Work and play

Guardian Friday Politics Quiz...is this right?

Jock — Fri, 18 Jul 2008 13:18:06 +0000

I had a go at the Guardian Friday politics quiz today. It said I got nine out of ten, and that the one I got wrong was a question about how many Prime Ministers had had a State Funeral since the turn of the nineteenth century. I reckoned four (Wellington, Palmerston, Gladstone and Churchill), they claim three. Who is correct? Or have I missed something? read more »

First there were "ants in your pants"...

Jock — Wed, 09 Jul 2008 09:32:49 +0000

...but bats in your bra? The rest of the office has just realized my tears are of laughter...

BBC NEWS | England | Norfolk | Teenager finds bat asleep in bra

Teenager finds bat asleep in bra A teenager who thought movement in her underwear was caused by her vibrating mobile phone found a bat curled up asleep in her bra. Abbie Hawkins, 19, of Norwich, had been wearing the bra for five hours when she plucked up the courage to investigate. When she did, she found a baby bat in padding in her 34FF bra. The hotel receptionist said she was shocked but felt bad for removing the "cuddly" bat.

Is this what people mean by "NFN" I wonder?

Silverstone: who should I be supporting?

Jock — Sat, 05 Jul 2008 13:26:35 +0000

By complete happenstance yesterday, I have a surprise Santander sponsor's ticket for tomorrow's British Grand Prix at Silverstone. Apart from once or twice being dragged through the cold countryside when I was seven years old to watch the RAC rally stages in North Yorkshire I've never been to such an event so I thought I should probably try it once.

I do support motorsport in general as I do believe it is the way the industry creates more efficient vehicles and technologies that eventually feed through into production cars and I do watch all the F1 races on TV. Though all this Max Moseley bad business does sour it a little.

But who do I support? The ticket comes because of a relationship between Abbey/Santander and Oxford Brookes University that was originally established when Alonso won the title a couple of seasons ago - Alonso lives in Oxford and set up some sponsorship deals for Spanish students to come and study at our School of Technology. But obviously he's no longer in an Abbey/Santander sponsored car. I have a small natural bias towards the "English" boy, Hamilton, and he of course is in the same car.

But, just watching the qualifying a new possibility arises. Apparently Heikki Kovalainen lives in Oxford too and is in the right sponsor's car and is the front runner in qualifying. He describes Britain as his adopted country (I wouldn't if I hailed from Finland I suspect!). Whereas the British born one has adopted Switzerland allegedly because despite all his good luck and fantastic income he can't be bothered to contribute his dues to Britain.

It would be nice to see a "British" winner of the British Grand Prix and eventually the championship again. But I think the answer is clear for tomorrow, go Oxford! go Santander! go Kovalainen! read more »

New directorship

Jock — Tue, 08 Apr 2008 16:29:12 +0000

I seem to collect these. Why can't I find a few that pay though! I have just been elected a director of the SE² Partnership Limited (Social Enterprise South East) which takes over from a SEEDA funded project supporting and promoting social enterprise in the South East region. read more »

Richard Baum's bad hair day

Jock — Wed, 12 Mar 2008 13:32:16 +0000

Richard does a very funny piece on differing attitudes to coiffeur. Well worth a read. But Richard - it ain't just the girls. Last Tuesday when I was on duty I was called by a young male student resident who was out in town. He was calling to ask me to go check his room because he thought he had gone out leaving his hair straighteners turned on and burning a hole in his bedroom. He had, but such was the mess in his room I honestly couldn't tell if a fire had already happened or not! read more »

Any twitterers out there - help me identify this bird?

Jock — Wed, 06 Feb 2008 01:54:01 +0000

The bird on the acompanying recording has been singing now for about an hour - ie from 1am onwards. Can anyone tell me what it is?

NB - don't turn it up too loud - about 1:25 into the clip it gets quite gusty windy! read more »

All publicity?

Jock — Sat, 26 Jan 2008 02:12:46 +0000

...is good publicity? Maybe not:

"Jock bottom "

Saturday January 26, 2008
The Guardian

I never thought it would come to this, but I'm starting to feel sorry for that suddenly most benighted of species, the high school jock...He was a God.

Not any more.

Jock-stock has been terribly devalued in the last few years. ...Pity the poor jock. His day is done.

Still, good job this one is a Jock and a wonk, and a Mac user I suppose!

Innovation? Not in Yorkshire!

Jock — Sat, 05 Jan 2008 08:28:40 +0000

I liked this . I do hate washing up so I might be interested in this, but I wouldn't exactly call the idea an innovation. For hundreds of years we ate off a "trencher" a piece of think bread used where we now use a plate and eaten afterwards. And being a Yorkshire lad of course I know they've kept the idea alive with Yorkshire Pudding which are not always those dainty little gravy holders on the side of your plate:

For those who can't stand the washing up, help is at hand with one of the strangest culinary inventions in years - the bread bowl.

The firm expects to be selling naan bowls filled with chicken tikka masala in supermarkets this year

A Birmingham food firm has started making bowls and plates out of dough. The idea is that diners enjoy a soup, chilli or curry, then eat the bowl too.

David Williams, the managing director of Butt Foods, which has developed the idea, admits: "Our banks, our investors all thought we were crackers. But we've now proved them wrong." read more »

New Year's Resolution?

Jock — Tue, 01 Jan 2008 13:26:10 +0000

For the sake of the planet, eat seasonal foods...

For 'tis the sport to have the Telegraph hoist with its own petard...

Jock — Sun, 07 Oct 2007 23:30:00 +0000

There's been some moaning in the Telegraph recently about how school kids do not know their Shakespeare. So they published a quiz for their readers. Okay, so I didn't do too badly, but I didn't get fourteen out of fifteen, but I certainly got one less, according to their answers, than I should have done:

Last Updated: 10:40am BST 07/10/2007

Test yourself on your knowledge of Shakespeare:

Questions

5. Who says: “Neither a borrower nor a lender be; For loan oft loses both itself and friend, and borrowing dulls the edge of husbandry”?

Answers

5. Hamlet

Oops! Still, it's not terribly relevant fatherly advice in these days of student loans is it!