Quote Of The Day

"Victory goes to the player who makes the next-to-last mistake - Chessmaster Savielly Grigorievitch Tartakower (1887-1956)"

Tuesday, June 30, 2020

Danger Mouse vs Archer...

Archer is just Danger Mouse, but for 40 year olds.


Or put another way, Danger Mouse is just Archer for 5 year olds.




Monday, June 29, 2020

Every Islington street. With its own story. Fascinating record of our wonderful borough by Islington Walks. @IslingtonWalks

Every Islington street. With its own story. Fascinating record of our wonderful borough by the marvellous people at Islington Walks. @IslingtonWalks

One of my favourite quotes is about Highbury Fields...  How little times have changed!

"By 1887 it was recorded that the fine turf and the larks that used to hover and sing had disappeared and 'disorderly characters frequented the fields'."

See the full list in all its glory here:



Friday, June 26, 2020

What a relief! ...

A second bit of outside toilet news. Or as I call it; some wee news you might to be glad to be privy, two.  And a rare thing for me, a public thank you to our local Islington Council.

Nearby Highbury Fields is a lovely green space and is working very hard providing a place to socialise safely in the sunshine. With pubs and bars still closed the place has been quite busy becoming a bit of a beer garden.  

Bigger crowds bring their own bursting issues of course. Especially after a skin full. 

Some local people have understandably been upset that some revellers have been relieving themselves in the park and local gardens. No one likes an inconsiderate slasher in the park.

Luckily the local council staff have been creative and have now opened additional toilets in the Highbury Fields play area with a fab one way socially distanced queuing system accessed on Highbury Crescent near the swimming pool. Open 9am - 9pm. So that makes three places to take a leak. 

What a relief! 

Mainly people are respecting physical distancing in the Fields and there’s a lovely hum of chatter and fun across the whole area. So it is great to see the council staff responding by thinking hard about how people can use the park safely and without pissing off (and on) the neighbours. 

As a side note, like many public spaces around the country, not everyone takes their picnic waste home or at least puts it in one of the many bins provided. So good old Islington Council greenspaces team have provided extra staff each night - not only making sure everyone is safe but as late night litter pickers too. Nice one. 

So thanks for both taking the piss, and for not being (or standing for) rubbish.




Wednesday, June 24, 2020

Monday, June 22, 2020

Stuart Family Picnic @ Highbury Fields...

Great that Stuart's family could come up to see us yesterday. Richard drove Brenda and Ronnie up and we sat in Highbury Fields. Stu made us a lovely picnic. We’d not seen Brenda since our Hawai’i trip before lockdown. We had a right laugh.






Friday, June 19, 2020

Wednesday, June 17, 2020

Project Restart...

Not here too early, am I? <Checks phone> Oh. <Checks phone again> Ooooh. 😂 
Good luck tonight! @Arsenal #COYG











Tuesday, June 16, 2020

Alan Bennett's Talking Heads...

I used to love Alan Bennett's Talking Heads when they were first broadcast on television way back in the late 90s and late 00s. Single-handers, they were both funny and moving. Back then the monologues had famous names like Julie Walters, Maggie Smith and Patricia Routledge attached.

Well, a brand new adaptation of them all is coming to the BBC soon - with a clutch of new stars rerecording them (and an extra couple of plays added to boot).

The series will start 9pm next Tuesday 23rd June with casts including Jodie Comer, Lesley Manville, Imelda Staunton, Tamsin Greig, Martin Freeman, Lucian Msmati and more. All episodes will be available on BBC iPlayer from that date too.

All of the films were shot with casts and crews socially distancing, with a full list of those involved below.

The full line up is:
Jodie Comer in Her Big Chance (1988), directed by Josie Rourke
Monica Dolan in The Shrine (2019), directed by Nicholas Hytner
Martin Freeman in A Chip in the Sugar (1988), directed by Jeremy Herrin
Tamsin Greig in Nights in the Garden of Spain (1998), directed by Marianne Elliott
Sarah Lancashire in An Ordinary Woman (2019), directed by Hytner
Lesley Manville in Bed Among the Lentils (1988), directed by Hytner
Lucian Msamati in Playing Sandwiches (1998), directed by Herrin
Maxine Peake in Miss Fozzard Finds Her Feet (1988), directed by Sarah Frankcom
Rochenda Sandall in The Outside Dog (1998), directed by Nadia Fall
Kristin Scott Thomas in The Hand of God (1998), directed by Jonathan Kent
Imelda Staunton in A Lady of Letters (1988), directed by Kent
Harriet Walter in Soldiering On (1988), directed by Elliott
















Monday, June 15, 2020

Islington has lowest infection rate in London by a very long way... 👏👏👏

According to Government stats (coronavirus.data.gov.uk) Islington has lowest infection rate in London by a very long way. 👏👏👏

There have been only two confirmed cases in Islington since 27th May (on 5th and 10th June). Not bad. Unless we are all just asymptomatic and/or suffering in silence! 🤨

Mind you, we’re not all champagne socialists in Islington. 42% of us live in social housing. We have the fourth-highest child poverty in the country. The 14th most deprived borough. A third of children living in overcrowded conditions. Forty per cent of older people living in poverty. The lowest life expectancy in London. The highest number of serious mental health issues in the country. The highest levels of depression in England.

Still, we have an ace football team and that artisan bakery does a lovely brioche.

We Islingtonians have been warned about out of borough folk strolling into our low virus bubble unannounced. If they do, they get handed an artisan mask and scented hand gel at the border. 

Friday, June 12, 2020

Leather restoration underway #RepairShop ...

Repair Shop would be proud. Full on leather restoration underway! 😁



And the results are now in!

Small sofa and large sofa both done...!




Thursday, June 11, 2020

The Chairs of Doctor Who...

What's that you say? You really, REALLY like classic science fiction television AND interior seating design?

In which case your luck is still in. Head along to "The Chairs of Doctor Who" to hang out in a comfy chair with the Doctor(s) and all the gang.




















Wednesday, June 10, 2020

#BlackLivesMatter ...

This Twitter thread is shocking. The videos in the thread are the truly shocking bit. A group of racist locals shouting “go back to Africa” and worse - in my home county of Hertfordshire. This week. #BlackLivesMatter




Tuesday, June 09, 2020

The Chairs of Blake's 7...

What's that? You like classic science fiction television AND interior design?

In which case your luck is in. Head along to "The Chairs of Blake's 7" to hang out in a comfy chair with Avon, Servalan, Blake, and all the gang.








Monday, June 08, 2020

Enlightening and compelling BBC article on some of the expressions / terms being used around Black Lives Matter...

Enlightening and compelling BBC article on some of the expressions / terms being used around Black Lives Matter.


“Imagine your house is on fire and somebody comes up to you and says, 'Hey, all houses matter.’”


Article contributors: Kehinde Andrews is professor of black studies at Birmingham City University, director of the Centre for Critical Social Research, founder of the Organisation of Black Unity, and co-chair of the Black Studies Association. JT Flowers is a 26-year-old American rapper, student and activist living in the UK.

Oh, and in case of any doubt, my personal opinion, it’s utterly disgraceful that a statue to a slaver survived as long as it did in a public space.
Maybe put all those statues in museums with a suitable sign explaining their controversial history as an education tool? Or better still, just ask Black people what they want!

Thursday, June 04, 2020

Arsenal Together...

So proud of everyone at The Arsenal Foundation event. Lots of Arsenal stars and the GayGooners with Matt Lucas for hosting. Great work.






Wednesday, June 03, 2020

Do Not Try This At Home!

Dozens of Android phone owners are reporting that a picture featuring a lake, a cloudy sunset and a green shoreline is crashing their handsets when used as wallpaper.

It sounds like an April Fool joke. But isn't.

Several brands seem to be affected, including Samsung and Google's Pixel.

The bug makes the screen turn on and off continuously. In some cases a factory reset is required.

I do not recommend trying it out!

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-52891650

Tuesday, June 02, 2020

No one is born hating another person because of the colour of his skin... - Nelson Mandela

"No one is born hating another person because of the colour of his skin, or his background, or his religion. People must learn to hate, and if they can learn to hate, they can be taught to love, for love comes more naturally to the human heart than its opposite."

- Nelson Mandela

Monday, June 01, 2020

Dystopian Sex...

Dystopia update: sex with someone you don’t live with is now illegal – unless it’s in your garden, with up to six people, and your garden is entirely private. 😉