Whether the weather...

So the snow reached London, then. Just.

By the time I got off the Tube Train last night the sleet was piling down. The brolly; it does nothing. Later in the evening the sleet became snow for a few hours and now, for an hour or two more outside we have a not-quite winter wonderland. There's really not enough snow for a winter wonderland, but outside the door we have an obligingly placed sheet of ice.

I think it may be an OO scale Ice Age out there and if my name was Hornby and I was 1cm tall, I'd be in trouble. But I'd have the snow drifts I was after.

Whether the weather...

So the snow reached London, then. Just.

By the time I got off the Tube Train last night the sleet was piling down. The brolly; it does nothing. Later in the evening the sleet became snow for a few hours and now, for an hour or two more outside we have a not-quite winter wonderland. There's really not enough snow for a winter wonderland, but outside the door we have an obligingly placed sheet of ice.

I think it may be an OO scale Ice Age out there and if my name was Hornby and I was 1cm tall, I'd be in trouble. But I'd have the snow drifts I was after.

Brand X

After the MTV Awards, what a couple of months ago, now? I was rude about Russell Brand, who I called a tosser.

A fair number of people suggested that I was mistaken in my opinion and that he is a decent bloke and a clever comedian and that it shouldn't be held against him that a significant percentage of Americans didn't like his humorous stylings at the expense of Dubya.

Be that as it may, he's still a tosser and his prank phone call to Andrew Sachs proves it.

In the meantime, his companion in arms, Jonathan "Woss" Ross should be taken out and given a lesson or two in career development. His 'cheeky chappie' approach worked 20 - even 10 years ago, but now he's deep into his 40s, his tactile and lascivious approach to interviewing female celebrities has moved from being funny to edging on creepy, especially since the amount of TV make up he wears is beginning to make him look like one of the less tasteful drag queens out there.

Or maybe I'm just getting old. I dunno; it just doesn't seem funny to me anymore.

Edited to add: If anyone still cares, there's a transcript of the prank phone calls here.

Brand X

After the MTV Awards, what a couple of months ago, now? I was rude about Russell Brand, who I called a tosser.

A fair number of people suggested that I was mistaken in my opinion and that he is a decent bloke and a clever comedian and that it shouldn't be held against him that a significant percentage of Americans didn't like his humorous stylings at the expense of Dubya.

Be that as it may, he's still a tosser and his prank phone call to Andrew Sachs proves it.

In the meantime, his companion in arms, Jonathan "Woss" Ross should be taken out and given a lesson or two in career development. His 'cheeky chappie' approach worked 20 - even 10 years ago, but now he's deep into his 40s, his tactile and lascivious approach to interviewing female celebrities has moved from being funny to edging on creepy, especially since the amount of TV make up he wears is beginning to make him look like one of the less tasteful drag queens out there.

Or maybe I'm just getting old. I dunno; it just doesn't seem funny to me anymore.

Edited to add: If anyone still cares, there's a transcript of the prank phone calls here.

Don’t get caught out by post scam!

I have just cut and paste this from our Departmental Intranet.

Please take note and make sure you don't get caught out:

Published: 27 October 2008

Colleagues should be aware that the Trading Standards Office and the Royal Mail have advised that a scam is being operated across the country in the run up to Christmas.

The scam involves a card being posted through doors at private residences, or to company post rooms, from a firm called PDS (Parcel Delivery Service) suggesting that they were unable to deliver a parcel and that the individual or company need to contact them on a number beginning 09066611…. DO NOT CALL THIS NUMBER. It is a premium rate number and part of a postal scam originating from Belize.

The line is connected to an answering service and the minimum charge, once your call is connected, is £15.

Don’t get caught out by post scam!

I have just cut and paste this from our Departmental Intranet.

Please take note and make sure you don't get caught out:

Published: 27 October 2008

Colleagues should be aware that the Trading Standards Office and the Royal Mail have advised that a scam is being operated across the country in the run up to Christmas.

The scam involves a card being posted through doors at private residences, or to company post rooms, from a firm called PDS (Parcel Delivery Service) suggesting that they were unable to deliver a parcel and that the individual or company need to contact them on a number beginning 09066611…. DO NOT CALL THIS NUMBER. It is a premium rate number and part of a postal scam originating from Belize.

The line is connected to an answering service and the minimum charge, once your call is connected, is £15.