25 February 2021 Dictation Errors Putting the whore in. By Robert Kilconner Public amusement like fashion moves in cycles and today it is the turn of the dictation error. At least that’s the case for readers of “The Times” where the diary column has been publishing the best of the errors submitted to it by… Continue reading Issue 268: 2021 02 25: Dictation Errors
Article Category: Features
Issue 263: 2021 01 21: Wagner’s ‘Ring’
21 January 2021 Wagner’s ‘Ring’ Revealed and explained (3) By Philip Throp SIEGFRIED Years have passed and in a cave in the deep forests lives the dwarf Mime, a less violent but nevertheless equally calculating, estranged brother of Alberich, the dwarf who had, in Das Rheingold, enslaved the dwarf population to work in his… Continue reading Issue 263: 2021 01 21: Wagner’s ‘Ring’
Issue 262: 2021 01 14: Wagner’s ‘Ring’
14 January 2021 Wagner’s Ring Revealed and explained (2). By Philip Throp ‘DAS RHEINGOLD’ Somewhere in the depths of the river, three Rhinemaidens are the guardians of the secret treasure, the Rheingold. The dwarf Alberich is drawn to the shine of the gold rays and, as result of a mutual teasing bout between the maidens… Continue reading Issue 262: 2021 01 14: Wagner’s ‘Ring’
Issue 261: 2021 01 07: Wagner’s ‘Ring’
07 January 2021 Wagner’s ‘Ring’ Revealed and explained. By Philip Throp Wagner’s Ring cycle of operas has the reputation of being among the most cerebral of all operas, and the most difficult to understand, both in respect of the construction and patterns of its music and the meaning(s) of its storyline. Without any technical music… Continue reading Issue 261: 2021 01 07: Wagner’s ‘Ring’
Issue 260: 2020 12 17: The French Countryside
17 December 2020 “A way of life, not a museum” Town v Country in France. By Richard Pooley When my wife and I moved to France in 2013, we spent the first seven months in a rented house on the southern edge of Brive-la-Gaillarde, a town of some 50,000 people in the south-west. One of… Continue reading Issue 260: 2020 12 17: The French Countryside
Issue 259: 20 12 10: From the Cotswolds
10 December 2020 View from the Cotswolds The Chipping Norton omnibus By Paul Branch Tuesday afternoon, still the wheels of Brexit negotiations turn turgidly but with no perceptible movement on the three main thorny issues outstanding since last January. We await with bated breath the outcome of Boris’s dash to Brussels where he hopes to… Continue reading Issue 259: 20 12 10: From the Cotswolds
Issue 258: 2020 12 03: Simply the Best
3 December 2020 View from the Cotswolds Simply the Best By Paul Branch Let’s take a break from our national pastime of Boris-baiting and look instead for interest in the sporting world, and in particular in the direction of association football, triggered by recent departures of the great and the good. Non-football aficionados might as… Continue reading Issue 258: 2020 12 03: Simply the Best
Issue 256: 2020 11 19: Cummeth the hour
19 November 2020 View from the Cotswolds Cummeth the hour, goeth the man: Farewell Ugly Duckling By Paul Branch It seems like only the other lockdown that the Dominic Cummings saga was making headlines (see also Shaw Sheet of 28 May), and finally, finally things have come to a head. Given the details that have… Continue reading Issue 256: 2020 11 19: Cummeth the hour
Issue 253: 2020 10 29: Following Science
29 October 2020 View from the Cotswolds Just where are the scientists leading us? By Paul Branch We are now used to the calls to “follow the science” as possibly the best way to combat Covid-19. As a trained physicist, albeit one who has rarely used all that expensive training, I clearly see the merit… Continue reading Issue 253: 2020 10 29: Following Science
Issue 252: 2020 10 22: Outdoor ‘Hygge’
22 October 2020 Outdoor Hygge English style. By Lynda Goetz Have the Brits taken leave of their senses? (Well, we know they have, but Covid-19 madness is not confined to this country). I refer to the current mania for pretending that it is in any way comfortable to sit around outside during an English winter.… Continue reading Issue 252: 2020 10 22: Outdoor ‘Hygge’
Issue 251: 2020 10 15: Oxford or Cambridge?
15 October 2020 “Oxford or Cambridge Which is best?” by Philip Throp Oxford tourist guides tell me that if and when they ask for questions from their tour participators, the most common question is “Which is best, Oxford or Cambridge?” I suspect the level of interest in the question from the questioner is more often… Continue reading Issue 251: 2020 10 15: Oxford or Cambridge?
Issue 250: 2020 10 08: It isn’t Fair !
8 October 2020 It isn’t Fair ! And the Secret of Happiness by Philip Throp Reading Frankonomics’ article on sportsmanlike gestures this week made me reflect on a couple of things throwing light on his subject which had come to my attention just in the previous couple of days. Firstly a kind of antithesis to… Continue reading Issue 250: 2020 10 08: It isn’t Fair !
Issue 249: 2020 10 01: Get Lewis
1 October 2020 Get Lewis Newkie Noir. By J.R. Thomas Sometimes the Shaw Sheet tries to divert you from our troubling world (don’t worry too much, the world was ever thus) down some literary byway. There’s nothing like an anniversary to trigger this sudden descent from the highway and into the wilderness. This week we… Continue reading Issue 249: 2020 10 01: Get Lewis
