First Attempt

Jun 26

“The British occupiers of India jailed Gandhi and his wife Kasturba in 1942, and she soon developed bronchial pneumonia. Their son Devadas turned to the obvious solution: penicillin. But because of his Hindu fundamentalism, Gandhi believed “Western” medicine – medicine that had been tested in clinical trials to make sure it works – was immoral. He said she should drink muddy water from the “Holy” Ganges instead. Whenever Kasturba flickered into consciousness, he told her she would “bankrupt [his] faith” and hers if she took penicillin. So she died. Six weeks later, Gandhi himself got ill with malaria – and glugged down the “Western” medicine happily. For the rest of his life, he continued to condemn the medicines that had saved his life, and told his followers to eschew them.”

Johann Hari: Our infantile search for heroic leaders, in The Independent.

I hadn’t heard this before. If true, it makes Mahatma Gandhi look a bit of a bastard.

Jun 25

Free Glastonbury 2008 album!

Free and entirely legal downloadable mp3’s of bands performing at the forthcoming Glastonbury Festival, courtesy of The Guardian.

Jun 24

This is from Trinny and Susannah’s downloadable Male Dress Code, which they have devised to help prevent men from making poor sartorial choices. Identify your body type, then look at their recommendations for your wardrobe. I suggest that yllibregniswen and Dawkeye take a close look at this.

Jun 23

The only member of The Corrs that you wouldn't want to shag is stark staring raving mad!

Jun 22

This is my Dad’s favourite scene from Gavin and Stacey. If you don’t like Gavin and Stacey then there is no trace of humanity in your soul.

It looks like Leicester is the new Roswell.

Jun 21

Bill’s video on the globe artichoke has inspired me to post this recipe for lemon butter, the perfect accompaniment for that distinguished vegetable. Lemon butter also works really well with asparagus.

The recipe was written by Simon Hopkinson, and I cut it out from a copy of The Independent many years ago.

Jun 20

How long could you survive in the vacuum of space?

I would last a remarkable 1 minute 17 seconds. Beat that, dear followers.

Jun 19

Bill’s guide to preparing and cooking artichokes. I like them with lemon butter, I’ll post the recipe soon.

Jun 18

Amsterdam coffee shops say tobacco ban is blow to business

“The Netherlands’ famous coffee shops, where marijuana is available over the counter, face the threat of extinction when the country goes smoke-free on 1 July.

Smoking dope is the raison d’être of the cafes which are scattered across the country, with the greatest and most famous concentration in Amsterdam. But when the tobacco ban comes in, the coffee shops will not be exempt.

This will lead to the paradoxical situation that only pure grass or cannabis resin, which are not covered by the ban, can be legally smoked in the shops.”