TudoRama

Send us Fan Mail England v Slovakia. Chess, Politics and Football come together. Sunday 30 June 5pm kickoff soon. At last, we are spared football punditry chatter for  the duration of a real football match. Maybe the last for England in this tournament.  One last commentator comment It’s go big or go home. Time for the first fact Harry Kane has scored in 13 football stadiums but not this one. Didn...

Send us Fan Mail Friday 28 June, 2024 The debate was scheduled for 2am British Summer Time. Wisely or not, I started listening , then dragged myself out of bed to watch the debate. It was slightly surreal viewing. The two protagonists stood behind space-age podiums (podia?). Behind them, a vast vacant area reminding me of a gigantic lecture theatre. Two interrogators sometimes visible pose careful...

Send us Fan Mail General Election Diary, Weeks 3-4, June 2024 Week 3 Thursday 13 June The Labour manifesto concentrates on wealth creation. A plan to replace the Lords seems to have been watered down.  Yet another seven a side debate, but without  two major figures Sunak and Starmer. Penny Mordaunt and Angela Rayner resume hostilities. Rather unenlightening. Stephen Flynn, for the SNP, Daisy Coope...

Send us Fan Mail Royal welcome of Japan’s Emperor and Empress by the King.  Nobody does it better. 25 June 2024. Horse Guards Parade, London Emperor Naruhito and Empress Masako of Japan have been greeted at Buckingham Palace by King Charles III, Queen Camilla and the Prince of Wales.   The three day visit with all expected pageantry and state banquet has had to be slightly tweeked because of the u...

Send us Fan Mail Draper beats Alcaraz playing a perfect chess move on the tennis court Thursday, the 20th of June 2024. The tournament at Queens club played on grass is the prelude to the Wimbledon Championships every year. Carlos Alcaraz, Wimbledon champion last year, is seeded number one this year at Queens. He played the newly ranked British number one Jack Draper ina match he was expected to w...

Send us Fan Mail This could have been another detective story. But the plot darkens as Murray Clark, a university professor, then switches with five stories left which would have completed his self-imposed task of reading all of the books about Maigret written by George Simenon.  For mysterious reasons he switches his attention to reading the complete works of Jane Austin. I set off the discover t...

Send us Fan Mail Wit and Wisdom. Late June, 2023 @vardi How to write good.  One avoid alliteration always Two prepositions are not words to end sentences with Three avoid cliche like the plague they are old hat. Four comparisons are as bad as cliches. Five be more or less specific. Six writers should never generalise Seven don’t be redundant; don’t use more words than necessary; it’s highly superf...

Send us Fan Mail Sad story. The tale of the lonely Professor. My good friend Mike the Gardener classifies people into clever stupid and stupid clever. He classifies me as clever stupid which an extended education has done little to change. Mike believes (correctly) he has a far greater grasp of how the experienced world operates. I think he’s using the terms in a far from stupid way to avoid givin...

Send us Fan Mail Marianna Spring, BBC’s secret weapon against fake news.  Early in the GE Campaign I listened with great interest to an Interview by the BBC with Marianna Spring about her project evaluating fake news about the general election. Her work Is an exemplary effort which could have come from a university study into information technology and artificial intelligence. Stay up-to-date with...

Send us Fan Mail Politics dominated the social media. I had to search for non-political posts and eventually created a new podcast dedicated to them. The first few here are from the broadcast encounter between party leaders early in the campaign. Stay up-to-date with all of Tudor's podcasts, blogs and current affairs commentary by signing up to our newsletter!  Email everydaycreativityuk@gmai...

Send us Fan Mail What sort of chess game suits you? Recently I found myself watching and playing with our club members the during club nights. For quite a different purpose I am also looking back at some studies I made of members of business workgroups. Eventually the two interests came together. I think it worth thinking about your playing style, in terms which were described as your cognitive th...

Send us Fan Mail My life changed after receiving one email. I have become a sweat-free zone. I have been receiving regular messages from the company for several years. At first I assumed they had been added to a mailing list by a friend who was trying to tell me something… I realise now that the company is on a mission that will eliminate the major curse of social embarrassment, undesirable body o...

Send us Fan Mail Sinner v Alcaraz. A great tennis match  The French Open semi-final, 2024 7 June A thrilling match took place between two of the brightest young male tennis stars. The Italian Jannick Sinner and the Spaniard Carlos Alcaraz arrived at the semifinal of the French Open as No 2 and 3 seeds respectively.  Their paths to the semi-final road had been made easier by the retirement from inj...

Send us Fan Mail This audio-diary has been compiled throughout the UK general election called for the 5th July 2024. It is completed unedited.  Stay up-to-date with all of Tudor's podcasts, blogs and current affairs commentary by signing up to our newsletter!  Email everydaycreativityuk@gmail.com to sign up! Follow Tudor on Twitter @ Tudortweet Follow Tudor's blogs: everydaycreativity.uk...

Send us Fan Mail Wit and Wisdom. Early June, 2024 @deelomas My three favourite things are eating my family and not using commas.  Re-edited … @Upliftingvision Remember: Charlie Chaplin died aged 88. He left us 4 statements: (1) Nothing is eternal in this world, not even our problems. (2) I like to walk in the rain, because no one can see my tears. (3) The most wasted day in life is the day we don&...

Send us Fan Mail Fantasy News Channel  31 May 2024 Today we are reporting on the capture of Donald Trumpolanus and the vows of the Megalomanian army to rescue him and restore him to his rightful position as Emperor of  Magalomania.  A faithful retainer, Piers Poorman spoke up, his voice unable to conceal his agony. ‘This is a sad, shameful and ridiculous day for our country. To drag a former Emper...

Send us Fan Mail The French tennis open, Wednesday 29 May, 2024 Victory goes to the most tenacious. Swiatek v Osaka A heroic sentiment.  Found written in English, in the very Gallic location the Rolland Garros stadium, Paris, France.  But that is not the  most surprising aspect of this story. Historically,Roland Garros was a French aviation hero becoming one of the earliest fighter pilots who was...

Send us Fan Mail These chess lessons in audio form are provided for parents and would-be chess beginners at the Northern Tennis club, Didsbury.  You will need a chess board and a set chess if you want to study some of the answers.  It will also help if you know how to pause and restart the audio.  First some revision questions. You now know how the chess pieces move, the value of the pieces, their...

Send us Fan Mail End of season blues. Things can only get better. Wednesday 22 May 2024 This is it. The day the chess sets and clocks are packed away. The tables unfolded with care to avoid barked knuckles. Chairs stacked neatly in the storage space by the filing cabinet. Lights out. The few members who attended the last night of the season trail slowly out of the club room following the instructi...

Send us Fan Mail Getting started in chess  Revision session No 2 The basic moves. These chess lessons in audio form are provided for parents and would-be chess beginners at the Northern Tennis club, Didsbury.  You will need a chess board and a set chess for the final puzzle.  It will help if you know how to pause and restart the audio.  First some advice about thinking before you move: A blunder i...

Send us Fan Mail Stay up-to-date with all of Tudor's podcasts, blogs and current affairs commentary by signing up to our newsletter!  Email everydaycreativityuk@gmail.com to sign up! Follow Tudor on Twitter @ Tudortweet Follow Tudor's blogs: everydaycreativity.uk leaderswedeserve.wordpress.com

Send us Fan Mail Wit and Wisdom. Late May  2024 edition. @karinbeery’s post earlier this month asked for examples of disguised swear words. There was great response including these: Sadly I can’t trace the first contributor. Saw this post and loved it: what words do you use when you don't want to swear but want to express yourself? My mom always went with cripe. I'm a big fan of 'ch...

Send us Fan Mail General Election fever. Wet.wet.wet. Wednesday 22 May 2024 4.30pm Election fever has been mounting all day. News media report that the PM will announce a date for it in front of No 10, at 5pm. Polls have remained stubbornly predicting a serious loss for the Government for at least a year.  The weather remains as bleak as the political climate.  Inside, we are informed, the PM is c...

Send us Fan Mail Strictly come dentistry. The new sensational TV show The format. Contestants show off their dentistry skills before a live audience, and a panel of celebrity dentists. Votes from the panel and from viewer’s phone-in.  Each week, the candidates demonstrate their skills in selecting the correct tooth, executing their dentistry skills, with vivid in-mouth shots on giant screens, back...

Send us Fan Mail Dogs in Drag Sunday 19 May. The BBC breakfast show gave priority to a cringemaking report of an event called The Dogs’ Prom . The show revealed an infantilised treatment of dogs stripped of all dignity, and dressed up in gruesome costumes. I watched in horror at dogs dressed as cute children’s dolls were paraded to the rapturous approval of owners, and the presenters. My nausea wa...