K!T

 A box was delivered to our door this afternoon:-

It contained  a sturdy new non-stick pan with a lid. I had been wanting a new pan like this one as the handle on our old one's glass lid detached itself some months ago and cannot be reaffixed. Since then I have been using oven gloves to take that lid on and off. The old lid can get pretty hot.

The "K!T" pan is actually made by "BOSH!" but I understand that the German "Bosch" company asserted their legal rights on this project as the two names sound so similar. They have endless funds to ensure legal compliance and when "BOSH!" started off they had a costly naming  battle with"Bosch" that they could ill afford. The names are not even spelt in the same way and British people have been using the word "bosh" without the "c" for donkey's years.

It is a great pan - heavy and substantial and I am sure I will be using it for many more years - probably till I cannot cook any more. It's kind of cool to think that my own son and his "BOSH!" partner Henry are responsible for this sidetrack from vegan cookery. I think they have had a few headaches with the process but hey - nothing ventured, nothing gained. We remain immensely proud of our Ian.

Standout

For some reason I bristle about certain language matters. Perhaps I am a pedant but the evolution of English expression does not always please me.  One compressed word that gets my goat is "standout". It is often used carelessly by radio and TV presenters in relation to sporting achievement. For example:-

"Smith was the standout performer for England against Wales."

&

"The standout team at the tournament has been Japan."

It might also be used in relation to stage performances - as in:-

"For me the standout out show in The West End right now is 'Crazy for You' ".

I hate "standout". Google has a facility called the N-Viewer which is able to track the frequency of word use in printed books over the past two hundred years. Whereas the word "prudence" continues to decline, the word "television" continues to rise. This graph shows the rising incidence of "standout":-

It is thought  to have first appeared in the 1920's but now its usage and acceptance seems to be quite widespread. As far as can be understood, it was born in America in relation to sports but it took quite a while to gain traction. Previously there had always been "stand out" which in most circumstances I have no  problem with - as in 

In  silhouette, the  mountain  seemed to stand out  far more than the surrounding hills.

&

At the identity parade, only one man appeared to stand out in the eyes of the firsthand  witness.

Instead of "standout" I prefer to say "outstanding" - as in:-

Smith was England's most outstanding player in the Wales match.

&

The most outstanding team at The World Cup has been Japan in my opinion.

To commentators and other users of the slovenly term "standout", I would simply ask - "In what circumstances do you ever use the word 'outstanding'?" Hopefully this would cause them to pause for consideration.

Although we have "jazz", "cool", "hip-hop", "chewing gum" and "Big Mac"  over here in England - all absorbed from American use of English, I think we should collectively put our feet down with regard to "standout". That is arguably a bridge too far or perhaps it is already a battle lost.

Fifth

 

Today my oldest brother Paul would have been 76 years old. He was born on August 5th 1947. There he is with our baby brother Simon in 1957. Simon was buried on August 5th 2022 - exactly one year ago.

Here's Paul in 2009, the year before he died. He had become a gifted fiddler and played in many Irish venues. He played with his heart as well as his fingers. If you had met him along an Irish lane in County Clare, you might have thought that he was Irish but he was as Yorkshire as me.

And below, that's Simon - dead at 66. He's in the village churchyard now waiting for his gravestone to be erected and probably berating me for the time it is taking. I find this selfie a little disturbing for I knew who he was and who he might have been. He was interred close to two plaques upon the church wall that he placed there in memory of our late parents whose mortal remains were cremated in 1979 and 2007 respectively. At least Simon did that

And finally, this was our father Philip who was born on August 5th 1914 - on the very day that the outbreak of World War One was announced in the British press. Dad is pictured during World War Two in New Delhi, India in his RAF uniform. The year was probably 1942. He would have been twenty eight that year.

And here he is drinking from a coconut. I seem to recall him telling me that this picture was taken either in Egypt or Palestine on his way home from India after the war but I might be wrong. Unfortunately, I cannot check with him as he died in 1979 and though we might remember them, the dead don't really speak. He would have been 109 years old today

August 5th. You can tell that on the calendar it is a special day for me just as it is for Cro Magnon in France whose own father was also born on this day. It was his blogpost that inspired mine.

Phoebe

There she is, our lovely girl - Phoebe Harriet - now two and a half years old. She had resisted her midday nap but succumbed to sleep when Grandma pushchaired her down to the local post office to mail a letter. This was yesterday afternoon.

As with all normal, healthy young children Phoebe's vocabulary and communication skills improve with each passing week. She can be very funny and seems more strong-willed than most. Whenever she comes to our house she likes to watch Peppa Pig and Trotro on our PC. She sits on my knee and we enjoy the cartoons together.

If I am in another room, she will grab my hand and say, "Come on Grandpa!" Yesterday this happened when I was in the middle of my lunch - a BLT and a mug of tea. Such details appear immaterial to Phoebe when she wants her screentime.

At the computer I will often say, "Just one Peppa Pig and one Trotro Phoebe!" And she will say "Just one!" before high fiving me in agreement. But when the two cartoons have been watched you can guarantee that she will say, "Another one please Grandpa!" and if I refuse her demand she will arch her back and moan as if she has just been sentenced to death.

Last Friday, something very significant happened in her short life. Daytime nappies (American: diapers) were withdrawn and she is now in a phase that all small children must go through called potty training. Shirley and I have absolutely no memory of helping our own children through this process.

Phoebe is doing fine - not too many accidents so far.

Meanwhile in Frances's tummy, Phoebe's sibling is growing. A baby who will steal much of the exclusive parental attention that Phoebe has enjoyed thus far in her short life. She may not appreciate that.

Frances is off work now because the successful London-based tech company she worked for for six years was taken over by an American tech company called Bullhorn and nearly all the original staff were laid off last month - including Frances. She will be seeking another job when the time is right but for now her generous severance package will comfortably see her through several months. She will be able to mother the new baby without worrying overmuch about finances.

And as for Phoebe Harriet, she can always chill out at Grandma and Grandpa's house.

"Barbie"

Yesterday - a rainy day in northern England. What to do? Shirley was meeting up for lunch with a bunch of other retired practice nurses so I decided to head down to "The Showroom" in the city centre. My chosen film was "Barbie" starring Margot Robbie as Barbie and Ryan Gosling as Ken.

I had read some stuff about it - including how the film had riled some sections of the American right who amongst other mean complaints, bridled at the encouragement of "girl power". Also "The Guardian" said of "Barbie": "It’s a riotously entertaining candy-coloured feminist fable that manages simultaneously to celebrate, satirise and deconstruct its happy-plastic subject. Audiences will be delighted."

There was singing and dancing and many clever references to plastic Barbie's heyday. The film was colourful, consciously silly and yet rather like a good episode of "The Simpsons" it contained some interesting and challenging notions just below the comedic surface.

There's Barbieland and not too far away there's The Real World. Barbie and Ken get to travel between the two as Barbie seeks the little girl who once owned her in order to combat issues that have begun to threaten her perfectly pink happiness.

Over at Mattel corporate headquarters, the chairman of the board is played by Will Ferrell who is well-cast as a madcap  and suited leader of a business that is anxious to keep on thriving.

"Barbie" is quite absurd as I am sure everybody involved in its making would admit but it is also joyful and colourful and if you let yourself go with it all you end up leaving the cinema as I did - thoroughly entertained. Oh, and I must admit that Margot Robbie is gorgeous. If there had been Barbie dolls like her back in the day, I would have begged for one at Christmas.

Flabbergasting

©Winnipeg Free Press

As an unashamed Americophile, I like to keep a close eye on what is happening on the other side of The Atlantic.

In recent years, the political scene has certainly been lively. You have probably heard that a special prosecutor has prepared legal charges against the 45th president over his role in the insurrection of January 6th 2021. Trump has some very serious and thoroughly legitimate questions to answer in a court of law.

The most recent charges are supplementary to other legal cases in which Trump is involved. To tell you the truth, I am surprised that there are not more charges against him concerning his business dealings and the cunning games he has played with  taxation officials over decades- simply to avoid paying his dues.

In all of this, I am flabbergasted that Trump remains by far the most popular presidential candidate that the Republicans are able to offer up. I have seen several American voters in vox pop TV interviews expressing their continuing  support for Trump, effectively forgiving him his many sins and implying that the legal pressures upon him are all just part of a massive witch-hunt by the Democrats in league with the American justice system.

What is wrong with them?

Trump once said that he could shoot someone in the middle of 5th Avenue and not lose any voters.  And do you know - I think he may be right!  The  nincompoops who support Trump would probably still support him if there was hard evidence of him selling nuclear weapon secrets to North Korea or robbing Fort Knox or sexually abusing children in Trump Tower. In his supporters' eyes, it seems that even the worst kind of mud will not stick to Trump.  He is like the leader of a crazy cult.

"It’s difficult not to despair that so many Americans have so completely bought into Trump’s lies and denigration of the institutions that sustain democracy and the rule of law — the Department of Justice and FBI, the free press, the courts and juries — that they would reject the damning evidence piled up against him. That they would vote again for a man who is manifestly unfit to lead a company, let alone the world’s greatest and most powerful country."  - Jackie Calmes, "Los Angeles Times"

I wish the army of followers would step aside for a while and ask themselves some simple questions, including:-

1. In essence, is Trump a good and decent man?
2. What did he actually achieve during his tenure as president?
3. How is his mental health?

The USA was and is a great country - a land of opportunity and a beacon of democracy. It is terrible to see its present divisions and the way that the ongoing Trump Problem is dragging the great nation down. Rather than "Making America Great Again", Trump and his people seem to be ensuring its moral demise and its descent into bitter wrangling, shame and unhappiness as they unashamedly twist the truth.

What do you think?

Yorkshire

 

August 1st is Yorkshire Day! On behalf of Yorkshire folk everywhere I would like to wish you and yours a very Happy Yorkshire Day! 

I am very proud of my Yorkshire heritage. My parents were born here and so were all four of my grandparents and all eight of my great grandparents. And on my father's side the Yorkshire chain goes much further back in time.

On August 1st 2018, I posted a poem I had composed especially for Yorkshire Day. It would do me a great honour if you would take a moment or two to read it.   You can find it here.

Today in the town of Rotherham, mayors and mayoresses from every town and city in our illustrious county gathered to celebrate  this special day. Unfortunately, I could not be there as I was standing at the Derbyshire border, holding a large Yorkshire pudding up to the sky - similar to The Statue of Liberty in New York Harbour...