9th June, 2011

This Common Entrance thing is a bore. The good news is it’s almost over, at least as far as Bob is concerned, but at 9.00pm last night, when you were probably settling down to a glass of wine and an episode of The Apprentice, I was deep in the world Greek mythology trying to impress on him the need to learn more than just the story of Jason slaying the Minotaur with an armoury of arrows, clubs and swords that Bob obviously coveted. He has run out of arrows for the moment but it has not stopped him terrorising the local squirrel population with a well honed length of wood onto the end of which he has taped a broken Stanley knife blade. Horrific though it is to report, he has enjoyed a certain amount of success with this makeshift weapon. I digress, but talking about a lack of concentration, the fact is if you have children doing Common Entrance don’t worry too much if your little darling wasn’t slaving away yesterday evening. I took my eyes off Bob for barely a minute and he was off, out of an upstairs window, onto a flat roof and down into the garden chasing after a pigeon before you could say Odysseus.

After “Excuse me while I kiss the sky” which is now etched a little too close to my heart, my favourite quote is “ Heureux qui, comme Ulysse, a fait un beau voyage”. This appears on bottles of one of my preferred “daily drinking” clarets, Chasse Spleen. Buy the 2010. If you are at a loss for things to do this afternoon you could always come up with an English translation for this quote and let me know it because I am still searching for one which succinctly captures its evocative essence. I am not at a loss for things to do. I will be making my own voyage on Easyjet up to the East Neuk of Fife for dinner in St Monans and a round of golf at Kingsbarns tomorrow.

Can’t resist including this little gem from a “fellow” Fifer ( ok.... I’m not one really! ) –

When my girlfriend said she was leaving me because of my obsession with The Monkees, I thought she was joking.


And then I saw her face.


Ouch.