Always a nuisance

Lots of us who aren't football fans as such probably enjoy it as soap opera. The managerial circus can be more entertaining than what happens on the pitch.

As a counter to all the high-level shenanigans that you get to read about, here's a snapshot from life at Weymouth FC (who recently descended from the Something Or Other League to the Zamaretto Premier Division):

"Cameron was going to start but he got stuck in traffic." (Cameron's Comeback, Dorset Echo 9.8.10)

Mistled

Ever heard of a missile thrush? No, neither have I.

But in America they call a missile a mistle , which makes the idea of a mistle thrush sound a bit more worrying than just, say, a dive-bombing seagull. So I wondered: as they pronounce missile as mistle, do they render mistle as missile, just to avoid confusion?

And if a missile is a mistle, what is mistletoe? Maybe something you get when you drop a warhead on your foot.

Shape of things to come

A quick note for motoring enthusiasts: it has been suggested to me that the man who designed the 105E Anglia using only fruit cake and icing (picture above; see blog of 21.12.2009), was probably also responsible for a later Ford design classic: the original ‘jelly mould’ Sierra of the early 1980s.

Instinct tells one that this has a ring of authenticity about it, but sadly in this case I have been unable to source any pictures of the master at work.

Little bastards

In the garden on Sunday - warm and sunny - it struck me how few butterflies there are to be seen now. There was a time (a long time ago, admittedly) when one sometimes saw dozens of them at a time.

On Sunday our garden had attracted just three cabbage whites. A red admiral appeared, though, and settled by the edge of the lawn. Things are looking up, I thought. Then one of our cats (the one pictured further down here) jumped on it and ate it.

What a crappy end to the morning. What is there to be said for cats?

Talking of sport... do you have to?

Talking of sport... athletics, as we all know, can be quite exciting to watch. So it's ironic that when it comes to discussion it appears to be the dreariest area in the world.

Ever listened to Radio 5 coverage of international athletics? If you think ex-footballers talking about football is sometimes less than compelling, try listening to ex-athetes on athletics. Well don't. Watch some paint dry.

You don't hear paint drying discussed much on the radio, which is a shame, because watching paint dry is quite interesting really. (Emulsion paint in particular, because gloss, in the main, is much more uniform.) Emulsion paint on a wall will dry at different rates in different areas - reflecting, obviously, to some extent, the varying thickness with which it will inevitably have been applied, but also the characteristics of the wall underneath and the relative absorbency of its surface in different areas, which itself, in the case of an old wall, may hint at its history, allowing us to deduce the alterations and repairs which may have taken pace over the years.

It would make an interesting discussion on radio, I think. When I say interesting, I do mean relatively, of course. Relative to some I have heard. Dear BBC: do give us more of your Radio 4 arts programmes, in particular those Saturday evening ones.

And they call that sport

One of the symptoms of mid-life crisis, it has been said, is the acquisition of a 'sports' car. (I use quotes because... well, what has ownership of a daft car that you would struggle to get your holiday bags into, let alone any significant amount of sports equipment, got to do with sport?)

Anyway, if it is an indicator of mid-life crisis, my observations on the roads of Dorset indicate that more women than men are afflicted these days. It has long been suggested that women, in general, have more common sense than men. Obviously not.

Not nice

If you were small wildlife intent on minding your own business, here’s the sort of sight you wouldn’t want to see. They're horrible really, cats.