The 15th of February 2021 marks the 50th anniversary of D-Day. Not that D-Day, O history buff. Decimalisation Day. On this day in 1971, the UK officially moved forward into the eighteenth century with its money system. The USA and several European countries including France had “gone decimal” in the 1700s, but mention that to some Brits and they’ll tell… Read more »
Good news! After over three years of writing weekly “columns”, I have proved what I set out to prove—that I can write humorously about something of interest each week. I am now going to change my use of this website for a while. Instead of writing regular “articles”, I plan to post random updates about my current writing projects. They… Read more »
(Yes; this is fake news. But at least I admit it!) A Redmond, Washington company has decided that St. Patrick’s Day has become too commercialized and is seeking to make the lesser-known St. Redmond’s Day the focus of the revelry. Bob Doors, the company’s founder said, “St. Patrick’s Day has lost its faith-based origins. Nowadays it’s all about leprechauns, shamrocks,… Read more »
Now that the Poppies Are Gone… It’s November the twelfth, and yesterday I was laying a wreath on behalf of the First Okotoks Scout Group. Several hundred people attended this outdoor ceremony at the cenotaph, where the bright sunshine was making the hoar frost sparkle on the trees. It’s a setting that I much prefer to the indoor ceremony, for… Read more »
The UK radio station that was “born” on Mrs. H’s 14th birthday turned 50 this weekend (Sept 30 to be precise). (Please don’t do the arithmetic—Mrs. H. won’t thank you for it!) For many people who grew up with BBC Radio 1 in the 60s and 70s, this is a big(ish) deal, and in acknowledgement of that, the BBC had… Read more »
There was a time when news media reported interesting and important happenings in a sober fashion. Well, for most of the year, anyway—August (give or take) was known as “Silly Season” in the UK and elsewhere. A quick thumb through the internet revealed that the reason for Silly Season is that the amount of government and business news declines in… Read more »
“She Who Must Be Lip-Read” marks my 100th article on this blog/website. I’d like to think that there’s something here to interest, entertain, and amuse most people. If you’ve never read any of my pieces, why not do so now. You’ll see an approximate reading time at the top of each one. For those of you who like pictures… sorry… Read more »
(Note to the uninitiated—“Cholmondeley” is pronounced “Chumley”. Honest!) “Pass the maple-rye,” said Tyrone Cholmondley-Wellichuk, the family patriarch. His love of rye whiskey infused with maple syrup was legendary in the circles in which he moved. And move in circles is what he frequently did, since one leg was shorter than the other as well as being somewhat paralyzed—the result of… Read more »
In polite circles, the cheese course is served towards the end of a meal, with the inclusion of crackers optional. Here in the Hatchery, we know little about politeness; and for yours truly at least, cheese is a food group all by itself. Nothing special—mousetrap cheese usually does the job. But even in the politest households in many countries, there’s… Read more »
I want my money back! A week or so ago, I noticed on the BBC’s website that World Book Day was being observed on March 3rd (“celebrated” seems far too jolly a word for the way that Brits acknowledge such events, but “scowled at” seemed unduly disrespectful). So I thought, “I’ll write something based loosely on World Book Day.” So…… Read more »