grumpyf1

The true meaning of (John Lewis at) Christmas Ho Ho Ho! Merry JL Day! There may still be over five weeks until Christmas, but that doesn’t matter when there’s stuff to sell. Lest we forget, John Lewis & Partners’ eagerly-awaited Christmas advert was by no means the first from a major retailer either. With years of classic ads behind them, including a hare waking up a hibernating bear, a penguin called Monty, trampolining wildlife and an old bloke on the moon, 2018’s outing was always going to have a hard time matching it’s predecessors. It even had to contend with the re-branding Bohemian Rhapsody-school-play advert from just a few weeks ago, which was widely applauded. So, what did we get? Elton John. In reverse. Featuring the Prima Donna’s life in “Your Song” moments, from him sitting at his piano in the present day, through his assorted outrageous looks, and back to him receiving the same piano as a child. Wow. Elt’s folks were minted then. A piano? I used to think g...

Why isn't this sold in sacks? Despite news on Tuesday that the UK and EU have finally agreed on the draft text of an agreement about withdrawal, Brexit delivered a serious blow this week – right where it hurts. With months of rumours about potential shortages – notably the worrying scenario of insufficient drug supplies – a far more terrifying threat to our very Britishness came to light this week. We could be staring down the barrel of a crippling thick liquid meal accompaniment shortage. It seems things are looking grave for gravy, calamitous for custard and potentially crippling for Mr Kipling, as the famous brands’ owners, Premier Foods, have announced that they intend to stockpile raw materials ahead of Brexit. Concerned that gridlock at the UK’s ports will mean customers screaming “Oh No!” instead of “Oxo”, they will soon start to stockpile the raw ingredients of their products, to the tune of up to £10m. In anybody’s books, that’s a hell of a lot of Bisto granules ...

We WILL rock you... If you have even a passing interest in the music of Queen, I implore you to get along to your local cinema and see the Bohemian Rhapsody movie. Don’t knock back a litre of cola in the first ten minutes though – at well over two hours, it’s a long watch. The good news is, it uses every one of it’s many minutes to the full. Covering the period from the band’s formation though to their appearance at Live Aid in 1985, the film focuses on charismatic front man Freddie Mercury. That’s not to say the rest of the group are ignored, but come on – Fred’s flamboyant life certainly warrants the additional screen time. Faithfully recreating the look and fashions of the various eras, the film is funny, sad, touching, poignant and exhilarating in various proportions. The family-friendly rating means Mercury’s promiscuity is alluded to, rather than writ large on the screen, but you’re given enough in the way of visual clues and implications to get the gist of what happene...

Five v Four You’d have been a brave F1 fan to have bet against Lewis Hamilton winning the Formula One World Championship last Sunday in Mexico. He’d almost managed it the previous weekend, and arrived in Mexico in the comfortable position of only needing to finish seventh to bag the trophy, even if his rival, Sebastian Vettel, won the race. As it turned out, it was a challenging race for the British star for a rare change, and Vettel came reasonably close to winning. Hamilton might not have stood on the podium, but his fourth place was enough for him to be crowned a five time champion. That 5th title really is something special, putting him on equal footing with the great Juan Manuel Fangio from the sport’s early days, and bettered only by Michael Schumacher’s seven titles. I may not be Hamilton’s biggest fan, but even I have to concede that what he’s achieved is something genuinely special... even if he does have a silly haircut and some questionable fashion sense. Is th...