I
was watching the BBC quiz-cum-comedy show, QI, last night and
the word 'tenrec' came up. Although I hadn't heard it for around 45
years, something told me it was a word I'd learned in The Seychelles.
Sure enough, it turned out to be an animal that's unique to
Madagascar but which has been introduced into various islands in the
Indian Ocean. Funny thing the brain. Cue cute video.
I
bought a Panama hat yesterday. And the temperature duly fell five
degrees today. From a level that was already low. I toyed with asking
my daughter to put the central heating back on. For which, as a
friolera, she doesn't usually need much encouragement. And
I've just seen the forecast for tomorrow - a high of 15 degrees!
Still, better than Friday's high of 10. In summer! Why does
anyone stay in this country?
I
was out yesterday when the Post Office tried to deliver a parcel for
me. So I went to the depot today to pick it up. The note the postman
left said I'd have to prove identity but gave a wide range of things
- including a debit or credit card - that would be acceptable. I
decided to push things by offering my bus pass and wasn't too
surprised to find this was OK. In fact, my impression was that any
document with just my name on would have been enough.
Coincidentally, the Post Office has announced today it'll soon be
leaving packages with your neighbours, if you're not in. Which is all
pretty pragmatic and sensible. So, just like Spain . . .
The
Euros: Here's the detail behind
my comment that England played their traditional game of
Give-the-Ball-Away against the French. . . . For
England it is the simplest thing, yet also the hardest thing. They
really have to start taking better care of the ball.
Towards
the end of the Second World War, the question inevitably rose of what
to do with Germany. An American chap called Henry Morgenthau Jr. came
up with a plan to 'deindustrialise/pastoralise' the defeated nation.
It was termed, naturally enough, the Morgenthau Plan and its aim was
to ensure that Germany would never again have the capacity to wage
war. The most surprising thing about the plan is that it was
partially implemented, before being scrapped in favour of the rather
different Marshall Plan in 1947. Or perhaps the most surprising thing
was the fact that Morgenthau's boss - Henry Dexter White - was not
only the main man behind the Plan but also a Soviet agent. There's a
lot more here for those interested.
Finally
. . . By popular demand, I'm including a foto of my long-eared owl here in
the text. To give you an indication of its size, I've decided upon my
daughter's toilet bowl. People seem to be much amused at its
dimensions. The owl, not the toilet.
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