Posts by daleaway
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I liked the Northerner in the 1970s when it had those phenomenally cute little biddy private bedrooms with pull-down bathing and loo facilities. (Can we have them back?)
Put them in planes, too!
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During the war years, Coward's themes were duty, loyalty, and the importance of keeping the home fires burning. His heroes got to do manly heroics in the military, and his heroines stood staunchly by their men. Brief Encounter should be viewed in this context: it's a hymn to loyalty and self-denial, to weathering storms and staying on a steady course.
Coward's previous world-weariness and frivolity were set aside for the duration. MI5 asked him to establish their wartime Paris office, and he was living in Paris working for the British war effort while the rest of the world thought he was idling life away on the Riviera.
A much underrated and misread chap. It's all there in his letters, just published.
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This might cheer you up, Jackie:
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What a fascinating link, Tim.
As for hitching a ride with superpowers, I'm reminded of Oscar Hammerstein's take on international relations:
If allies are strong with powers to protect me
Might they not protect me out of all I own?Is indeed a puzzlement.
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Those Chinese students will probably end up running the country as policy analysts one day, too.
Here's hoping it's their own country. -
I think it's a life-stage thing.
This household's reasons for preferring to drink at home have very little to do with saving money. Here they are:
No uninvited guests. We like to choose our own convivial company, and are not on the lookout for possible new partners.
Ambience. We enjoy our comfortable furniture, attractive decor, and a higher quality of art and amusements than are usually on offer in public bars. We can turn the heating up or down, or go and get an extra jumper from the next room. If we fancy a game of Scrabble or a quiet conversation, or even a rowdy hoe-down, the management are accommodating.
Hygiene: We can vouch for the spotless state of the bathrooms and kitchen. Surprisingly, the bar snacks are just to our liking and noone else has been delving in the cashew nuts before us with unwashed hands.
Entertainment: if we choose to watch TV or listen to music, we are not subject to the whims of bar staff. We can play classical music without cries of derision, watch a sad movie, or get out some instruments and create live music ourselves, with friends or solo.
Beverage selection. Whatever esoteric brand we fancy seems to be readily available. Pre-planning is the secret here.
Opening hours are 24/7. No worries about designated drivers, except for our guests.
[Lest you think you've got a couple of old soaks here, I'd mention that we drink alcohol only occasionally, though we cook with it quite frequently. ]
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Curious thing about the DomPost: they have no labels on their plentiful right wing columnists, but when it comes to Chris Trotter, he is carefully labelled "From the Left".
Presumably, in case we should inadvertently mistake it for a proper opinion.
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I CAN spell Uruguay.
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Who would have thought that the death of a prominent New Zealander was as important as the elections in Zimbabwe (though not quite as important as a barbecue in Ururguay)?
Dame Augusta's family must feel humbled.
A good reminder of why our household gets all its news off the net.
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Southland... hmmm....
"I'm proud to be a scourer from Mataura".