Netflix and chilling
CONCERNED reader Lucy Boyd was discussing the political situation with a work colleague.
What political situation, our more insouciant readers may be wondering? Oh, just a trifling few matters, such as the implosion of the UK’s governing party, a vertiginous rise in the cost of living, war on Europe’s borders, the belligerence of the Chinese state, possible nuclear Armageddon and a cat stuck up a tree somewhere. (There’s always a cat stuck up a tree somewhere.)
Lucy’s colleague said it reminds her of the final season of a long-running Netflix series, where all the plotlines inevitably converge and in the closing act a devastating CGI explosion puts paid to all the lead actors, plus a few thousand extras.
“I’ve never felt the need to subscribe to Netflix,” says Lucy. “Now it seems that Netflix is subscribing to me.”
Blow-up
ON the subject of the costly cost of living… Ken Mitchell from East Kilbride was chatting with a pal who was bemoaning the price hike in everything from beans to Bentleys.
With a wry grin, the pal said: “You’ll find more inflation in Sainsbury’s than at the annual meeting of the Zeppelin and Hot Air Balloon Appreciation Society.”
Sighing over-60s
AUTHOR Deedee Cuddihy spotted two elderly ladies, both using walking sticks and sensibly attired in trousers and jackets. They had halted in front of the window of a trendy clothes shop in Glasgow’s west end where eye-catching and brightly coloured dresses were displayed.
Said one of the ladies wistfully: "Those were the psychedelic days, Jean. Remember the psychedelic days?"
More money musings
WE’RE ruminating over what Scotland should name its currency if we become an independent nation. Tom McChord, who is perhaps not fully committed to proud Alba going it alone, says: “It should be called the Donkey as it would be worth heehaw.”
Medicinal munch
WE mentioned an old adage, which reminds Ian Noble from Carstairs Village of a rarely-quoted second section of the proverb.
Here it is, complete: “An apple a day keeps the doctor away, but if you want to make sure, eat an onion.”
Curious cuisine
THE son of reader Ruth Stroud is moving out of the family home and was offered a rudimentary cookbook to assure his survival.
“Don’t need it,” he smugly pronounced. “How difficult can it be to boil toast?”
Phoney story?
AN unlikely tale. “I left my phone under my pillow,” says reader Margot Woodhouse. “When I awoke it had been replaced with fifty pence. Must have been the Bluetooth fairy.”
Read more from the Diary: Prince Charming and the wellington boots
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules here