Sigh of
relief – but
beware Twitter
In Hertford, Hereford and Hampshire,
Hurricanes hardly happen …
ELIZA Doolittle's lines in My Fair Lady were borne out this week as the Nato leaders met in Watford, Hertfordshire, for a summit marking the 70th anniversary of the military alliance that has in that time maintained the peace in Europe and much of the world.
There was no hurricane, no earthquake, no tsunami at a gathering that could have become acrimonious, given President Trump's at times ambivalence as to Nato's value as an organisation; and his complaining about the financial burden carried by the US. Also Turkey's military intervention in northern Syria and its strange collaboration with Russia.
The worst that happened was Trump's describing Canadian prime minister Justin Trudeau as "two-faced", for being ringleader in a huddle of Nato folk at Buckingham Palace, captured on camera apparently making fun of Trump's unorthodox style.
Nato seemed to somehow get through the occasion without disaster. It's as if all realise that if the world's a mess right now, it would be a heck of a lot worse without Nato.
Now, just as long as folk keep their fingers off the Twitter button …
Robert Baronet
THE last of that line of the boxing Baronets is gone. Robert Baronet who boxed professionally as a featherweight in the 70s and 80s – and coached until just a few years ago – died last Sunday after a long illness.
His brother Brian had been national lightweight champion until he tragically died in a bout at Westridge Stadium many years ago, and their father, Ernie, had been national bantamweight champion as well as a coach.
Various Baronet cousins and uncles were also boxers. Some might be still around.
Robert was an exuberant participant in intellectual discussion at the Street Shelter for the Over-Forties, where he drank cup after cup of coffee and nothing else.
He conducted coaching sessions in boxing in the park outside during daylight hours. He was a lively character who will be sadly missed.
His funeral is today at 12.30 in Holy Trinity Church, Musgrave Road.
Fiddling dog
THE microwave is a safe and secure place to store food until you want to heat it up, not so? Wrong!
A householder at Corringham, in Essex, England, put a packet of bread rolls were inside his microwave then went off to work, according to Sky News.
Left behind in the house was his dog, which got its paws up on the kitchen counter – just like its master - and began pawing at the microwave controls.
Next thing the microwave was switched on, the packet of breadrolls burst into flame, the fire started spreading and the kitchen was filled with smoke.
The fire brigade were alerted and were on the scene before the fire could spread. The dog was rescued unharmed.
Said one of the firefighters "Our advice is to always keep your microwave clean and free of clutter or food and any packaging. Animals or children can turn them on more easily than you might think."
Tailpiece
A BUSINESSMAN arrives in Boston, Massachusetts, and decides to find a seafood restaurant that serves Scrod, a local speciality. He hails a cab.
"Do you know anywhere round here where I can get Scrod?"
"Sure," answers the cabbie. "I know a few places. But it's not often these days I hear someone use the third person pluperfect indicative."
Last word
Nobody believes the official spokesman... but everybody trusts an unidentified source. - Ron Nesen
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