Is it plugged in Sir?

The highlight of Christmas Day TV has often been the double act Christmas special. Morecambe and Wise were the pace setters, with the Two Ronnies inheriting the mantel further down the line. Del Boy and Rodney took the tradition to the next level in Only Fools and Horses, after which Christmas television had deteriorated to such an extent that reality TV is seen as worthy of one of the prime slots.

I was, therefore, encouraged to see that an 80th birthday tribute to Ronnie Corbett was scheduled this year. It was, however, a poor imitation of the Two Ronnies format, with only a tinge of humour being evident in James Corden's attempt at a Ronnie Barker monologue, and this quite brilliant restyling of the 'Four Candles' hardware store sketch.

It was the first sketch of the programme so see it here and it will save you the pain of watching the rest of the show.

Lets hope its a permanent good night from him.

Deep and crisp and even

We were only in the pub about 90 minutes on Friday night,

but it was nearly enough time to get snowed in. There was not a flake when we arrived, but we then had the surreal experience of watching the landscape turn silky white before our eyes.

Yes we could have stayed longer and maybe experienced a lock in, but sense prevailed and we trudged home to our traditional take away curry. That in itself was almost a no go as the lads in the shop were very reluctant to deliver it, however, as we are regular users and not too far away from the restaurant they did the biz.

The weather scuppered our plans for a game of golf though.

What did you say?

One of the joys of linking modern technology and working practice is the ability to work from home. I do it a lot myself , and to be honest I go stir crazy when, for long periods of time I have no face to face contact.
The postman tries his best to pass the time of day, as does the lad in the paper shop, but at the end of the day there is no substitute for water cooler conversations. (Another Americanism to quietly infiltrate the English language)

I wonder whether, if I were to install one in the front wall of the house, people would stop and have a chat about interesting day to day matters like the X Factor results, Coronation Streets 4 deaths and a wedding, or the student riots. It may become famous as the 21st Century answer to the horse trough.

Without such a vehicle around which to base my daily people time I am forced to use the medium of conference calling to communicate with people. This clip shows the problems that can throw up.

So I hear you cry, I really must get out more, however, with expense cutbacks limiting travel, the local Post Office closed down, and my health being such that a visit to the local surgery would be seen as lead swinging, I am resigned to talking to myself, and we've had a good day today haven't we old son?

Itchycoo Park

Waterloo bridge has a series of metal plaques indicating to tourists, the sights they can see as they stroll across it. Sadly they are targeted quite regularly by vandals, and that is a pity, as Waterloo bridge is a micro climate for London street scenes.

as i wandered across the bridge last night though, I realised that I didn't really need the plaques as an aide memoir. There to the left were the obvious ones, the London Eye, the Houses of Parliament and Big Ben. They were then easing the eye into the MOD and MAFF buildings.

I have danced on the roof of the MOD when it was a regular after rugby haunt for us, and our connections. This was around 1980 so I suspect thirty years on it would be a harder feat to achieve. I remember Stan the Man answering the 'Batphone' when it rang in the toilet, which nearly caused a major diplomatic incident.

The MAFF building, which is probably called Defra now, has been regularly photographed from St James Park, where it gives the impression of a Russian landscape akin to those seen in Moscow.

Further round still on the left are the Savoy and Shell Mex house. Then facing you on the right hand side is Somerset House with its magnificent skating rink, Kings Bollege as Monty Python fans call it, and then the whole panorama of the City of London and Canary Wharf.

Closer to home is the OXO tower, Alan Sugars IBM building and the National Theatre.

There is a Wellington pub not too far from each end of the bridge, and with the station to the South and the delights of Covent Garden on the North side, it really is a thoroughfare to grace any major City.

Its just a swine to navigate at rush hour when you are going the 'wrong' way!!!