Actually the very words 'politically correct' are an oxymoron. A bit like 'Sky Gourmet' or 'friendly fire'. We all know what they are meant to mean, but they don't really bear scrutiny.

In the time we were away from the UK this 'political correctness' (appeasing the losers and whingers, who ...   more »

Today we celebrate a small victory. Small in the great scheme of life but, as is the nature of such things, significant in its' own way.

I've not posted a blog about the incident as it was heading towards the courts (although the evil control freaks will deny you this ...   more »

Richard Burns, England's first and only World Rally Champion, has died. He was 34.

I met him several times during the 1995 Beijing Rally when I was a start marshall. Not only was he very quick - his Subaru spraying me liberally with stones as he sped away from the ...   more »

A lovely story in the SCMP recently concerned a Vietnamese man who illegally entered Hong Kong carrying ammunition - and who threatened to commit robberies if he failed to find a job. He was jailed for 31 months. Duh!

Hell of a way to get a 'permit to remain'.... but ...   more »

The Thanksgiving Story


The Pilgrims who sailed to this country aboard the Mayflower were originally members of the English Separatist Church (a Puritan sect). They had earlier fled their home in England and sailed to Holland (The Netherlands) to escape religious persecution. There, they enjoyed more religious tolerance, but they ...   more »

Despite the opinionated twaddle that occupies most of this blog, I do try and embrace a degree of diversity.   more »

From the Telegraph... news of a surprise winner in an international wine competition:

To budget-conscious British wine lovers, Minervois was an unpretentious southern French red to be found at the cheaper end of supermarket drinks shelves as an affordable alternative to claret.

But in a remarkable turnaround, the area has ...   more »

I don't normally do jokes on the blog, but this from Zapcat Man in Hong Kong did put a smile on my face this morning:

A man and a woman who had never met before, but were both married to other people, found themselves assigned to the same sleeping room ...   more »

I have to own up right away and say I was a little over ambitious with my predictions for the shoot tally. We had a sweepstake on the day - the estimates ranging from 15 to 57 birds - from 50 to over 200 (I think) shots. We were all ...   more »

Despite the generally woeful weather (OK, today is an exception as it is glorious), appalling government and unreasonable taxation, we continue to make the most of living in Blighty.

Hot on the heels of the Rally, we are about to have our first real go at another English winter pastime: ...   more »

Concerning Face and Hands

1. Cast your countenance upward to the light, and lift your eyes to the hills, that I may more easily wash you off. For the stains are upon you; even to the very back of your head, there is rice thereon.
2. And in the breast ...   more »

As an introduction to rallying, this was some baptism by fire. Many thought the tests very hard - some too hard - so they withdrew from the tougher night sections, finding them very rough on the cars. And when you see some of the beautiful machinery in the car park ...   more »

Driving back from Stratford to the Farm yesterday we must have been near a press launch for the new Jaguar XK as I saw 5 or 6 headed the other way. Coupes and Cabriolets from what I could tell... and they looked fabulous... So good in fact that I thought ...   more »

We finished. Not exactly against all odds, but we did have a couple of challenges to overcome. We ended up 48th out of 84 and 6th in class. A very creditable acheivement given the competition and the difficulty of the event. Big Mikes navigation was spot on - and I ...   more »

Originally we’d planned to go to Reims and visit a champagne house, but time was not on our side and covering distance on a Monday was much harder as ‘les francais’ went back to work. The volume of traffic – and in particular trucks – thwarted our progress so after ...   more »

Sunday: Day 3

Packed full of good intentions, croissants and fresh coffee we left the hotel exactly as planned about an hour late. We had to do at least two tests and the first entitled “John McEnroe says” was a cracker. Basically we were given a route – emphatically NOT ...   more »

Feverish activity on the farm this weekend as I fitted fire extinguishers, rally plates, number plates and numbers to the BGT and finally ensured we have all the kit we could want and hopefully nothing more than we need, for the Rally of the Tests. Big Mike plotted maps and ...   more »

Finally, the long awaited (OK, for some anyway) story of this years excursion.

In truth the title of this piece is only partially correct as we spent almost half a day in Belgium, around the charming town of Montherme, in the middle of the Ardennes.

The event was a resounding ...   more »

In the background I can hear the clean pop of a champagne cork, my desk is littered with cards and I'm sure a special telegram is on the way. OK, I lied about the cards.

But why the celebration?

This is my Centenary. Today I post my 100th blog. And ...   more »

The fuss last week in the news about the possible bird flu pandemic has died down somewhat as the scribbling classes dug their claws into the idiot Blunkett. Just in case anyone is in doubt, failure to disclose a potential serious conflict of interest is not 'just a mistake', it's ...   more »

Laws of Forbidden Places

1. Of the beasts of the field, and of the fishes of the sea, and of all foods that are acceptable in my sight you may eat, but not in the living room.
2. Of the hoofed animals, broiled or ground into burgers, you may eat, ...   more »

The antics of our government never fail to provide solid raw material for this blog.

The latest is of course the banning of the taking of a drink on public transport. No more libations on the Friday railway commute out of the city for Mr. Free Market. NO, NO, too ...   more »

Taking advantage of the extended half term hols for our two nippers, Shivs brough them to London for a couple of days. The lucky little sods did the London Eye last night and are going round the Tower of London today. London is glorious this morning - cool but bright ...   more »

Trawling the Telegraph - as I do for good stories, I came upon the news of a new test for migrating to these fair, if over taxed shores....so....

.....what does it mean to be British? Don't know? Well, no passport for you m'lad. Because, if you are a foreigner with ...   more »