Irn Bru – the fabled amber nectar of the glens, the monarch of the fizzy pop world – has always been distinguished by the quality of its advertisements. Happily, this latest one, a take on Kipling’s If, is just as quirky and oddly charming as we’ve come to expect. Top stuff. It used to be
More and more, it seems that Gordon Brown’s government becomes eerily reminiscent of John Major’s hapless ministry. Each day brings a fresh wave of damaging stories that sink the government further into the mire, providing material for fresh bouts of recrimination and acres of still more devastating coverage. Major, of course, was more unfortunate in
From the New York Times today: In a sign of what could be an extremely unusual fall campaign, the two sides said Saturday that they would be open to holding joint forums or unmoderated debates across the country in front of voters through the summer. Mr. Obama, campaigning in Oregon, said that the proposal, floated by
Ah, apparently we’re supporting Poland this summer. Good to get that decided early. AFTER 10 years of being unable to cheer on their favourites at the finals of a big football tournament, the Tartan Army is switching sides to back Poland at this summer’s European championships. The supporters’ organisation – with 1,500 members and dozens
Voting continues in our exciting quest to determine the most over-rated and under-rated Presidents in American history. But don’t fret, it’s not too late to cast your ballot before the polls close late on Sunday. Simply let me know who you consider the three most over-rated and the three most under-rated US presidents. You can
At TAPPED Paul Waldman hails this Arizona Republic piece questioning MCain’s “maverick” credentials and then asks: One thing I’ve noticed lately is that there are a bunch of Chicago reporters (like Lynn Sweet and Jim Warren, for instance) who have become regulars on cable TV, presumably because they know a lot about Barack Obama. But
Steve Richards in the Independent today: I wonder still if the referendum will ever be held in Scotland. Precedent suggests something or other will get in the way. What a titanic moment it was in British politics when in 1991 John Major persuaded his Chancellor, Ken Clarke, to support a referendum on the Euro. Mr
Thanks to Ross Douthat for alerting me to this trailer for the forthcoming movie of Brideshead Revisited: As Ross says, this may not bear much resemblance to the novel you read. But come on, isn’t this just delightfully over-the-top and wonderfully trashy? I doubt it matters that the adaptation – Emma Thomson as Lady Marchmain
At the weekend a friend observed that Gordon Brown isn’t the man my pal had thought he was. In unison two other friends chirped up: “but he’s exactly the man I thought he was”. Poor Broon, he’s taking a terrible beating these days. Here’s Simon Hoggart in the Guardian today: It was awful, and it’s
Special to Souter-born, Phoenix-residing reader MG, here’s a photograph of Selkirk, taken from the hill above my parents’ house:
A reader has chided me for failing to publish more political comment lately. But what more – despite the acres of newsprint devoted to the matter – has there been to say about the Obama-Clinton match-up that was not said six weeks ago? Precious little. She still can’t win; her continuing campaign makes Obama’s job
From the Adam Smith Institute: Once again, Ireland seems to be the destination of choice for companies driven out of the UK by high taxes. Last week, reports Dominic White, WPP, Glaxo, International Power and AstraZeneca all hinted that they could follow Shire and United Business Media’s plans to switch domicile to Ireland. As the
Silly me for daring to presume anything competent could emerge from Downing Street these days. And, yes, it was reckless to suppose that the Prime Minister might acknowledge that the question of Labour support for a referendum should be decided by the Labour leadership in Scotland. That, of course, would be the sensible thing. But
Good lord. Thanks (er, I think) to Kevin Drum for pointing me to today’s Maureen Dowd column. It is, as they say, a doozy. Even though people at diners kept trying to fatten up Obama — he drew the line at gravy — he looked increasingly diaphanous, like anti-matter to Hillary’s matter. She’s more appealing
Milan beat Inter 2-1* and, well, just watch the rest of it yourself. Great stuff. Thank you to Tiziano Crudeli… Milan 2-1 Inter commentaire Italienby t_m Hat-tip: Andrew and Rizzo Sports. *An important result, in fairness, since it puts the Rossoneri in line for a Champions’ League place next season. Tough week for Fiorentina…
Not to harp on about this too much, but this item from Benedict Brogan’s (excellent) blog deserves a response: About 10 years ago a friend and I were discussing Scotland with Tony Blair. We asked him who was the leader of the Scottish Labour party. He looked puzzled and said “Donald Dewar?” Alastair Campbell, who
Back from Ireland and, whaddyaknow, it’s like summer has finally arrived here. By which I mean that temperatures have soared into the 70s. Regular blogging to resume soon. Meanwhile, here’s a picture two of my mother’s hens…
A reader asks polymathic Tyler Cowen for his country music recommendations and Tyler responds here, cautioning, mind you, that: I might add the whole list comes from someone who was initially allergic to country music, so if that is you give some of these recommendations a try. Just think of it as White Man’s Blues.
When I lived in Washington, I sometimes forgot that one of the things I missed about Britain was actually the weather. Sure, there’d be glorious spring and fall days in DC but much of the time the climate was boringly predictable and frequently oppressively unpleasant. The variety of the British climate provides for a refreshing
A friend asked me that question this weekend. There are, of course, plenty of answers to that, but this screen shot showing the location of recent visitors to this blog helps explain part of the appeal I think: Hello World! The last 25 visitors alone have come from: the UK, the USA, Canada, Pakistan, South