For World Poetry Day, an extract from Book VI of Homer's Odyssey, as translated by Alexander Pope (I know, "a very pretty poem but you must not call it Homer".) It's the passage where Nausicaa and her maids play ball by the sea ( Read more... )

I went over to Sheffield on Saturday to see Krapp's Last Tape, with Richard Wilson, and I've been trying to complete a review since then, but can't quite finish it; there's a hole at the point where I ought to describe his performance, and I'm not sure why. I don't think it was a fault of the performance, but after several days waiting my brain ( Read more... )

Looking at the front-page pic of Bradley Wiggins in The Times today, I had an idea for who should play him in the probably inevitable biopic.

( Pics behind cut )

For those who haven't had news of this by other means, you may be interested to know that the ECB has commissioned an online survey into fans' views on county cricket. Details hereIt's not short, and there are some questions which could do with a "not applicable" button; I ended up having to click answers moreorless at random in order to advance ( Read more... )

Have you read about the battle for the presidency of FIDE, the world chess federation? Involving allegations of murder and alien abduction, plus pretty definite reports of "security guards [storming] the headquarters of the Russian Chess Federation". Lexx had nothing on it. Couldn't Karpov and Ilyumzhinov settle it over a chessboard?

I'm not actually expecting to watch any of the forthcoming European football championships; I decided a few years ago that football was a dead sport, though I will remain a Manchester United fan until my own death (the club based in our hearts is still free ( Read more... )