It’s that red pin again.. This morning it marks Gozo, one of the twenty-one islands in the Maltese archipelago. Having never been here before and erratic Geography it comes as a surprise to see that I am south of Tunis.
People often talk of having “a place in the country” a splendidly non-specific expression that means anything from a castle set in 10,000 acres that has been in the family since the reign of Elizabeth I to a rented potting shed. My place in the country in the 1990s was the latter.
Martin Vander Weyer writes in The Spectator about Banca Monte dei Paschi di Siena. It comes close to the top of a few league tables: Italy’s third largest bank, Europe’s weakest bank, the world’s oldest bank.
If you live in a democracy it’s a good plan to have the casting vote (just in case). Votes cast for watching University Challenge at home are exactly 50% in favour but I don’t have that casting vote, so it’s a treat to be on my own for a few days and to indulge.
If you are reading this on Christmas Day I wish you a happy, peaceful and holy Christmas. I don’t have any truck with calling it “the holiday season” or similar weasel words denying its place as the second (or third?) most important date in the Christian calendar.
At this time of year many newspapers adopt charities and invite their readers to contribute. I never have but it has led me to reflect on how I allocate my charity budget. It comes down to this.
After finding the Holy Grail in yesterday’s post, today’s can only come as a disappointment but read on, in case you don’t know who wrote Luke’s Gospel.
Valentia is one of the most westerly points in Ireland, lying off the South-West coast of Kerry, connected to the mainland by a bridge. If you want to go there be careful not to buy a ticket for Valencia – and vice versa.
Season of mists, etc. – thank you Keats. What with Southern Rail’s autumn timetable that leaves a forty-five minute gap between trains from Victoria to Gatwick and those mists I had a longish day yesterday.