Generation ADD

I do sometimes think that the problem with the younger generation is not that they have no ability to concentrate - it's that they're treated as such.

Example? Just watched an hour long programme celebrating the 25th anniversary of Torvill and Dean's Bolero routine which earned them a perfect score and a gold medal at the 1984 Olympics.

Various people were interviewed about the routine. Oh, how they were touched by the emotion of it. Transfixed. Couldn't believe that the pair of them weren't really in love. We heard how ground breaking and rule stretching it was. The struggle to find the music, and then make it an appropriate length. The story behind the opening sequence. All the way through we were teased with how wonderful a routine it was.

Finally, the last section of the show. The moment the viewers have been waiting for. The dated 80s footage appears and that music starts. We watch with rapt attention. And then.... 35 seconds in, a talking head appears telling us how much the routine meant to him. Another 30 seconds of footage, and then thoughts from their coach. In total there were probably only around 2 minutes of footage shown, interspersed with various atmosphere-shattering comments.

Four minutes. All they had to do was show a four minute routine, uninterrupted. But some numpty thinks the audience couldn't possibly cope with that. I guess we should be lucky that they didn't cut to the adverts after the first 20 seconds.

Ah well. For those of you blessed with enough concentration or interest to get this far, Advancing Gingerly presents Bolero in its entirety. I won't interrupt. Promise.

All Things Ginger #2: World Carrot Museum

Don't ask me how I found this out, but I recently discovered that there exists on our planet a World Carrot Museum. Seriously. Perhaps unsurprisingly, it's an enterprise located in the British Isles, but overseas readers will be delighted to learn that it is, in fact, a virtual museum, and thus they will be able to get just as much out of a visit as I possibly could.

I'm not quite sure how it all began. One can glean that the author is left handed, the names of his cats, and countries he's visited, but no particular statement as to why one would create an online carrot museum. But then, who cares, when you have the opportunity to learn about Carrots in Literature, discover where to attend a Carrot Festival, how to make antifreeze from carrots (useful at the moment), or peruse a list of people interested in collecting carrotabilia. I have to commend the attention to detail and sheer amount of research that has gone into this endeavour. I can assert with some confidence that it is unlikely that I will ever come up with a carrot-related enquiry for which they are unable to provide an answer.

There are also a bewildering collection of links including other unusual museums at the bottom of this page. No mention, though, of the rope museum I've been to, or the pencil museum a friend has visited.

I know it's customary to use hyperbole to make what you do sound more enticing, but I must admit to being somewhat befuddle by the tagline: 'Discover the Power of Carrots'. Perhaps they are the future of alternative energy. Orange gold...

"You're not too tired for this life, and it's not gonna matter if you fall down twice"

Ok, so I eventually shrugged off the 'Stranded Commuter' persona and went for a walk where I rediscovered the Joy of Snow™.

(The feet are mine but the snowman wasn't)

I can't say I'm gutted that I couldn't go in today. Time to brace myself for a trek tomorrow though. I have a feeling it's going to be a bit of a mission.

And the prize for the most helpful web update ever goes to...

...South Eastern Trains, for the following highly informative description of their current service status:

Great Britain - ready for anything!

In my neck of the woods, there's about six inches of snow. They've been telling us for days that it was coming. It's quite unusual to get that much settling snow in London, but it's hardly at Siberian quantities. Capital Radio has just announced that it's the heaviest snow in London for.... six years. Gee, that really is historical.

Despite all the advanced warnings:
- There are no buses running in London. None. At all. Not one.
- Only one tube line has no disruption.
- There are no trains on my line, according to the radio. Which I cannot verify as the train company website won't load. National Rail Enquiries seems to have collapsed. Transport for London is loading better, but doesn't have the information I'm looking for.

I guess I could try walking to work but (a) it's a longish way, (b) I have no snow shoes and (c) I don't think I'm really important enough to bother.

It's just as well we're not proposing to host the Winter Olympics.