Happy Birthday Omi!

The maternal grandmother of the ravaj was born on this day in Essen in 1913. Hard to believe that was 99 years ago!

Der Rattenfaenger is (not quite) 200!

It's a well-known fact that in London one is supposed to never be more than about 6 feet from a rat. That would be genus rattus rather than genus homo. It's an unpleasant thought, especially for anyone who's ever read any James Herbert novels. Thank goodness for the BBC News page! In a current article they utterly debunk this myth, proving that in fact at any given moment anywhere in the United Kingdom one is most likely a whopping 164 feet from a rat. Read it here.

NB I got all excited when the article noted that the Brothers Grimm story of the Pied Piper of Hamelin, aka Der Rattenfaenger von Hameln was 200 years old this year. However, this may not be the case. although the first book of Grimms' Fairytales was published (as Kinder und Haus Maerchen) in 1812, I think that the Pied Piper appears in their next volume, Deutsche Sagen, which was published in 1816. In which case, we must defer all rat-related celebrations for another 4 years.

The Tory Tornado KO's Himself

The Huffington Post in the UK has reported that David Davies, the Conservative MP for Monmouth, has responded to accusations of homophobia following an interview he gave to BBC Radio Wales yesterday. On the radio, he said that:

"I think most parents would prefer their children not to be gay, knowing most parents want grandchildren if nothing else."

This was the comment that engendered the accusations. Personally, my first thought was to send him a turkey baster, and a copy of this article from the New York Times. However, in his defence, Mr. Davies pointed out that during his amateur boxing career he once fought a gay boxer. Apparently he posted a vid of the fight as proof. That makes total sense:  how to prove one is not a homophobe - show everyone a film of oneself punching a homosexual in the face. Nice one, Dave!

Piglet Magritte

It's dragging towards 4 pm on a dreary Monday. If you get a kick from cute pics of puppies and kittens, this is the page for you. I'm diabetic so that's no good for me. When I find myself in times of trouble, E. H. Shepard comes to me ... it's time for a Piglet picture!

Piglet was visiting the Magritte Museum in Brussels, when he noticed this mirror in a shop window.

A Time for Miracles

We are approaching the day of the winter solstice, when the sun is at its lowest in the sky (for those of us living in the Northern hemisphere) and the darkness of the night reaches its peak. Many religions and cultures have rituals and festivals of light at this time, as if by making and celebrating light we will bring the sun back up into the heavens. If we believe, we may perform this miracle. Don't knock it, it hasn't failed us yet! So Happy Advent, Chanukah, Diwali, Kwanzaa & St Lucia's Day!!

Speaking of miracle workers, what about this chap here:

Mr. Redknapp has arrived at QPR at a time of great darkness. We are looking to him to deliver us, and to bring the light back into our footballing lives. He is aware of the depths in which we wallow. In a recent interview, he noted that:

"Joe Royle sent me a message today, but I've never read the Bible, and it was about turning fish into whatever - a miracle is what he meant."

If Billy the Fish is available in the January transfer window, we hope Harry will sign him. Otherwise, we just hope Harry knows his tactics and man-management better than his Bible. Meanwhile, we wish him luck, because what we need now is defo a miracle.