Pancakes? Where the hell are we?

Just when you thought the UK couldn't get any more similar to the USA, Kate Middleton is photographed in Northern Ireland, tossing pancakes. Isn't this what hopeful senators do in New Hampshire primaries to demonstrate their presidential credentials? Since when did an aspiring member of the Royal Family feel he/she had to curry favour with the polloi by trying to cook in public? OK, the Royal Family is more a company than a dynasty but it shouldn't become a public version of the 'X' Factor.

Psycho

It's never too late to discover things others have known for decades. I've always been slow out of the blocks, but waiting forty-eight years before seeing Psycho is quite an achievement by anyone's standards. And what a film it is, too, isn't it? Hard to believe it was made back in 1960 etc etc blah blah blah. I've never seen any Star Wars films, either, but, being no fan of sci-fi,  am not likely to correct that little omission any time soon.

Maybe hooking up the old Darty Box wasn't such a bad idea, after all.

Heart-warming...

From today's Telegraph:

Duchess negotiated debt pay-off with paedophile for several months. As headlines go, it's enough to bring a tear of reassurance to your glass eye. No wonder Great Britain is The World's Second-Favourite Nation® (see previous post). In this vein, I was sorry not to find the following communiqué from the Vatican Post:

Sheep 'not in any other relationship' at time of liaison with Pope, Vatican lawyers declare.

To this we've come in our 'civilised' world. God help us. Seriously.

Germany

I was interested to see this morning that Germany was voted top of the pile in the BBC World Service Country Rating Poll, while Britain rolled in second. Germany's result made me very happy as it's a country where I lived for eleven years and have worked every summer since leaving in 2004. It's not a popular tourist destination, so people never really get exposed to just how user-friendly the place is, but in terms of basic quality of life you'll be hard-pushed to find anywhere better within a three-hour flight radius. The populace is intelligent and considerate and their products speak for themselves. In short, the place is a by-word for quality and I'm pleased they've started getting a bit of recognition for their territory. A few years back I published a piece in the Telegraph about their hosting of the 2006 World Cup and the positive view the Germans started having of themselves after that tournament has only continued to grow and shows no sign of abating. Whilst the Sun and Co. are still happy to churn out tired wartime clichés, Germany confronted its deeds of that period, issued an impressive array of mea culpas, built a more enlightened approach into the school curriculum and reinvented itself as a modern, analytical and conscientious nation, for which they are now garnering the fruits. Good on you, Brüder.