I see that I have been away for over a month --it's just that there hasn't been anything remarkable going on. Actually, I have been more depressed than usual by our uncomplaining acceptance of the mediocrity that is creeping into our daily lives. For example, low standards of English are now normal even in the BBC and pass unchallenged. I offer you Jenny Bond saying 'gourmand' when she clearly meant 'gourmet' as one of the more irritating examples.
I'm really annoyed that people don't even seem aware that they are fed on a daily pigswill of mediocrity in every walk of life.(The Times magazine constantly omits to put captions under photographs,a slovenliness I would expect --but not accept-- from some horrid small-town magazine).It is also almost frightening that colleagues and friends whom you would regard as discerning do not protest more.They seem to have lost their sense of discrimination in every aspect of our personal, business or public lives. This seems especially true in small-town Britain and is no less exasperating. The more you desist from complaining or criticising, the lower your standards become----till that dreadful day when mediocrity becomes the norm. Perish the thought.