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 »

In the introductory bumf for Jonathan Palmers Bedford Autodrome motorsport venue it says:

The Motorsport Sensation at Bedford Autodrome. Guests drive every high performance car. They experience one of the most thrilling memorable days of their lives and they will love it.

Rarely do you read marketing blurb that on ...   more »

From the Daily Mail on Saturday an article on the explosion of public sector jobs in - no surprises here - labour constituencies. NuLabour has increased public sector jobs by 13% to 6 million, almost twice the increase seen in the private sector and most are pen pushers. In certain ...   more »

Sunday this week saw me heading off to attend a Rally Navigation Course. Why? Well, 'cos we're off on a rally next month, that's why.

We've entered the BGT in The Rally of the Tests which starts on the 11th in Edinburgh and finishes (we hope) 3 days later in ...   more »

In an article in The Age

Updated at 1.09pm:
A traffic warden slapped a parking ticket on a car which had its dead driver slumped at the wheel outside an Australian shopping mall, an official said on Friday.
The body of the 71-year-old man, whose identity was not immediately released, ...   more »

It was quite a weekend packed with all sorts of goodies.

First, the Brighton family visited and brought almost as much wine as they drank. The kids ran collective riot and trashed the house. So....

Second, I went down to the shoot to top up feeders and add water containers, ...   more »

On Screaming

1. Do not scream; for it is as if you scream all the time.
2. If you are given a plate on which two foods you do not wish to touch each other are touching each other, your voice rises up even to the ceiling, while you point ...   more »

Mr Free Market was in 'circular formulae hell' yesterday. If I interpret correctly he was struggling to make a few sums add up with the aid of a computer and a bit of spreadsheet software. One of his readers - Remittance Man - posted a wonderful comment which I cannot ...   more »

In an interesting item on the news tonight it seems the US embassy are refusing to pay the congestion charge in London, incurred by their vehicles. I didn't follow the story clearly, but apparently they cite the Declaration of Independance and the issue of 'no taxation without representation'; said charge ...   more »

If a statue in the park of a person on a horse has both front legs in the air, the person died in battle. If the horse has one front leg in the air the person died as a result of wounds received in battle. If the horse has all ...   more »

Laws When at Table

1. And if you are seated in your high chair, or in a chair such as a greater person might use, keep your legs and feet below you as they were. Neither raise up your knees, nor place your feet upon the table, for that is ...   more »

We enjoyed a couple of really good bottles over the weekend. Don't worry - we didn't only drink two, but two were particularly of note.

First, with The Fisherman and Mrs Fisherman (if I call her Fishwife I'm in deep trouble) a 1988 Hospices de Beaune Volnay-Santenots by Bouchard was ...   more »

Updated at 12.59pm:
Jacques Chirac is ignorantly hostile to reform; Pervez Musharraf is "not a democrat"; and Dick Cheney's style is to stick up "two fingers" to the outside world. Oh, and Vladimir Putin is a liar.
Former Hong Kong governor Chris Patten has let rip at the world's great ...   more »

Prof. Stephen Hawking appeared on Channel 4's Breakfast TV this week - the Richard and Judy show to 'promote' his new book, A Briefer History of Time.

Now R&J are more used to questioning celebrities about their pets, or probing the details of Jude and Sienna's relationship - you know, ...   more »

I spotted this gem in The Devil's Advocate site....

You may have missed one of the most interesting stories to emerge from Hurricane Katrina. It turns out that armed dolphins, trained by the US military to shoot terrorists and pinpoint spies underwater, have gone missing in the Gulf of Mexico. ...   more »

Overheard at a recent British Council of offices luncheon in London, a quote from Sir Digby Jones, Director General of the CBI:

"I've learned to never trust what a politician says. Watch what they do".

Never more true than today.   more »