The story is told of two soldiers who decided as a prank to smuggle a goat into their barracks.  Foreseeing a potential flaw in the plan one of the soldiers remarked to the other, “What about the smell?”  Without hesitation the reply came back, “The goat will just have to get used to it!”  Which just goes to show how … Read More

As the boat pulled away from the harbour, the guide turned to the guests on deck and said, ‘If you want to see what you’ve come to see, then look for the disturbance.’  They were hoping to see whales, and the guide went on to explain that the best place to look was where they could see the water disturbed, … Read More

There’s nothing my daughter and I enjoy more than watching a good detective story on TV.  The only problem is she can’t wait until the end to discover who committed the crime.  So, while I’m happy to enjoy the show and wait for the big reveal, she’s busy Googling it to see how it’s all going to end.   Confronted … Read More

In recent years lists of the people “Most likely to…’ have become very popular.  It’s now an established feature for high school students approaching the end of their courses to vote for one another across a range of categories.  These can include most likely to …become Prime Minister, …write a best-selling novel, …get a “Yes” from Simon Cowell, but can … Read More

In a bid to accelerate the take up of credit cards in the 1950’s the Bank of America hit upon the idea of sending an unsolicited card to every one of its 60,000 customers in Fresno, California.  Known as the ‘Fresno Drop’ it was a spectacular success, and within two years a million cards were in use, and the modern … Read More

Over the last few weeks most of will have heard the Christmas carol, Silent Night, which includes the repeated line ‘Sleep in heavenly peace’.  So, it’s ironic that it’s at this time of year that the most internet searches are made for the topics, ‘child won’t sleep’ and ‘I need sleep’.  An expert in the field, Professor Kevin Morgan, explains … Read More

Prince Charles was born on 14th November 1948.  At birth his official title was His Royal Highness Prince Charles of Edinburgh, a title that changed on 26th July 1968 to His Royal Highness The Prince of Wales.  Over his life he has collected dozens of additional titles and honours and his current official title reads as follows: His Royal Highness … Read More

‘Familiarity breeds contempt’ is one of the warnings I remember from childhood.  It was something about not getting too friendly with staff at my boarding school and thereby losing respect for them.   But it strikes me now that the same principle can apply to the way we view the Christmas story – as a society we have become so … Read More

Many of us will have spent the past few weeks deciding what to give as gifts this Christmas.  Undoubtedly the most thought will have been given to those that we love the most, and when considering what to get them we will probably have wanted to spend as much as we could afford and possibly a bit more.  But then … Read More

In the UK, its’ widely known that everyone hates Brussels sprouts.  Many of us have childhood memories of forcing down the over-cooked and bitter-tasting vegetables at Christmas – an unwelcome intrusion onto a plate filled with delicious roast turkey, potatoes and crisp Yorkshire puddings.  Clearly the meal would be improved by the removal of the offending veg.   In a … Read More