Anyhoo (yes "anyway" was already taken).

Having written a post and then junked it (because it was rambling and inadequate, unnecessary, and many other people have already done it much better. The only idea I'll not drop is my surprise at going to Flickr for new information), I'm going to blithely ignore today's events and be my normal innane self.

Reverting to things I should have previously commented upon.

That whole Chirac thing. In case you missed it, that esteemed statesman let the German and, um, Russian [maybe?] premieres into a few little secrets. The omnipresent radio I was exposed to all day on Tuesday made a great fuss of Chirac's comment that after the Finns, Britain has the worse food in Europe (and the Finns put Golden Syrup on pickled fish because it's for breakfast). I'm not entirely convinced by this logic, but I'll have to cede to the superior culinary knowledge of those who eat goose necks (which I always thought was that bit which connects the boom to the mast).

The better comment was something along the lines of all that Britain has given European agriculture is BSE. Ah, gallic wit. It's actually quite a good line, but it's just a shame it's not entirely truthful - but I'm sure such a distinguished politician would hardly be concerned about such a trivial matter.

Not that I cared that much about the Olympic bid, until I heard the prelude to the announcement on the radio. And then it's into the please-please-please/miss-miss-miss feeling which I last got watching rugby (hence the miss-miss-miss). A couple of Oh-s later and I'm feeling happier, and "ha!" the French didn't get it. Yep, petty and spiteful; that's the way to do it.

The only problem with winning the games is that it did lead to scenes of highly incongruous newspapers this morning. The printed text is completely Land of Hope and Glory, as the spoken word is... has anyone else's brand realised there is probably some play on words ending in "...and Gory", but really doesn't want to explore this right now?

Running with the patriotic and the despairing, I've recently finished reading "When the going was good" by Evelyn Waugh. It's a collection of his travel writing published immediately after the Second World War. The introduction is quite melancholic for the world lost through the war, whereas most of the writing precedes the looming threat of that war; hence the title.

It's delightful. I could add a few more adjectives, but they'd only be bulking up the first.

It's also fairly enlightening. Waugh travelled to Abyssinia for the coronation of Ras Tafari (yes, that one). He returned to cover the turmoil caused by the threat of invasion by the then fascist Italy. Suddenly that Black Mischief book of his, which I found a little bemusing at the time, suddenly makes much more sense now that I know it was published two years after he visited Ethiopia for the first time and the presence of Dirre-Dowa in one book, and Debra-Dowa in the other rams the point home.

Who would have thought Waugh would be so good at observing and writing about people?

One interesting note from it: in the book, Waugh recounts an anecdote in which he is confused for his famous brother Alec, who is an author. Hands up if you've heard of someone with the surname Waugh. Which one: Evelyn, Auberon or Alec?

But that's enough normality for today.

Anyhoo,

PS. Picking up on the rugby theme from earlier, one of my friends, currently working in New Zealand, complained about being sent the following [slightly inaccurate] email:
LEGAL PRECEDENT
A seven year old boy was at the centre of a courtroom drama when he challenged a court ruling over who should have custody of him. The boy has a history of being beaten by his parents and the judge awarded custody to his aunt. The boy however confirmed that his aunt beat him more than his parents and refused to live there. When the judge suggested that he live with his grandparents the boy cried out that they beat him more than anyone. Then in an unprecedented move, the judge dramatically allowed the boy to choose who should have custody of him. In a final ruling yesterday, custody was granted to the British & Irish Lions Rugby Team as the boy firmly believes that they are not capable of beating anyone.