And late to the party, and the opposite end of the spectrum, the sublime timeless joy of watching Roger Federer’s backhand. Maybe a future list of top ten backhands ! Just saying …
That's the sort of dedication I expect from LTT readers. Full disclosure: I thought putting 61 in the subject line might depress open rates. If you feel deceived, I understand.
Starbucks coffee. Hotel rooms with lighting so dim you can't read a newspaper. Middle lane motorway hogs. People who post photos on social media of their "perfect roast dinner" with hardly any meat but a quart of thick gravy. Offspring who take 2 days to look at my WhatsApp to them but expect instantaneous reply to theirs. People who say: "Can I get?" Supermarkets with one staff member staffing 20 self-service tills. Cafés charging £15 for breakfasts but serving cheap catering sausages. Too much Amol Rajan. All reality TV.
Actors in “The Archers” who fail to deliver their lines with appropriate stress and intonation, sloppy directors of radio shows, the unbelievably slow crawl towards prostate cancer screening in this country, (I’ve yet to find a country that’s WORSE than the UK for this), easy wins for NHS being overlooked or ignored….
😂😂 that would be a considerable undertaking indeed!! One gradually gets used to who’s who. It’s only around 13 mins a day, and after ten years or so I still haven’t quite mastered all the family connections. But I enjoy all the little plot twists and turns.
Highly paid sports commentators who can't be arsed to check how athletes pronounce (including stress) their own names. Highly paid celebrity chefs who still can't manage to pronounce 'bruschetta' properly. Highly paid media presenters and commentators who pronounce an Italian soft g like a French j (a sound that doesn't exist in Italian) when it should be an English j. Using 'bold' as a verb instead of 'embolden'. The expression 'crash out' used by lazy journalists whenever someone—usually British—is simply beaten.
I don't mind them getting the pronunciation wrong per se, but I also don't find it funny and apparently this is a minority opinion amongst commentators...
You mean like travel show presenters whom we're supposed to find hilarious as they make complete fools of themselves mimicking the actions of the people they are meant to be highlighting. Ugh!
How about 47 things that please you. Start with the existence of music, refrigerators, washing machines, etc. The world is such a wonderful place, walking in the surf, reading a splendid book or magazine, etc. Shakespeare, Milton, Hilary Mantell, etc. Try hard not to think about politicians, Iraq, Afghanistan, Sudan, Gaza, etc, about which we are powerless.
Jack, you sound as though you will be paying for couch treatment for years and will be enabling those that give such treatment to buy another Rolls Royce or another apartment in Mayfair. My top tip: let it all wash over you and you will be super clean!
Hotel breakfast conveyor belt toasters -YES!
How are they an improvement on... toasters?
And late to the party, and the opposite end of the spectrum, the sublime timeless joy of watching Roger Federer’s backhand. Maybe a future list of top ten backhands ! Just saying …
Pick any ten from the 2017 Indian Wells v Rafa match.
Will enjoy a trip down memory lane. Nice shout Jack.
I'm not sure it's fine that I *had* to count them.
Nor that I counted more than 47.
That's the sort of dedication I expect from LTT readers. Full disclosure: I thought putting 61 in the subject line might depress open rates. If you feel deceived, I understand.
People who haven't seen Back to the Future.
Sitting under the spotlight which doesn’t dim in the cinema . Red smoke alarm light above any hotel bed. Great price Jack.
Starbucks coffee. Hotel rooms with lighting so dim you can't read a newspaper. Middle lane motorway hogs. People who post photos on social media of their "perfect roast dinner" with hardly any meat but a quart of thick gravy. Offspring who take 2 days to look at my WhatsApp to them but expect instantaneous reply to theirs. People who say: "Can I get?" Supermarkets with one staff member staffing 20 self-service tills. Cafés charging £15 for breakfasts but serving cheap catering sausages. Too much Amol Rajan. All reality TV.
All of these but if I could only pick three:
1. Hotel room lighting
2. Reality TV (unless I like that particular show, obvs)
3. £15 for any sort of breakfast that does not include champagne
Actors in “The Archers” who fail to deliver their lines with appropriate stress and intonation, sloppy directors of radio shows, the unbelievably slow crawl towards prostate cancer screening in this country, (I’ve yet to find a country that’s WORSE than the UK for this), easy wins for NHS being overlooked or ignored….
I've never listened to The Archers. Would I have to start from the beginning?
😂😂 that would be a considerable undertaking indeed!! One gradually gets used to who’s who. It’s only around 13 mins a day, and after ten years or so I still haven’t quite mastered all the family connections. But I enjoy all the little plot twists and turns.
Highly paid sports commentators who can't be arsed to check how athletes pronounce (including stress) their own names. Highly paid celebrity chefs who still can't manage to pronounce 'bruschetta' properly. Highly paid media presenters and commentators who pronounce an Italian soft g like a French j (a sound that doesn't exist in Italian) when it should be an English j. Using 'bold' as a verb instead of 'embolden'. The expression 'crash out' used by lazy journalists whenever someone—usually British—is simply beaten.
I don't mind them getting the pronunciation wrong per se, but I also don't find it funny and apparently this is a minority opinion amongst commentators...
You mean like travel show presenters whom we're supposed to find hilarious as they make complete fools of themselves mimicking the actions of the people they are meant to be highlighting. Ugh!
How about 47 things that please you. Start with the existence of music, refrigerators, washing machines, etc. The world is such a wonderful place, walking in the surf, reading a splendid book or magazine, etc. Shakespeare, Milton, Hilary Mantell, etc. Try hard not to think about politicians, Iraq, Afghanistan, Sudan, Gaza, etc, about which we are powerless.
Perhaps another newsletter!
Jack, you sound as though you will be paying for couch treatment for years and will be enabling those that give such treatment to buy another Rolls Royce or another apartment in Mayfair. My top tip: let it all wash over you and you will be super clean!
A lifetime supply of Pret coffee coming your way, Ivan. No returns.
Yes Cam Norrie and Demon. That would take at least 1 hour of your time…
Cam Norrie has to be best...