| Hiya. Sorry about
last week, but The PC was on the blink again. The IT guy said its basically all down to us
running Windows ’98. That’s Windows 1898 to give it its full title.
Anyway, I write on the eve of the G8 protests in Edinburgh and I haven’t a clue
how it's going to go. But if it does end up in riots in Edinburgh, rest assured our
capital’s bigwigs will find some way to capitalise on it, as in : next year, An
Official Riot, complemented by a Fringe Riot.
Did you see that story during the week about how some rural doctors in Scotland are
blagging £160 an hour to provide out of hours cover? If AJ Cronin was alive, he’d
have to rewrite the couthy goings-on at The Arden House surgery in Tannochbrae. And the
new title for the re-worked opus?, Ach, I knew you’d get there before me-
"Doctor Finlay’s Cheque book."
And then there was the head of Scotland’s very own Drug Enforcement Agency calling
for drug-busting polis to be routinely armed, citing (and I quote) the existence of
"Clear and Present Danger". You can just imagine this bloke sitting with a big
pile of Tom Clancy novels and thinking " Hmm, the title of that one will go down well
in my speech."
Apparently, this bloke is pushing for the organisation to take on a role similar to
that of the FBI in the States, applying "intelligence-based policing."
Right, OK, so what was policing based on before then?
But I shouldn’t complain, if public figures stopped getting up in public and
talking bollocks, then I wouldn’t have anything much to write about. Anybody who
mutters "And a good thing too" can just stay behind after the bell goes.
Just before I go, a plug for a couple of
things.
My son got me a copy of "Dog Soldiers"
as a pressie for Father's Day. You might remember this movie from a couple of years back:
sodjers and werewolves - great fun. Anyway, the DVD benefits from a cast and crew
commentary, which I ordnarily never bother with on DVDS, but this one's worth a
listen because the cast and crew sound completely gassed and consequently provide a really
informative and funny take on the movie. I especially liked the director cheerlly 'fessing
up to the number of ideas lifted straight from other movies. I'd got some of them, first
time around, but I'd missed quite a few, - including the inspiration for the last frame of
the movie.
George, a JT pal fae Ontario, sent me a pile of
CDs of bands, ancient and modern, presumably local to his bit of Canada. There's a lot of
good stuff in there, but special mention must go to "Groovin' with the
Marauders", (Ready Records, 2004). I don't know anything about this band, but they
sound as if they've spent a lot of time playing in bars, if only because the eclectic mix
on offer spans Buddy Holly through to The Ramones.
This kind of tight, good time rock and roll really
takes me back to an era when smoking was good for you and 22 units of alcohol was the
daily allowance. Except for the weekend when you were allowed to drink twice that amount
because Saturday only comes 'round once a week. Ah, happy days...
Finally an update on the previously mentioned JT
Map of THe World. So far, we've got three entries. One each for Nairn, KIlsyth and
Singapore. So if you don't want your place left out, write in and tell us where ye bide. |
