When a Man Can't Tire in London
It's 3:30 a.m. in London, and I can't get to sleep because that's still only 10:30 p.m. New York time. I'm here because my boss, Mr. Murdoch, is giving the 1st Annual Margaret Thatcher Lecture for the Centre for Policy Studies Thursday.
I took a little stroll along Picadilly to get some air. And the two things I notice first are these: First, literally a dozen people came up to me begging for money in my 45-minute long stroll -- most of them men, not old women. Second, this is still a newspaper city. Lots of them, each with a distinctive style.
There's even the Morning Star, a Communist Paper. The Thatcherites there will correct me if I'm wrong, but I believe it was the Morning Star that first called her the "Iron Lady" -- meant derisively, of course. As with most great people, she turned an insult into an accolade.
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Re: When a Man Can't Tire in London
Bill, have a banger and go to bed! And have a great trip.
Re: When a Man Can't Tire in London
I'm trying. I decided to break open the complimentary bottle of wine. What I hate most is knowing that once I *do* get to sleep, I'll find it hard to get up at my appointed time!
Oct '10
Re: When a Man Can't Tire in London
I haven't been in London since 1997, but I'll never forget Picadilly Circus. I was standing in line to get tickets for a play when a Middle Eastern-looking man walked up to the line and yelled "Victory to the IRA!" . He was promptly cussed out by some chav that was standing nearby. Are such scenes common around there?
Re: When a Man Can't Tire in London
It was the Red Star, a Soviet paper. ("The Thatcherites there will correct me if I'm wrong?" Bill, we're all Thatcherites now.)
Re: When a Man Can't Tire in London
I can't say, Mike. But I'm on my third glass of wine, and it is having zero effect. I fear if I have much more it will be me out there making a scene.
Re: When a Man Can't Tire in London
Trust me, Bill, never post after three glasses of wine.
Oct '10
Re: When a Man Can't Tire in London
Pat Sajak
Trust me, Bill, never post after three glasses of wine. · Oct 19 at 8:04pm
Or three bottles of Shiner Bock.
Jun '10
Re: When a Man Can't Tire in London
That a Soviet paper would call Thatcher the Iron lady is perhaps the supreme irony in that their hero of the revolution Ioseb Besarionis dze Jughashvili changed his mane to Joseph Stalin, the man of steel.
Edited on Oct 19, 2010 at 8:09pmAug '10
Re: When a Man Can't Tire in London
Sausages before bed? Will give you nightmares, that.
May '10
Re: When a Man Can't Tire in London
Mike LaRoche
Pat Sajak
Trust me, Bill, never post after three glasses of wine. · Oct 19 at 8:04pm
Or three bottles of Shiner Bock. · Oct 19 at 8:06pm
Or three bottles of scotch... hiccup
Re: When a Man Can't Tire in London
I am taking the advice of Sajak the Sage. Goodnight everyone!
May '10
Re: When a Man Can't Tire in London
Ryan Gaines
Mike LaRoche
Pat Sajak
Trust me, Bill, never post after three glasses of wine. · Oct 19 at 8:04pm
Or three bottles of Shiner Bock. · Oct 19 at 8:06pm
Or three bottles of scotch... hiccup · Oct 19 at 8:20pm
I think Drunk Uncle Larry at Thanksgiving gets a bad rap on this site. He's a wealth of instructive and amusing anecdotes.
May '10
Re: When a Man Can't Tire in London
Midget Faded Rattlesnake
Sausages before bed? Will give you nightmares, that. · Oct 19 at 8:11pm
Yeah, but you can't get good ribs in London. Those'd put you right to sleep.
Jul '10
Re: When a Man Can't Tire in London
Pat Sajak
Trust me, Bill, never post after three glasses of wine. · Oct 19 at 8:04pm
Oh! Gosh, Pat, I misunderstood you. I thought you told me never to post until I'd had three glasses of wine.
And then I thought, well, Pat is a pretty conservative guy, so let's try five.
And a couple of shots of Wild Turkey.
May '10
Re: When a Man Can't Tire in London
If they serve 80 proof on the plane, I usually pass out when I arrive.
Jul '10
Re: When a Man Can't Tire in London
Pat Sajak
Trust me, Bill, never post after three glasses of wine. · Oct 19 at 8:04pm
Truer words never spoken. Of course, for me it was bourbon, and more than 3.
My sincerest apologies to everyone...
May '10
Re: When a Man Can't Tire in London
A dozen beggars in 45 minutes. Walk from Union Station to Water Tower Place in Chicago any weekday and you'll encounter 45 beggars in a dozen minutes.
Jul '10
Re: When a Man Can't Tire in London
I see from the news today that 500,000 British civil servants -- they are neither, as someone said -- will soon join the panhandling ranks. Either that or find real jobs.
May '10
Re: When a Man Can't Tire in London
Did you meet the Artful Dodger?
May '10
Re: When a Man Can't Tire in London
A tribute to the British Sausage, from Baroness Thatcher's favourite programme (see how I did that?):
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bIYP1ibYdZI