This blog would appear to exert far more influence than I ever could have imagined. No sooner do I advise you that domestic violence is referred to here as gender violence, than the Royal Academy of Letters rushes into print to say that this is not acceptable and must be replaced by either ‘domestic violence’ or ‘sex-based violence’. The latter seems a tad ambiguous to me. One thinks of the actress with the big lips. Or ‘trout pout’, it seems. Lesley something.

Pondering [yet again] on the aggression and stupidity of Spanish drivers on motorways, it struck me that their eagerness to court danger and death probably reflected the wannabe bullfighter in them. A little later, it occurred to me that this couldn’t possibly be an original thought. Shortly after this, I realised it wasn’t accurate either; years ago I regularly saw far more stupid and dangerous driving in Iran. And I don’t recall seeing any bullfighting there. Back to the drawing board.

Has there ever been a soccer match with worse statistics than the UEFA final of Wednesday night between Oporto and Monaco? First half: A solitary shot at goal. Score 1-0, to Oporto. Second half: A total of 2 more shots at goal by Oporto. Final score 3-0. The cost of season tickets to Chelsea must be plummeting, if the Oporto coach really is on his way there.

There is an ad showing on Spanish TV which has ‘Land of Hope and Glory’ as the backing music. Next time I see it, I will be less slack-jawed and will seek to understand what on earth the connection might be with the product or service being offered.

FilmWatch
‘Wonderland’ – ‘Broken Dreams’