Skip to main content

The great coastal round-up

Hello all. My repeated apologies for the paucity of posts, I've been working every day for the last two weeks and am generally too shattered at the end of the day. My computer time is largely limited to phd and teaching related matters at the moment. this state of affairs probably won't continue (I'm making sure I take some time off over the next couple of weeks, as well as most of january). What work, you cry? Well, I'm currently helping a couple of places out by sorting out their waiting on staff, tidying up the bar / putting various managerial stuff in order / organising booking procedures / training staff / that sort of thing. A short term solution, but an effective one. It's rather enjoyable, if I'm being honest. You all know how boringly evangelical I can get about standards of service, quality of stock and all round enjoyment of the dining experience, so it's good to get the opportunity to put some of these theories into practice with a free hand (which was what I was missing). Come the new year, however, I shall be looking for something a bit more permanent to supplement the teaching thing, so it's gratifying to note that I've got a few options to mull over, more of this later, presumably.

Unrelated matter #1 It is with great sorrow that I report to all fans of Ormskirk weirdness that the council, following the drearily predictable outcry from the lumpen masses, whipped up into something approaching religious fervour by the Advertiser, has withdrawn their planning application for the EIGHT FUCKING METRES TALL BRONZE GLOWING SEED PODS. Local opposition ranged in its reasoning from "we want something from the kiddies" to "it's not by a local designer" (this last complaint being from - wait for it - alocal designer! Who was no doubt acting in the civic interest). Coastalblog is unhappy about the council's decision, and is considering hiring ex-Liverpool F.C. manager Roy Evans to front a "save our EIGHT FUCKING METRES TALL BRONZE GLOWING SEED PODS" campaign, on the grounds that half the blokes in Ormskirk think he's a "Top Bloke", and the other half have had an "interesting time" in his shed at some point. Failing that, I'm reliably informed that Bobby Ball "will work for seeds."

Unrelated matter #2 This morning's execution of Stanley 'Tookie' Williams went ahead after his appeal was denied by Gov. Schwarzenegger with the words "without apology and atonement there can be no redemption." leaving aside the questionable ethics of leaving life or death decisions in the hands of a man whose mind has been irredeemably warped by Hollywood's Black and white Morality for Dummies just say that sentence to yourself in your best Schwarzenegger accent. Brr, eh?

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

What is happening?

An unpleasant, but in the grand scheme of things quite minor, incident occurred at a local school yesterday. Two lads entered the premises looking for another kid they wanted to assault. The school followed protocols and was locked down until the situation was resolved. Grim enough in and of itself, but not exactly a massive piece of news. Except, of course, on local Facebook pages, where a cast of many hang around visibly thirsting for events like this. This isn't a post about them, however. There is something desperately sad about a million posts on the same subject, everyone breathlessly recycling the same story without checking whether it might have already been covered. It speaks to an unfulfilled existence. Nor is this a post about Facebook and it's local pages, though they are a weird and interesting ecosystem. Were it not for running the pub, my Meta presence would be minimal, I need to be on there for work, and stuff like this is a necessary accoutrement. No, what depr...
Post a Comment
Read more

Inedible

"He says it's inedible" said my front of house manager, as she laid the half-eaten fish and chips in front of me, and instantly I relaxed.  Clearly, I observed, it was edible to some degree. I comped it, because I can't be arsed arguing the toss, and I want to make my front of house's lives as simple as possible. The haddock had been delivered that morning. The fryers had been cleaned that morning. The batter had been made that morning (and it's very good batter, ask me nicely and I'll give you the recipe some time). The fish and chips was identical to the other 27 portions I'd sent out on that lunch service, all of which had come back more or less hoovered up, we have have a (justified, if I do say so myself) very good reputation for our chips. But it was, apparently, "inedible". When it comes to complaints, less is more. If you use a hyperbolic word like that, I'll switch off, you've marked yourself as a rube, a chump, I'm not g...
Post a Comment
Read more

Worthless Art

Ah, we're back to calling humanities degrees rip-offs, are we? What a semi regular treat that is. There is a persistent strain of thought in British public life which runs thus: things are shit, blame clever people. When a politician needs a convenient punchbag, higher education is always a quick and easy mark. Everyone hates students, right? And those lecturers, bit up themselves, aren't they? And so Kemi Badenoch, bereft of ideas, takes up the cudgels once more, because why not? It's not like she's got anything else sensible to say. Might as well try and score a few populist points. Cuh, English degrees eh? What use are they?  Yes, this week, the erstwhile leader of His Majesty's Opposition decided to wander down a tired and well-trodden path and try to score a few points off the back of the much maligned Arts and Humanities. She's not the first, I highly doubt she'll be the last. She set out plans to a somewhat sparsely attended Conservative Party Confere...
1 comment
Read more