Billy Connolly

In a recent pole, published... somewhere, Billy Connolly (aka The Big Yin) has been voted the top British standup comedian of all time.

Quite right too! The man is a bloody genius.

Billy is the first standup comedian I can remember enjoying. Since then, I have loved virtually everything he has ever done. Like so many others, I have laughed to the point of physical pain when watching him. The hair, the beard, the swearing and the cheeky rudeness all combine to make him hysterically funny. I love his chatty style, making those in the audience feel like they are having a quiet chat to him in the pub. He radiates an easy warmth an charm both on stage and during interview which - from afar at least - makes him seem like a genuine, intelligent, sensitive and really nice bloke. I also love the fact that his shows are largely unscripted. According to his biography, he was challenged (and succeeded) to do two entirely different shows on consecutive days.

As well as this recent award; he has the dubious distinction of being one of the few (if not the only) comedian that can make my mother roar with laughter.

Of course he is not just a standup. Despite a lifelong desire to be funny, he was first a welder then a member of a folk band who told jokes in between songs to pass the time. More recently he has turned to acting in films. Two of my favourite are The Man Who Sued God and Mrs Brown.

The Man Who Sued God casts him as a lawyer and takes a cheeky poke at insurance companies who blame "acts of god to avoid paying out". It has the potential to go badly wrong either by being too po-faced or too flippant. Fortunately, in my opinion, the line was tread perfectly and the film managed to be thought-provoking as well as funny.

Mrs Brown needs no description beyond my urging you to see it if you haven't already. This showed Billy could play it straight as well as funny. Better casting I could not envisage.

I have always loved laughing and had great admiration for those that can make others laugh. Billy is a whole different kettle of fish. His ability to be breathtakingly funny is incredible. Long may it continue.

JR

How to cook like Heston

I've recently been watching the new channel 4 series, "How to cook like Heston" in which Heston Blumenthal gives tips on common ingredients, how to cook them and recipes to utilise them to their greatest extent.

As I have mentioned before, I am a very keen, modestly able, cook. Oddly enough, I also love eating!

Consequently, I do watch an awful lot of cooking programmes (and there's hardly a shortage of them). In my opinion, they do offer some useful inspiration as well as tips on how to do basic things such as seasoning and chopping.

This recent Blumenthal programme has caused the scales to fall from my eyes. He has been an idol to me, as he has to many for a few reasons. Firstly, he is self-taught. To me, running a successful restaurant when self-taught is impressive. Achieving such high accolades is phenomenal.

Secondly is his ingenuity. Looking at some of the dishes he comes up with makes my head spin. With most chefs, I look at their dishes and think that, given the equipment and possibly a recipe I could have a fair stab at recreating it.; maybe not to the same standard but certainly make something that's recognisable as the same dish. With Heston I can barely even comprehend what he makes never mind have the vaguest idea where to start... and not just the stuff that's playing with liquid nitrogen. Another example would also be simultaneously hot and cold tea... who needs acid when stuff like that can be made?

Finally I really admire his questioning of accepted wisdom and his application of science. This is what the latest programme focuses on. Blumenthal explains techniques and explains how they work. A good example of this would be his recommendation to cook meat at a low temperature for a long time. Using basic biology it's obvious. The cooking temperature is high enough to fatally damage harmful bacteria but below the boiling point of water (which is the majority component of virtually all tissue) hence the meat retains the juices and stays very moist. Obvious when you think of it but still flying in the face of popular wisdom. I love this questioning attitude and the willingness to play with convention.

His enthusiasm is also infectious. Part of it is genuine love of food and cooking, part of it is a practical joker at work surprising diners and part of it is raw boyish enthusiasm for playing with stuff you can hurt yourself on. I share many of these traits and I like this programme as it lets me share, albeit slightly in the pleasure he must gain from his work.

If you haven't watched it already, have a look in on it.

JR

Immortal Memory

Tonight is Burn's night.

All over the land people will be donning items of tartan and munching down haggis and whisky. Usually a series of toasts will follow, the first being the toast to the immortal memory of Robert Burns.
Usually this toast is essentially a biography. Frankly, a decent one can be found on wikipedia. Instead indulge me, let me examine why, even now, we celebrate tonight. By doing so I will look at who Burns was before asking why we celebrate him.

So who was Burns? He was a husband, a father, a freemason (no conspiracy theories... only that he joined in my home town), an excise man (although he can be forgiven that sin) and a poet. The latter is what he is remembered for. His works include observations on things around him and stories. What Burns was most certainly not was a member of the then literary elite; a self-selected few who regarded themselves as superior. Essentially, Burns was a normal man who achieved something exceptional.

We celebrate today, his birthday, by indulging in an orgy of Scottishness. Without doubt Burns is a Scottish icon. The dialect in which he writes is an interesting hybrid of east coast and west coast. But I am going to a Burns night in England organised by an English person. Why is this? What does the appeal stretch south of the border. I believe it relates directly to my previous point; Burns was an ordinary man who achieved something exceptional.

This is a very British trait. The history of science is littered with examples of hobbyists making groundbreaking discoveries, often in the face of the professional elite. A good example of this are cells. These were first observed in a loft using a hand-ground lens in an optician's spare time. This one observation now underpins a substantial chunk of our understanding of modern biology.

On a different note; this year sees the release of Skyfall, the latest addition to the James Bond film franchise. Commander Ian Flemming started the Bond movement in the late 1950s by declaring he intended to write the best spy story ever written. At the time he faced derision in literary circles. Today, Bond remains hugely popular and almost universally acclaimed. I invite you to draw your own conclusions.

Finally, in the year that London hosts the Olympic games, it would be impossible not to mention one of history's greatest Olympians. Sir Steve Redgrave started rowing not with dreams of sporting success nor international fame but for the rather more noble reason of avoiding double maths on a Thursday afternoon.

These are a few isolated examples of ordinary Brits achieving extraordinary things. It is for this reason, I believe, that we celebrate Burn's night. To celebrate not only his achievements but those of others like him too.

If you are marking tonight in any way I urge you to raise your glass at this point. To Robert Burns and all the other Great Britons of history.

JR

Girl of my Dreams

I have found the girl of my dreams.

She's a stunning, elegant majestic blonde.

She is loyal, loving, intelligent and very affectionate. She is always pleased to see me and shows it. She loves my jokes and never minds what I watch on telly. She never complains about me going to the pub or criticises my driving.

Her hobbies include long walks in the country and nights in by the fire.

Yes; ladies and gentlemen, she's a labrador.

I'm here all week!

JR

Charm

Today I have been wondering if there is a special institution somewhere that teaches older gentlemen how to be utterly and effortlessly charming. Perhaps it's a similar institution to the one that teaches girls to give "the look" from a distressingly young age.

This train of thought was provoked by listening to BBC Radio 4's Desert Island Discs this morning. The castaway was Paul Johnson, a prolific writer, who was being interviewed by Kirsty Young. During the interview he described Ms Young, a seasoned BBC reporter (not unreasonably) as a, "pretty girl". Normally, I would expect at best a comment like this to be politely ignored at best and at worst treated with hostility. Not a bit of it, Kirsty was reduced to giggles and I'm prepared to bet she was blushing too. This response was guaranteed because the remark was made with genuine charm and so did not sound sleazy or creepy.

Unfortunately this charm seems to be limited to gentlemen above a certain age. The type of chap who can wear a tie and a pocket square/buttonhole on a daily basis without it seeming affected. Someone for whom a pocket watch, and possibly a pipe, seem totally natural.

I must admit I'm envious of these individuals. Although I can be outgoing and convivial, it doesn't come easily and sometimes I feel like I'm forcing it a bit. I wish I had the right blend of charm, confidence and a certain twinkle to be able to effortlessly put others at their ease. But I think the issue runs deeper than that. As a male in his mid-20s I feel profoundly uncomfortable commenting on the appearance of women. My girlfriend is obviously an exception, as are many of my close female friends (chosen because they share similar views and opinions to me) but that's where it ends. I feel uncomfortable paying compliments to female acquaintances/colleagues etc. Part of this is because I don't want to sound like I'm trying to get into their knickers... I'm not. Nor do I want to sound like I'm taking the piss. Finally, I don't want to unintentionally cause offence (I can do that quite well intentionally).

It saddens me that this situation has arisen. The idea that people are now only nice to each other when they have ulterior motives is really rather disheartening. There is also the slightly more complex issue of gender politics to consider. When I say, "That's a nice dress." I mean that the dress looks nice, has attractive colours and the wearer looks good wearing it. I do not mean, as paranoid types may choose to interpret, "I think your soul purpose on the planet is an object of sexual desire, nothing could be more important and of course you have done it for my benefit". Unfortunately, I don't have any control over what the recipient of the compliment infers. Of course this is taking things to extremes but it illustrates that some may not feel comfortable having their appearance commented on.

Like I say, I think this is a shame. I enjoy being able to compliment people, being able to say something nice and make them feel good (especially these days when a large chunk of the media is dedicated to mocking others and pointing out their flaws). Equally, I appreciate it if I make a particular effort with my appearance and people notice and appreciate it. It may be as small as a new pair of cufflinks or something major like donning the kilt however either way it's a bit of light social-lubrication that costs nothing and hopefully makes everyone's day a bit better.

This has turned into a bit of a ramble but I hope it makes sense.

JR

Kindle

This blog isn't going to be a haven for product placement (barring the odd book review) however I am going to post up a bit of a product review now.

As the title suggests; Santa brought me a kindle for Christmas. I must admit, I was VERY dubious to start with. I am a traditionalist when it comes to books. I love the smell and feel of a book. I enjoy browsing in bookshops, picking up books at random and discovering some truly magnificent (and some truly terrible) reads. Second hand bookshops especially are a source of joy; combining the browsing and discovery with the glow of a good bargain. I also secretly enjoy tracking my progress through a book by looking at the thicknesses either side of where I'm reading.

I was deeply suspicious of the kindle when I got it. For the first week I didn't touch it. It lay under my bed. Eventually I plugged it in and started prodding suspiciously at the buttons. I became a convert shortly afterwards. Firstly, it's really easy to use. I won't say it's intuitive because intuition is a subjective experience however I (as someone who is technologically inept) find it straight forward to use. It also has good battery life. I use it while commuting so there's lots of switching on and off as I change modes of transport. 

The screen is also brilliant to read from. Reading from an electronic display was one of the things I worried about most as I am acutely aware that I do not assimilate information well from a computer screen. Those worries disappeared swiftly. I forgot almost instantly that I wasn't reading from the printed page. Surprisingly, it's even more comfortable to read from than some books.

Finally, the pricing of books on amazon is good. To buy popular books costs around the same as it would to buy them second-hand on amazon. A major bonus given cash is quite tight at the moment. Added to that is the massive number of classics that are available for virtually nothing . I bought the entire works of Oscar Wilde, Arthur Conan-Doyle and Dickens for less than a pound a piece. The complete works of Burns comes free. This has prompted several sprees of buying books I've been meaning to read for a while and still having change from a tenner.

There are a couple of downsides however. It's very easy to press the buttons to turn pages unintentionally which can mean lots of searching around. It can also be difficult to get an idea of one's progress through the book despite the percentage indicator at the base. This isn't a huge deal but it can sometimes be a bit off-putting. I'm also not a huge fan of the fact that it's impossible to gain any kind of control over the picture displayed on the screen when it is set on sleep. It seems like a bit of a pointless feature. It is also very, very difficult to navigate around within a book after you have started reading.

Unfortunately today my screen broke. Since I haven't heard of this happening to anyone else, I think it's just me being unlucky. I was steeling myself for a bit of an ordeal to get it sorted out however I was pleasantly surprised. Upon phoning amazon, I was promised an immediate replacement which was sent out straight away as well as a pre-paid label to use to return the damaged one. I know it's a new product so it's in their interest to get a reputation for good customer support as well as the product but I was still impressed and it is another reason I would recommend getting one if you were thinking about it.

All in all, I have been pleasantly surprised to be proved wrong in my suspicions and would confidently suggest that friends and family should get one if they don't already have one.

JR

FREEDOM!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Alex Salmond has evidently taken some time off from his duties presiding over the Scottish parliament to watch Braveheart. Though fortunately he has yet to reach for the broadsword and the wode he has taken to calling for Scottish independence rather loudly and rather frequently.

I can't say I'm impressed by this. I am a Scotsman (in case you hadn't guessed from previous posts) and I am fiercely proud to be so. I wear my kilt regularly, I stand six inches taller when I hear the bagpipes and I actively encourage (nay force) friends to visit. That said, I live in England and I enjoy doing so. Employment wasn't the only reason I chose to move down. I think the south of England is also a wonderful part of the world. Tied up with all this is the fact that as well as being a Scot, I am also extremely proud to be British. Had fate (and genetics) dealt me a better hand, I would be serving in the Army defending and representing Britain (ok it wouldn't hurt to be in a Scottish regiment; the combination of a kilt and military uniform would certainly not damage my ability to get interest from girls!!). I am not alone in these sentiments. I know and know of many Scots living in England and indeed around the world that view themselves as both Scottish and British.

Herein lies the crux of the problem with Scottish independence as I see it. Culturally, having a Scottish and a British identity are not mutually exclusive. Arguably, they are complimentary. Yes, we rather vocally support England's opposition in sporting fixtures. Yes, we mock "softy southerners" and yes we create many, many other slights against our neighbours but as far as I can tell, this is done with the utmost of affection (as is the banter between the two main cities Edinburgh and Glasgow).

A straw poll of friends and family both in and out of Scotland is very much against the dissolution of the union. To me, this suggests that Mr Salmond was elected as an anti-labour vote rather than a pro-SNP measure. Forcing a referendum may provide rather a sharp wake-up call. Of course there are many economic and political arguments both for and against. I can't pretend to understand these well; partially because I haven't really been paying attention to them but mostly because I think with this vote, more than most, decisions will be made subjectively rather than objectively. Frankly, when decisions with such effects on national identity are made, I hope they are taken subjectively.

It will be interesting to see how this pans out. It will be interesting to hopefully hear the opinions of others on this topic... from either side of the border.

JR

Assisted Death

Today, assisted death has featured heavily in the news. A pro-euthanasia think tank has published a report advocating that doctors should be allowed to prescribe drugs to allow those with less than year to live to commit suicide. Currently, helping anybody to commit suicide is illegal under the suicide act and is punishable by up to fourteen years in prison. Strangely, suicide its self is not illegal (although how one would go about prosecuting it is anyone's guess).

Assisted suicide has occupied my thoughts for years now. As well as having my own moral views on it, I have developed more a more academic perspective. My law school dissertation was examining the legal issues surrounding assisted suicide. I won't bore you with the details (although gratifyingly my conclusions were the same as some extremely senior judges who passed judgement on a test case on this very topic about a week after I handed my work in). In addition to this, I started my academic life as a medical student and there was forced to confront issues surrounding death and dying.

Medicine has progressed almost exponentially over the last 200 years or so. Today doctors can do things which even a few years ago would seem unthinkable. People are living longer and longer. However, although much attention has been devoted to increasing quantity of life, similar devotion has not been given to quality of life. Many people live in pain, suffering and depression because their health is failing. It is for this reason that the law needs to be examined and, in my opinion, be tailored to reflect the current state of medical practice.

The law as it stands does not reflect the fact that medicine now makes it possible to sustain extremely unwell people. It also does not acknowledge that people in that state may suffer acutely from their condition and prolonging that existence may not be what the patient wants.

No doubt people who oppose assisted suicide will point to Prof. Stephen Hawking and his achievements as evidence that assisted suicide should continue to be illegal. There is no doubt that he has achieved some incredible things. However, this has been done by choice. Hawking made the choice to immerse himself in physics. Others may not want to do the same and why should they be forced into it? Free choice is valued highly in this country. People are allowed to choose who they are governed by, which religion to follow and are left largely alone in their personal lives (health and safety aside). Why should they not be allowed choice in death? Why should the opinions of some trump the opinions of others? For those that believe assisted suicide is immoral, feel free not to do it but it cannot be right to impose those views on all.

That said, I don't believe free reign is the way forward. Legal safeguards would be required. The report published suggests that assistance in committing suicide should be available to those with less than a year to live. Unfortunately, it is notoriously difficult to predict this  and estimates of life remaining amount to little  more than an educated guess on the part of the physicians. Also, there are likely to be many people with conditions that, in their opinion, make life unbearable before their final year.

There is no simple answer to this question. The emotive nature of the subject means that genuinely objective discussion will be almost impossible. It will be interesting to see how and when resolution is achieved.

JR

Happy New Year

Happy New Year to one and all. I hope it brings happiness, success and prosperity to everyone out there.

My new year was spent by the fireside with my parents and a good malt. It was wonderful. Unfortunately my girlfriend couldn't be with us, that would have made it perfect.

Although my parents live just outside Edinburgh, I have never really seen the point of going to the street party. The idea of standing round in the cold, crushed up against strangers with the only sustenance being a hip flask (and even that being of dubious legality). Seeing the fireworks at the castle does appeal however there are numerous points near my parents house that the castle can be seen from; in fact that has been used in the past as a signalling system. Burning beacons were lit to indicate advancing enemy.

Hope everyone else had a good day and heads weren't too sore this morning.

JR