental, anything but superior, anything but holier than thou.
Martin Luther King was a womanising philanderer; Ghandi seems to have been less than a diligent, loving father. I'm not suggesting for a minute Savile or Flowers fall into that class. But I am saying no one is perfect, let he who is without sin cast the first stone and no matter how bad, how evil someone might turn out to be we shouldn't have to deny ourselves the memory of the good times, if there were any.
And I really did like Jim'll Fix It,
May 28, 2014
100 Ideas for Dads
There are plenty of 'how to' books out there, some good, some bad. But a book like 'how to be a great dad without going mad' or 'how to be a fab father without lifting a finger' has only ever been the stuff of dreams as far as I'm concerned.
I suppose there are only really two ways of getting a book you want to read written: write it yourself, or inspire someone else to do it. And that, I'm pleased to say, is what's happened here.
It's not often as a writer that you come across someone reading a book you've written. It must be even more unusual to have written a 'how to write' book and then find a book by someone who's been inspired by it to write one of their own.
But that's what Willem van Eekelen says of his new book, 100 Ideas for Dads who Love Their Kids... but who find them exhausting. And as such, he kindly sent me a copy the other day with a note asking if I recognised the application of some of my writing tips.
To be honest, I don't. But only because the content is engrossing and entertaining in its own right. (I suppose that may count.) If you've ever arrived home from work utterly exhausted and at a loss to know how to keep up with the kids, or slumped on the sofa in stunned disbelief at the endless energy they expend then this is the book for you.
In fact, it's the book for every parent (not to mention grandparent, aunt, uncle, cousin, and god parent). Let's face it, not only are we sometimes physically exhausted, but the mental challenge of thinking up a game can sometimes leave us floundering.
In which case, 'Be a Statue' and 'Relax Together' to say nothing of 'Tie me Down' and 'Where's my shoe?' are the games for you. And as half-term takes it's toll, it might save not just your energy, but your sanity.
It's published by Featherstone Books (an imprint of Bloomsbury) and is available on Amazon and in all good book shops at just £4.99 a copy.
I suppose there are only really two ways of getting a book you want to read written: write it yourself, or inspire someone else to do it. And that, I'm pleased to say, is what's happened here.
It's not often as a writer that you come across someone reading a book you've written. It must be even more unusual to have written a 'how to write' book and then find a book by someone who's been inspired by it to write one of their own.
But that's what Willem van Eekelen says of his new book, 100 Ideas for Dads who Love Their Kids... but who find them exhausting. And as such, he kindly sent me a copy the other day with a note asking if I recognised the application of some of my writing tips.
To be honest, I don't. But only because the content is engrossing and entertaining in its own right. (I suppose that may count.) If you've ever arrived home from work utterly exhausted and at a loss to know how to keep up with the kids, or slumped on the sofa in stunned disbelief at the endless energy they expend then this is the book for you.
In fact, it's the book for every parent (not to mention grandparent, aunt, uncle, cousin, and god parent). Let's face it, not only are we sometimes physically exhausted, but the mental challenge of thinking up a game can sometimes leave us floundering.
In which case, 'Be a Statue' and 'Relax Together' to say nothing of 'Tie me Down' and 'Where's my shoe?' are the games for you. And as half-term takes it's toll, it might save not just your energy, but your sanity.
It's published by Featherstone Books (an imprint of Bloomsbury) and is available on Amazon and in all good book shops at just £4.99 a copy.
