Knowing and Making

According to this article , a pub in Plymouth has been "forced to close". How terrible! What kind of totalitarian regime must they have there which forces pubs to close? Well, er...it's not quite  like that: The pub, the third oldest in Plymouth, was losing £4,500 a month, according to landlords Clive and Gillian Philpott. "People were still coming in but they weren't drinking as much," said Clive, who sacrificed £200,000 of his own money to try to keep the business afloat. "We used to take around £1,800 to £2,000 on a Friday or Saturday night. Saturday just gone we took about £75," said Clive. And after a dismal trade on Mothering Sunday which saw the business take just £300 in food and drink combined, the couple decided to cut their losses. "We kept believing it would pick up but it didn't," said Clive. Perhaps "pub forced to close" is not the right phrase after all. How about "pub owners are unable to attract cust...

This slightly sordid but predictable story about the collapse of an airline covers the alleged overspending of the chief executive, the financing of yesterday's bills from today's revenue, and the likely explanation: ultimately, this company collapsed as a knock-on effect from some other airlines, which failed while owing it  money. It's unfortunate for the creditors and those who had bought tickets, but these things happen. The first comment on the BBC story? There has to be something inherently wrong and deficient about Gordon Brown's handling of the UK's financial landscape. "Prudence"???? ...I don't suppose the Company bought tables at Labour Party dinners - or did it? "Prudence" or "Darling Pridence" - Would you trust them to look after a bag of sweeties? The guy just can't get a break.

The most unusual juxtaposition of 'Iceland' and 'Woolies' in the news in recent months: People in Iceland - a country currently in desperate economic trouble - have shipped jumpers and blankets to pensioners in England this week, to keep them warm in the winter. A container of woolies arrived in the north-east of England after an appeal on an Icelandic radio station. They were handed to local charities in Hull on Thursday. Definitely up there with Kerry Katona as amusing coincidences go.