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Fun with Technology (2)
I am typing this on a MacBook Air with 16 GB of RAM and an M3 chip. It is a lovely piece of kit – everything works and it is super-fast. I have been a Mac person since 2000, when I got a Power Mac G4. Back then I was still in love with what was… Continue reading
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Let’s pretend
Yesterday there was a long article in the Guardian about Peter Mandelson, by two of its heavyweight political reporters. The primary purpose of a newspaper article is to impart news. Depending on the kind of article and the nature of the publication, it can be real news or trivial and intended to raise a laugh –… Continue reading
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Parody is dead (1)
May it please the court, exhibit 1 in these proceedings is the Nobel Peace Prize of the 2025 Laureate, Maria Corina Machado. This should be where Maria keeps her other trophies, but it is now in The White House, after she placed it yesterday in the tiny, eager hands of Donald J Trump. I heard… Continue reading
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Donald and Me (2)
Today I glanced through my Guardian, enjoying the lack of adverts since my recent return to the fold with a renewed subscription. It was Hobson’s choice – I must have access to at least one mainstream newspaper, to gauge how it compares to news from other sources. The Guardian pays its journalists and some of… Continue reading
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Inspector Morose
There is a dictum in fiction writing that you should be able to love your hero or at that he should at least have some redeeming feature. I think it is a good one. It’s hard work engaging with a hero in book or film who is irredeemably nasty. As I write, I am watching… Continue reading
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Donald and Me (1)
I am not joking when I say that I have become obsessed with Donald Trump. Some of my friends say I shouldn’t fret about things I can’t change or do anything about. Others say they don’t watch the news and suggest that I try it. The other day one of them messaged me to count… Continue reading
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Mandy weighs in…
Mr Mandelson seemed to go quiet after he was binned as US ambassador for being Jeffrey Epstein’s friend. In today’s Spectator, he popped up to discharge his supple mind on the latest moves by the 45th and 47th president of the USA to make his country great again. Mandy is a fan of the Donald,… Continue reading
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End of Days
I like the Guardian, mainly because it pays its journalists and it is a respectable newspaper. It means well and it represents a saner time than the one we’re living in now. It’s on my side. Some of its columnists are outstanding writers and they helped me get through the terrible days of Covid when… Continue reading
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Noble Art
The Met Police has an annual boxing competition for novices, called The Lafone Cup. It was named, like many old Met institutions were, for some long-dead commissioner. In 1975, I competed in it. I was not a natural pugilist. My best mate was a gifted one. He’d won the Lafone at heavy weight and was… Continue reading
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Knee trembler
Underground mining is dangerous. The deepest and most dangerous mines are in South Africa and I once worked in some. In a mine there are a lot of things that can kill or maim you. Obviously, the rock above might fall on you. There is methane – I carried and used a Davy lamp. Then,… Continue reading
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