The Diary is reminiscing about playwright Tom Stoppard, who sadly died recently.
As we mentioned, he became famous in the 1960s, when a production of his Shakespeare-inspired absurdist play Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead was performed at the Edinburgh Festival.
Though before he was a successful playwright, Tom worked as a journalist.
(Yes – yeuch! – one of THEM.)
Legend has it that when he was a young chap he went to London where he was interviewed for a job with The Times.
Glancing at Tom’s CV, the editor said: “I see here that you say you’re interested in politics. Okay, so could you tell me who is the Chancellor of the Exchequer.”
Tom glared at the editor with barely suppressed exasperation, then said: “I said I was interested in politics. Not obsessed.”
(He didn’t get the job.)
Mind your language
Linguistically limber reader Mike Wallace informs us: “A scoff is a sarcastic cough.”
Party pooper
It’s almost upon us… the most wonderful time of the year.
We are, of course, talking about the Diary Editor’s birthday, which arrives in January.
Though before this momentous occasion there are a few minor hurdles to leap, including Christmas and New Year.
Party-loving Liz McLeod tells us that she was once at an office shindig, just before Crimbo.
To add to the fun and games, party crackers were produced.
Liz grabbed one end of a cracker, and waved the other end enticingly at a female colleague.
The colleague snorted derisively, then said to Liz: “Forget the cracker, babes. I’m the one that should be getting pulled at Christmas.”
Taking a pasting
On the bus the other afternoon, reader Morag Beaton overheard a teenage lad proudly say to his pal: “I don’t wash my face with soap. I wash it with toothpaste.”
“Colgate on yer coupon?!” scoffed his incredulous pal. “Yer a pure eejjit, so ye ur.”
Running on empty
Our correspondents are an energetic bunch… for the most part.
Athletically inclined – sorry, that should be ‘athletically’ inclined - Mike Davis from Newton Mearns gets in touch to tell us: “If anyone wants to sponsor me, I’ll be running 0.0002 miles this weekend to raise awareness for laziness.”
Bruno’s bum deal
We continue with our Christmas theme.
“Everyone has heard of Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer,” says reader Jeff Nelson. “But what about Bruno the Brown-Nosed reindeer. Just as fast as Rudolph, though his brakes weren’t as good…”
The Herald Diary is published twice a week - on Thursday and Saturday mornings. Do you have a tale to tell? Contact The Diary on 07375 137824 or thediary@theherald.co.uk
